The VA Butler Healthcare Health Care System held a great event this past weekend that paid tribute to a group of people one attendee accurately described as “pioneers” — senior women from the county who served in the military during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts.

But the “I Am Not Invisible” event, held Saturday at the VA, also honored all of the women veterans — about 70 — who attended for their role in American military history.

The nationwide “I Am Not Invisible” campaign is a visibility effort that holds community events, during which women veterans gather to share stories and have profile pictures taken.

Shannon Bean, a former Army medic, called the event “humbling” and said she loved seeing the age range of women at the event.

“I know how difficult it was to be a woman in the military when I served,” she said. The heroism of women veterans often — unfairly — goes unnoticed.

A 2015 study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs noted that women represented 9.4 percent of the veteran community. That’s about 2 million women veterans.

The VA’s study estimated the total population of women veterans was expected to increase by about 18,000 women per year over 10 years.

But a 2017 survey by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that only 27 percent of women in the military believe the public treats women veterans with respect. A 2018 study noted that 78 percent of respondents believed placing more of an emphasis on issues facing women veterans was “extremely” important.

And a 2019 report by the Military Times found that women veterans had a higher rate of depression — and suicide — than civilian women due to a variety of reasons, from limited services and care systems to social alienation and post-traumatic stress disorder.

So, a campaign like “I Am Not Invisible” is a good effort to remind women veterans they are not forgotten and to educate the general public about the significant role women have played in the past and present U.S. military. Last weekend’s event also provided the opportunity to display the roles women can take on after having served their country — for example, one participant went on to become a nuclear chemist.

We’re glad the campaign made Butler a stop along its route, and wish it success in its mission.