--- title: "Veteran women roll out the latest edition of the Pin-Ups For Vets calendar" description: "After years of military service, 13 women veterans donned mid-20th century era pin up fashion to raise money for troops and veterans." date: "2024-08-14" modified: "2024-08-14" authors: - name: "Patty Nieberg" job_title: "Senior Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/patty-nieberg/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/veteran-women-raise-money-in-pin-up-calendar/" categories: - "Culture" --- # Veteran women roll out the latest edition of the Pin-Ups For Vets calendar ![]() *Cover of the Pin-Ups For Vets 2025 calendar.* A group of 13 women with over 100 years of military service between them are raising money for VA hospital programs with a 50s-style pin-up fashion calendar. The 2025 Pin-Ups For Vets’ calendar features two Purple Heart recipients, an Army Lt. Colonel who served 39 months in Iraq on three deployments, and a 25-year Marine Corps veteran who lost their arm. The calendar, in its 19th year, previously donated more than $120,000 to VA hospitals for new rehabilitation equipment. The 2025 calendar will raise funds for hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans who are ill, injured or homeless and deployed troops and military spouses. The annual project is a nod to vintage pin-up posters that featured famous women like Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable popularized during WWII. The posters were also seen as a [morale booster for soldiers]() during the war to “remind young men what they were fighting for,” as one [WWII blog put it](). The women who were part of the 19th annual calendar also used it as a chance to embrace their feminine side. Arely Elrod, a 13-year Army veteran and former construction equipment mechanic, said she wanted to join the project after she found herself in an identity crisis after her military separation. “Being in a male-dominated field, I felt the need to suppress my femininity in order to be taken seriously," Elrod said. "I neglected myself in ways that caused me to become self-conscious. Being able to correlate beauty, brains and bravery in a calendar full of amazing women that are selflessly wanting to give back is such an honor.” ![]() *Former Army Sgt Arely Elrod in the 2025 Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. "a construction equipment mechanic with airborne qualifications. "I was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC with the 27th EN CO/ 618th “The Nasty”. We deployed to FOB Lagman, Afghanistan from 2010-2011, assisting 2SCR from Vilseck, Germany and Romanian Special Forces as a route clearance engineer unit."* Miracle Holthouser, a 10-year Air Force veteran who served as an operations analyst briefer, recalled one interaction when she was packing up her bags to ship off. “Their response was, ‘I don’t think women should do men’s jobs,’” she said. Despite women being officially [allowed to serve in combat positions since 2013](), Holthouser sees the pin-up calendar as a way to combat the narrative that women can’t or shouldn’t serve in certain military occupations. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose**]() **today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.** “You can get dolled up and you can get dirty. You can be pretty, and you can be smart, and you can be brave, all at the same time,” Holthouse said. “I mean just look at the women in these calendars, they have accomplished so much.” ![]() *Former Air Force operations analyst briefer Miracle Holthouser. "My job was briefing commanders, pilots, and air crew of F-15s, F-16s, A-10s, HC-130s, HH-60s, and Pararescuemen, which is hard to imagine for anyone who knew me before I left for basic."* “These stellar veterans prove that brave is beautiful,” the group said in a release. The 2025 calendars are available for purchase at [PinUpsForVets.com](). ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Command sergeant major for Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade** [**fired**]() - **The ‘**[**Swift Boating**]()**’ of Tim Walz has begun. What is the truth?** - **Army officer and West Point grad** [**crowned Miss USA**]() - **New** [**recruiting MOS**]() **selects first class of 25** - **A guide to** [**all the parachutes**]() **that American paratroopers ‘ride to work’** ## Author Patty is a senior reporter for Task & Purpose. She's reported on the military for six years, embedding with the National Guard during a hurricane and covering Guantanamo Bay legal proceedings for an alleged al Qaeda commander. Her previous bylines can be found at the *Associated Press*, *Bloomberg Government*, *Washington Post*, *The New York Times*, and *ABC*. You can reach Patty by email at [Patty.Nieberg@taskandpurpose.com](). ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]()