Women serving with pride
There are few dates more meaningful in American history for women than June 12, 1948.
Sixty years ago, the Women's Armed Services Integration Act was enacted by Congress giving nonnurse women permanent status in the US Armed Forces and eliminating most women-only "components" from the service branches.
The significance of this day is remarkable, especially for the over 27,000 women veterans that currently reside in Massachusetts.
Notwithstanding the limitations the legislation still imposed on women (for example, a 2 percent ceiling on the number of women in each branch of service and exclusion from combat), it was the first step in women's full and equal participation in the military.
It represented a great leap forward in a long journey that has yet to reach its end.
The Act ensured that women who clearly loved this country as well as their male counterparts could fulfill their sense of patriotism and duty in an equal and meaningful way. For Massachusetts women like Sara Payne Hayden, who test flew
previously damaged planes to make sure that they were ready for the men headed for combat with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II, it meant she could reenlist in and continue to serve her nation with distinction as an officer in the US Air Force.
With the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we take it for granted that female soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are in the thick of the fight. For many years though, this was not the case (at least not officially). The history of women in the U.S. Armed Forces begins with women who disguised themselves as men in order to fight the British in the American Revolution and again in the Civil War. In 1901 the Army Nurse Corps was established and women achieved quasi-military status (nurses had no military rank, for example). Seven years later, the Navy followed by establishing the Navy Nurse Corps.
During World War I and World War II, women served in all service branches, performing a range of duties that expanded beyond nursing. Upon the signing of the armistices however, these patriots were quickly demobilized as women's participation in the military was seen at the time as a temporary solution to wartime "manpower" shortages.
Sixty years later, women now comprise 15 percent of the active duty armed forces and 17 percent of reserve and guard personnel. Twenty percent of new recruits are women and the Veterans Administration expects women will account for 14 percent of its healthcare patients by 2020.
Women service members have earned numerous medals for courage and bravery, saved lives and continue to play an integral role in the War on Terror. In fact, the issue of women serving in uniform has transcended one of equal rights to one of military effectiveness.
As we reflect on the significance of this milestone, we should all take pause to remember the contributions women are today making for our country. And thank those generations of women from the past who have blazed the trail, worn America's military uniforms and earned not just the title of patriot, but the eternal respect and thanks of a grateful nation.
Heidi Kruckenberg is coordinator of the Massachusetts Department of Veteran Services' Women Veterans' Network. For more information about services for women veterans, please visit
www.mass.gov/veterans.
