Willenz also initiated the effort to build the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

She wrote a column for the Stars and Stripes newspaper, taught at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, Maryland, and directed the research program at the United States Department of Labor's Special Project on Employment of Women Veterans.

[4] As a result of her advocacy, thousands of Vietnam War veterans eventually had their discharges upgraded to "general" or "honorable" status.

[3] Willenz was the first woman to head the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Task Force on Military/Veterans Affairs, and the first to chair a Presidential Subcommittee on Disabled Veterans.

Her work in the AVC eventually led to the building of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

She represented the Federation at the United Nations, calling the attention of various U.N. agencies to the problems of women in armed conflict.