New sculpture honoring servicewomen and military working dogs unveiled at Arlington National Cemetery

Servicewomen and military working dogs were honored with a new sculpture that was unveiled at Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia on Saturday.

Titled “The Pledge,” the sculpture is part of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial located at the cemetery’s entrance.

Created by sculptor Susan Bahary, the life-size bronze statue shows a female dog handler kneeling alongside her working dog and was commissioned by the U.S. War Dogs Association National Headquarters, reported the Associated Press.

The unveiling took place during a closed ceremony, due to health concerns stemming from the ongoing novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, but it was live-streamed on Facebook by The Women’s Memorial.

According to the Associated Press, one side of the statue includes a quote from Anne Sosh Brehm, who served in the Army as a nurse during World War II. 

It reads: “Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom. That our resolve was just as great as the brave men who stand among us. And with victory, our hearts were just as full and beat just as fast — that the tears fell just as hard for those we left behind.”