Nov 10, 2002 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 4 min read

From the earliest days of the United States, about 2 million women have served their country in the military. “You don’t really see them in history books, but women have served, beginning with the American Revolution’ said Marilla Cushman, director of public relations and development for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Va.

In the early years of America, women followed their husbands and brothers into the military. They performed a variety of tasks: doing laundry, cooking and even fighting.

One of the most famous stories of the Revolutionary War is that of Molly Pitcher, who became known for giving water to the troops. And when a cannonball struck her husband, she went to the cannon and took his place.

“She is one of many women who did that,’ said Cushman, noting that women continued to serve alongside family members through the Civil War. “It was not until the Spanish-American War that the Army turned to the Daughters of the American Revolution and asked them to identify and recruit qualified women whom could be nurses. They went in as contract nurses. It was such a success that they established the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. But they had no rank. They were simply called ‘nurse.’ In 1907, the Navy Nurse Corps was established.’

During World War I, Cushman said, the Navy recruited women as part of the enlisted force. These women helped support the argument to have the amendment passed that gave women the right to vote. One of the arguments against suffrage was that women had not fulfilled all responsibilities of citizenship, including military service.

“After World War I, they were not able to use that argument any longer, and it was a powerful argument,’ Cushman said.

During World War II, Cushman said, about 400,000 women served in every combat theater around the world, working as nurses, cooks, truck drivers and in other positions but not as combat soldiers.

“They broke codes, gathered intelligence. They did all kinds of things,’ she said. “A little over 1,000 women flew aircraft. They were called the WASP. They flew well over 1 million miles.’

In 1948, women were given a permanent place in the military.

“Before that, they were recruited for certain conflicts, and after the conflict was over, the women were sent home,” Cushman said.

In 1948, the government recognized the need for a permanent corps but still placed restrictions on women. For example, the highest rank they could achieve was lieutenant colonel. Only one woman in each branch of the service could be a colonel, and she was director of the women’s program. When she left that position, she reverted to lieutenant colonel, Cushman noted.

Laws didn’t permit women to serve in combat.

In addition, if they had children or became pregnant, the women were required to leave the military. They could be married, but their spouses were not given privileges given to the spouses of men, including using the commissary, medical care or a housing allowance, Cushman said.

These policies remained in effect until 1973, Cushman said, when a landmark case, Frontierro vs. Richardson, ended discrimination.

As restrictions were lifted, women also rose in rank. Today, there are women who are three-star generals. The highest rank is a four-star general, said Cushman.

During the Korean War, military nurses went into combat areas, Cushman said. She said military nurses also were in the southeast Asian theater during the Vietnam War. Most branches of the military also sent a handful of non-nurses to combat areas during that war.

Then came Operation Desert Storm. “It was the turning point for women in service,’ said Cushman. “There were 40,000 women deployed to the Persian Gulf, and they did everything except ground combat.’

All laws that restrict women from combat have been lifted, Cushman said, but she noted the policy remains in the Army and Marine Corps to restrict women from serving in direct combat, such as tanks, infantry and with some large guns. In addition, the Navy restricts women from submarines.

Today, about 211,000 women are in active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Another 151,000 women are in the Reserves and National Guard. Women are fighting the war on terrorism around the world, including Afghanistan.

“Women are deployed everywhere. They are absolutely an integral part of the force,’ said Cushman. “You will hear leaders today say, ‘We could not operate our military without women.”