Charleston Women Winter 2021-22

www. Char l es tonWomenPodcas t . com | www. ReadCW. com | www. I ns tagram. com /Char l es tonWomen CW - 9 www. Char l es t nWomen . com | ww. Char l es tonWome Podcas t . co | www. ReadCW. com M en have been going to war for our country for centuries, and women too — though they didn’t get the same recognition for generations. Hundreds of thousands of women have felt called to serve and defend throughout United States history, and their roles and freedoms have blossomed throughout the decades. In the Revolutionary War, women were not allowed in the military, yet still, wives, daughters, sisters and mothers followed their beloveds to the battlegrounds. They picked up necessary duties — caring for wounds, finding and cooking food, mending and cleaning clothes and weaponry so the men of the Continental Army could focus on overcoming the British. Some women put themselves at great risk, acting as spies and even disguising themselves as men to fight on the front lines. By the time of the Civil War, those concealing their femininity to fight among men grew to an estimated 1,000 women. Three thousand more served as nurses for the Union Army, and nearly 20,000 helped grow crops for food, managed sewing and laundering and organized fundraisers. Women began making big strides in military involvement beginning in the 1900s with the birth of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Thousands of American women provided medical care for service members and civilians near the front lines of World War I. According to the United Service Organizations, the U.S. Navy enlisted several thousand “yeomanettes” in this era to serve in non-commissioned and non-combat roles like radio and telephone operators, and similarly the U.S. Army Signal Corps enlisted female switchboard operators, nicknamed “Hello Girls”. By WWII, all branches of the military enlisted women in non-combat roles, and women again climbed higher on the ladder, gaining positions like drivers, lab workers, parachute riggers and test-fliers. Through the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf wars, the number of females serving continued to increase, and liberties — like being able to have veteran status recognized, command units that included men and serve during pregnancy — grew. Still, it wasn’t until 2013 — put into action in 2015, according to the USO — that a ban on women in combat was lifted, and women could serve in all positions of the military, including ground combat. In the short time since the last barriers have come down, women continue to answer their call to duty right along with men, now with the freedoms that generations of women slowly chipped away at and earned. BY ANNE TOOLE We Can Do It! A History of Women in the U.S. Military BY THE NUMBERS 350,000 American Women Served in Uniform In WWII 16% of the U.S. Armed Forces 350,000+ Women Have Served in Iraq and Afghanistan Since 9/11 9,000+ Have Earned Combat Action Badges 120,000 Women Served in Active Duty Positions During the Korean War 432 Women Killed in the Line of Service During WWII Women Taken as POWs in WWII 88 Women Make up Source: United Service Organizations