More Women's History Month facts Published March 31, 2015 By Commentary by 412th Comptroller Squadron EAFB EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- As we continue to celebrate Women's History Month, a few more facts about women's history for your enrichment. To gain further understanding of the impact these women had in history, a link regarding the fact is provided. 1. Janet Guthrie was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race in 1976. In 1977, she became the first female driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Guthrie was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of fame in 1980 and into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006. Before driving racecars, Guthrie was a pilot and aerospace engineer. http://www.biography.com/people/janet-guthrie-9323913#early-life-and-career 2. Maria Mestre de los Dolores Andreu became the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard and the first to command a federal shore installation in 1859. Andreu took over as the lighthouse keeper at the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida after the death of her husband, Juan, the previous lighthouse keeper. Andreu served as the lighthouse keeper until 1862, when the light was extinguished so that it would not help the Union Army during the Civil War. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/03/15/lighthouse-keeper-blazes-trail-for-cg-women.html 3. Dr. Mary Walker was an outspoken advocate for women's rights and the only woman ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Walker was born in upstate New York in 1832, and she graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855. During the Civil War, she volunteered for the Union and worked as a nurse and later as a surgeon. In the summer of 1864, Walker was a prisoner of war until she was exchanged for a Confederate soldier. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_325.html 4. Tulsi Gabbard was born in American Samoa in 1981 and moved to Hawaii at age two. When she was sworn in as a congresswoman in 2013, Gabbard became one of the first two female combat veterans, the first Hindu, and the first woman of Samoan ancestry to serve as a member of the U.S. Congress. In 2003, she joined the Hawaii National Guard and volunteered to deploy to Iraq. Gabbard continues to serve in the Hawaii National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team. http://www.nwpc.org/tulsigabbard 5. Dr. Tsai-Fan Yu was born in Shanghai, China, in 1911. In 1939, she graduated with highest honors from Peking Union Medical College and became the college's chief resident of internal medicine. She moved to New York City in 1947 and became a U.S. citizen in the 1950s. In 1957, she became a faculty member at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and in 1973, she was the first woman ever to become a full professor there. She retired in 1992 with Professor Emeritus status. https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/tsai-fan-yu/ 6. Diane Humetewa, member of the Hopi tribe, was the first Native-American to become a federal judge on May 14, 2014. Humetewa was confirmed by the Senate (96-0) to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She also was the first Native-American woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney. Humeyewa is now the first active member of a Native-American tribe to serve on the federal bench and only the third Native American in history to do so. http://www.indian.senate.gov/news/press-release/tester-applauds-confirmation-diane-humetewa