Service Women Issue - Women In Our Armed Forces - 3-cent 1952 U.S. stamp.Photo byPublic Domain

Part 1: From the Revolution to Korea

Revolutionary War

Women have served the United States Military since the Revolutionary War. Women and children often followed the army from camp to camp, often to support their husbands, fathers, and sons who were fighting. In some cases, women disguised themselves as men so they could join the army as fighting soldiers. Women also served as spies during the Revolution. They were often quite effective since they could often enter camps and other places without suspicion.

One young woman served as a sort-of “female Paul Revere.” Sybil Luddington was a sixteen-year-old daughter of a Militia Colonel who found out that the British were planning to attack nearby Danbury, Connecticut. Danbury was the site of a stockpile of Continental Army provisions. Sybil knew the army needed to be warned of the attack, so she rode forty miles through a heavy rainstorm on April 26, 1777. While two years previously Paul Revere had taken the news of the British marching toward Boston, he was captured. Unlike Revere, Luddington was not captured. Although the British succeeded in their raid on Danbury, because of the warning from Sybil Luddington, the Patriots were able to push the British from Ridgefield, Connecticut back to Long Island Sound.

Civil War

Women began to officially serve on a larger scale as nurses during the Civil War. There were about 3,000 women serving as nurses for the Union Army during the war. Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, was given a special military pass so she could travel onto the battle field with her medical wagons. This way she was able to care for wounded soldiers where she was most needed. Dorothea Dix was appointed superintendent of the United States Army Nurses for the Union Army. Dix required high standards of behavior and training for the nurses who served. Her “army of nurses” provided many opportunities for female nurses to support the military.

During the Civil War, some women marched to battle on the fields. According to some Historians, it is estimated that about 1,000 women were able to fight on both sides of the Civil War by disguising themselves as men. As in the Revolutionary War, women served as spies during the Civil War. Arizona can claim one such woman. Pauline Cushman was an actress and Unionist who, at the urging of federal authorities, helped the Northern cause by portraying herself as a Confederate patriot in Louisville.

Spying for the Union Army, Pauline stole documents off the desks of enamored generals and copied maps of troop movements. When she was captured and brought to trial, she was found guilty and sentenced to hang. Union troops swooped in and rescued her. Her heroism made headlines, putting Pauline back on stage to share her stories of espionage. She claimed that President Abraham Lincoln awarded her the designation of “Major” and she used the title for the rest of her life. She headed west to tell the stories of her adventures on stage, eventually ending up in Casa Grande. When the railroad came through Casa Grande, the boarding house she and her second husband owned was one of the few places where passengers could find a place to sleep and something to eat. By 1880, the hotel was considered the best and largest in the area. You can read more about this interesting woman’s story in a 2015 Arizona Star article by Jan Cleere.

World War I

The U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) was formally established in 1901. By the time World War I began in April 1917, the ANC had existed for less than 20 years. There were 403 active-duty nurses at the time. Just over a year later, in June of 1918, more than 3,000 American nurses were deployed to British-operated hospitals in France. Like Clara Barton before them, the nurses often worked in dangerous conditions near the front lines.

During WWI women were allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, though they were not yet allowed to vote. The Armed Forces – especially the U.S. Navy– needed to fill the roles left behind by the men who were sent overseas to the war. The Navy enlisted about 12,000 women to serve as yeoman. These “yeomanettes” worked mostly in clerical duties, as telephone and radio operators, and as translators.

At the same time, the U.S. Army Signal Corps enlisted women to work as telephone and switchboard operators. Women serving in these positions were nicknamed “Hello Girls.” They often worked very close to the front lines in France.

In spite of the high-pressure work they did during the war, these brave and dedicated women were not recognized as veterans until 1979.

World War II

During WWII more than 16 million Americans, mostly men, served on the front lines, leaving many non-combat roles vacant. The need for these positions to be filled was so great that for the first time in history, every branch of the military began to enlist women. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform during World War II. The Army formed the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs), which was later renamed and restructured to form the active-duty Women’s Army Corps (WACS). The branch also formed the Army’s Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS). The Navy formed the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). The Marines enlisted women in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Finally, the Coast Guard formed the Women’s Reserve (SPARS), which stood for the Coast Guard motto, Semper Paratus; that is, “Always Ready.”

The women who joined the military in WWII served in non-combat roles, continuing to work clerical jobs as they did during World War I. They also drove vehicles, repaired airplanes, worked in laboratories and cryptology, served as radio and telephone operators, and rigged parachutes. Women also test-flew planes and trained their male counterparts in air combat tactics.

During WWII, 57,000 served in the Army Nurse Corps and 11,000 in the Navy Nurse Corps. Nurses served on the front lines, coming under enemy fire. Some won combat decorations for their service in such dangerous conditions. A nurse in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Col. Ruby Bradley, was captured and kept prisoner at an internment camp in the Philippines. During the 37 months for which she was held, she continued to serve as a nurse. She performed 230 major surgeries and delivered 13 babies during her time as a prisoner of war (POW).

During the war, 88 women were taken as POWS and 432 women were killed in the line of duty.

In spite of the fact that women were serving faithfully throughout the war, it wasn’t until three years after World War II ended that women were officially allowed to serve permanently as full members of all four branches of the Armed Forces. President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into law in 1948. The act was introduced by then representative Margaret Chase Smith of Maine in January of that year.

Though this was a huge step, the act restricted the number of women who could serve to only 2% of each branch. It also limited how many women could become officers. Female service members could be automatically discharged if they became pregnant, and they were unable to command men or serve in combat positions.

Korean War

When the Korean War broke out, 120,000 women served in active-duty positions. The Korean War took place from 1950-1953. Although they could not serve in combat, women were able to serve as military police officers or engineers as well as nurses and clerical staff.

Read Part 2: Vietnam through Today