were determined to become involved, often lying about their age to fit the requirements. Others took other jobs in the hospital serving as cooks, laundress and assistants. Women who served as nurses seemed to gain respect from society who initially was against them serving close to battles. “The army of relief workers that labored for millions of hours alongside soldiers instituted greater change in public attitudes about women at work than those who challenged perspective notions of femininity.” A soldier in Virginia described his experience with a nurse in a letter to his mother, “I saw one young lady in the very front of the battle dressing wounds and aiding the suffering where few surgeons dared to go.” His letter described
World War 2 changed the lives of many people. One group of people whose lives it drastically changed were women. During World War 2 women got more work rights than they could have ever imagined. World War 2 gave women the chance to feel equal to men for once in the military. It brought up many opinions about women serving in the military, what they could do in and out of the military, and the propaganda campaign of Rosie the Riveter.
A notable nurse that was in the Korean War was a woman named Lillian Kinkela Keil. She was a member of the Air Force Nurse Corps and known as one of the most decorated women in the US military. It all began when Kinkela decided she wanted to be a nurse. She joined the nursing program at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco where
Prior to WWI, women were only allowed to be a military nurse but even then, they weren 't actually enlisted. They were taking care of the men during the war and wasn’t given no type of recognition for doing so. Women 's roles
Women were involved in all land, sea and air services in support of military efforts. Only five per cent served overseas, most of which were nurses. Though not in combat, many nurses were in danger, some even lost their lives as they worked in or near combat areas. Betty Jeffrey was a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service when she was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. As a result of incarceration by the Japanese for three and a half years, Betty suffered from Beri Berii, tuberculosis and amoebic dysentery which she never fully recovered from. This exhibits the jeopardy that both women and men face during wartime. Other military services that women assisted in include: The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), The Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS), The Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) and The Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS). Women in these services had a range of duties, from highly approved - officers – to ordinary – drivers, typists, clerks and wireless operators. Australian women were substantially regarded and their roles in society changed immensely.
While most women stayed on the home front, each contributing their own skills, some women grabbed a uniform instead. Nearly 350,000 women served in the army during WWII (American Women). First lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped give women the boost they needed to fight in the war. New organizations were created to accompany the new women soldiers in each military branch. The Women’s Army Corps, the Navy Women’s Reserve, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, the Women’s Air force Service Pilots, the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps were the major organizations that women joined to assist the war effort (Women). Even though women joined the military, they did not necessarily fight. Many took over jobs such as driving trucks, radio operators, and repairing airplanes. They allowed more men to fight on the frontline because there was still a belief that women were not as capable as men. But, women were appreciated enough to receive medals of Honor. 1,6000 nurses were honored “for bravery under fire and meritorious service” (Women). Women’s success in the military during the war assured an eternity of opportunities for other women across the nation.
For most of this Word War, nurses were the only females to attend outside of Australia in any capacity, except for the Australian Women's Army Service. During this war the losses of nurses was much higher than the las war. Over 3,477 Australian Army Nurse Service (AANS) nurses served, and out of that only 71 never returned, which means they lost their lives during operating services while overseas. During World War II, many women serving as AANS nurses, including Vivian Bullwinkel, were taken captive of war by the Japanese forces in Japan. They experienced severe suffering, withdrawal, and illness helped to make this unpleasant war-time experience for themselves and also friends/family. Friendships, trustworthiness and mutual support attempted to help in these trying environments, but not all of the women survived. (see appendix
Women continued to serve overseas through 1945 and at one point there were over 2000 WACs serving in North Africa alone. From there women were sent to Italy to serve with the 5th Army and these women moved all over Italy during the Italian campaign handling the
When the war broke out many men were deployed to fight but, without the help of women many of the men would have never survived. Between 4,000 and 15,000 women were sent to Vietnam for various reasons. Approximately 90% of the women were nurses. Though most of the women were nurses a select few were there in all military branches. Even though these women were in the specific branches they never fought on the frontline. The WAC, Women 's Army Cooperation, in 1970 had twenty officers and one hundred and thirty enlisted women were sent to Vietnam. No members of the WAC died during the conflict. A total of eight American servicewomen died in Vietnam.
One of those men was called the knight hospitalers, which is where the word hospital originated. During the civil war, “Although we only hear about the predominantly female Union Volunteer nurses, the confederate army assigned 30 men in each regiment to take care for the injured. This could have been the start to the modern combat today” says Lucas. He continues to explain that military nursing was predominantly male until the turn of the century when female nursing schools organized their annual meeting in New York City and excluded men from nursing in the military. Hence forth only women were allowed to serve as nurses in the Army Nurse Corps, which was formed in 1901. Lucas proclaims that it was not until after the Korean War, that men began flowing back into the military’s nursing program.
Many people didn't think of women being in the Vietnamese military. Actually about 7,500 women were on active duty. Roles in the Vietcong, women nurses, and women soldiers were just some of the ways women soldiers participated in the Vietnam soldier.
The role of women was extremely important for America during WW2 and were appreciated for their hard work, but not for ever. On the home front many of “ the people of this community respected women who work [ed] regardless of the type of work.” (Women Working at the Home Front). The women were respected by the people because they showed that a women, no matter the job, could also help with the fight, except without a gun. Women were determined to perform the job as long as they needed to and some enjoyed their newly found jobs, but they knew that “some jubilant day [they] will stay home again.” The companies who hired women to replace the men who went off to war appreciated what the women did, but as soon as the men come back, their appreciation
It is a better situation for everyone if the husband earns the money and the wife is at home cooking, cleaning, shopping and caring for the children as she waits for her husband to come home each day. Now that your attention is on this analysis of gender roles and before any blood is spilled, that statement was the expectation of family life until World War II. Men held the sole responsibility for providing the income for a family prior to the war. Men left as soldiers fighting a war and came home to a new world of changes they could not have ever thought possible. Women took jobs normally reserved for men which set the wheels in motion for equality in the workplace. When women found their place in the workforce our society has been changing fast over the years since WWII, male gender roles of the past became outdated and many say are changing for the better. The gender role changes in the way a family was defined created a whole new era for men to search who they were expected to be, but change has not come easy.
The enormity and global nature of World War I and World War II caused many minorities to get