WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE

WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE. Women have served in the U.S. military since the revolutionary war. Some 20,000 women were part of the semiofficial auxiliary Women in the Army during that war. Subjected to military discipline, they received half the pay of men, half the rations, and did not wear uniforms. They made and repaired the men's uniforms and served as cooks and nurses. Their chief combat role was to carry water to the artillery.

The Civil War and Spanish-American War

More than 10,000 women served as nurses and hospital administrators during the Civil War, including African Americans. Soon after the war began, the secretary of war appointed Dorothea Lynde Dix as superintendent of women nurses for the Union army. During the war she oversaw the work of 6,000 women. Clara Barton, another prominent volunteer nurse during the war, helped establish the American Red Cross. Some women joined units consisting of male officers and female volunteers to protect themselves and their property during the war. Some 400 fought for the Union army disguised as men, while 250 fought for the Confederacy. Nearly 1,500 women served as nurse volunteers during the Spanish-American War in 1898. At least sixteen died of typhoid or yellow fever. The war demonstrated the need for a permanent and professional nurse corps. As a result, the army surgeon general established the Nurse Corps Division in August 1898. On 5 February 1901, the Nurse Corps became a permanent part of the army. The navy followed suit in 1908.

World War I and World War II

During World War I, the navy created the Women's Reserve to release men for combat duty. Nearly 11,500 women served as clerk typists and administrators in the

navy and marines. Of the 21,000 army nurses on active duty during World War I, about 10,000 served overseas. The army also brought 350 women to France to serve as bilingual communications specialists. Although they wore uniforms and were under military discipline they remained technically civilians. More than 33,000 women served during World War I, the majority with the Army Nurse Corps, and 400 died. Many were killed by the influenza epidemic that swept Europe, including thirty-six nurses. The army awarded three nurses the Distinguished Service Cross (its second highest combat award) and twenty-three the Distinguished Service Medal (the highest noncombat award). The navy awarded three nurses the Navy Cross (its second highest combat award) for their role in fighting the influenza epidemic. The governments of France and Great Britain decorated another 100 nurses. Although the Red Cross certified more than 1,800 African American nurses to serve during the war, the army did not assign any to active duty until after the armistice. Those that were called up were housed in segregated quarters and worked in an integrated environment.

World War II was the watershed for women in the military. The Army's Women's Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established in May 1942, while in July, the navy began recruiting women into Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES). In September, the Women

Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a quasi-military organization affiliated with the Army Air Forces, was organized, and in November, the Coast Guard formed the Women's Coast Guard Reserve (SPAR). The Marine Corps was the last to admit women, establishing the Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) in February 1943. On 1 July, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed new legislation, and the WAAC dropped its auxiliary status, becoming the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Almost 400,000 women served in uniform during the war. This included more than 150,550 WACs, 100,000 WAVEs, 76,000 army nurses, 23,000 female marines, 13,000 SPARs, and nearly 1,100 WASPs. Some 7,000 African American WACs and nurses also served, but in segregated units. Restricted from going overseas, they faced daily discrimination. African Americans were not accepted into the navy or Coast Guard until November 1944. Two hundred Puerto Rican women also served as WACs during the war. At their peak strength, some 271,000 women were in uniform, including 100,000 WACs.

Although the combat exclusion law was in effect, women were shot at, killed, wounded, and taken prisoner; 432 American military women were killed during World War II, including 201 army nurses, 16 as a result of enemy action. Another 88 were taken prisoner of war, all but one in the Pacific theater. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service. Thirty-eight WASPs were killed while towing targets or ferrying or testing planes. The women who served were motivated by patriotism, religion, and a chance for adventure.

Despite their large numbers and immense contributions, only a handful of women were allowed to remain in the military after World War II, although with the Army-Navy-Nurse Act of 1947 and the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, the women's services became a permanent, integral part of the U.S. military. The Women's Armed Services Integration Act, however, restricted the number of women to 2 percent of the total force and barred them from serving aboard navy combat vessels and from duty in combat aircraft. It also capped their rank at colonel with only one per service. Because the Coast Guard was not included in the bill, a few SPARs remained in the Women's Coast Guard Reserve. In 1949, the air force organized the Air Force Nurse Corps and Air Force Women's Medical Specialist Corps.

The Korean and Vietnam Wars

Women continued to make major strides in the military between World War II and the Korean War. In 1950, President Harry Truman appointed Anna Rosenberg the assistant secretary of defense for manpower and personnel in 1950. She served in that position until 1953. The beginning of the Korean War in June 1950 saw a small initial surge in the number of women in the military. By June 1951, there were 28,000 women serving in the military. The services, however, did not attempt to recruit women because there was a large pool of draft-eligible males. So,

the increase in numbers was neither significant nor long term. In 1951, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall appointed the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), consisting of fifty prominent women educators, civic leaders, and business and professional women, to assist the defense establishment in recruiting women for the armed services. When the cease-fire was signed on 27 July 1953, the Pentagon began a phase out, reducing the number of Americans in uniform, including women. In all, 120,000 women served during the Korean War.

Women volunteered in large numbers during the Vietnam War, and as the war progressed, they were assigned to wartime operational commands, serving in nontraditional fields such as intelligence, communications, and transportation. About 7,000 served and 7 were killed. In 1967, Congress removed the 2 percent ceiling on number and grade limitations and women became eligible for appointment to flag and general officer rank. In 1971, Colonel Jean Holm was selected as the first air force woman general, and the air force became the first service to allow pregnant women to remain in the service. It also changed recruiting rules to allow the enlistment of women with children. The other services soon followed suit. In 1973, the first women naval aviators received their wings, and three years later the first women army aviators received theirs. In 1976, the service academies began admitting women. The following year the first women air force pilots received their wings. In 1978, the Coast Guard removed all assignment restrictions based on gender.

From Grenada to the Persian Gulf and Beyond

The participation of women in military operations continued to grow during the military actions that followed Vietnam, and by the 1980s there were enough air force women flying to allow the formation of all-female crews. Some 170 women took part in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983, including air force women in air transport crews. Later that year, 7 women were among the crews of the KC-135 tankers that refueled the F-111s that raided Libya. About 770 took part in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989. Women manned air force transport and refueling aircraft, a woman MP (Military Police) commanded troops in a firefight with Panamanian troops, and women army aviators came under fire for the first time. Three were awarded the Air Medal. Almost 41,000 women deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in 1990– 1991. Thirteen were killed, including 5 army women, and 21 were wounded as the result of SCUD missile attacks, helicopter crashes, or mines. Two were taken prisoner. Women in the Persian Gulf War endured the same hardships as men, served for the same principles, and played a key role in the war's successful outcome.

In 1991, Congress repealed the combat exclusion law, leaving policies pertaining to women to the secretary of defense. In 1993, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin moved to eliminate many of the remaining restrictions on military women. He ordered all the services to open combat aviation to women, directed the navy to draft legislation to repeal the combat ship exclusion, and directed the army and Marine Corps to study opening new assignments to women. That same year, Sheila E. Widnall became the first woman secretary of the air force. In 1994, more than 1,000 women took part in military operations in Somalia. Four years later more than 1,200 women were deployed to Haiti for peacekeeping duties and the first Marine Corps women aviators received their wings. From 1995 to 2002, more than 5,000 women had served in peace-keeping operations in Bosnia.

A significant proportion of all U.S. military women are African American. Indeed, African Americans account for a considerably higher percentage of military women than of military men (30 percent versus 17 percent). In 2002, the army had the highest proportion of African American women (36 percent of female personnel) and the air force had the lowest (almost 25 percent). Hispanic women accounted for a lower population of the armed forces (10 percent) than of the general population (11 percent). The marines had the highest representation of Hispanic women (15 percent of its women), while the air force had the lowest (7 percent). Finally, almost 15 percent of military women were officers, the same ratio of officers to enlisted personnel among military men.

WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE

The Civil War and Spanish-American War

World War I and World War II

The Korean and Vietnam Wars

From Grenada to the Persian Gulf and Beyond

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