Women's History Resources: Military Service
This guide addresses U.S. women's history, including select books owned by the Pfau Library that you may borrow using your Coyote ID Card, links to films you can access using your Coyote credentials, and links to select websites.
Books
Beyond the Band of Brothers by Call Number: UB418.W65 M33 2015ISBN: 9781107628106Publication Date: 2015-06-17Women can't fight. This assumption lies at the heart of the combat exclusion, a policy that was fiercely defended as essential to national security, despite evidence that women have been contributing to hostile operations now and throughout history. This book examines the role of women in the US military and the key arguments used to justify the combat exclusion, in the light of the decision to reverse the policy in 2013.
Clipped Wings by Call Number: D810 .W7 M44 1997ISBN: 0814755674Publication Date: 1997-12-01During World War II, all branches of the military had women's auxiliaries. Only the Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) program, however, was comprised entirely of women who flew dangerous missions more commonly associated with and desired by men. Within military hierarchies, the World War II pilot was projected as the most dashing and desirable of servicemen. "Flyboys" were the daring elite of the United States military. More than the WACs (Army), WAVES (Navy), SPARS (Coast Guard), or Women Marines, the WASPs directly challenged these assumptions of male supremacy in wartime culture.
For Love of Country by ISBN: 020304827XPublication Date: 2013-05-13A compelling exploration of sexual victimization in the United States military. This incisive book offers a unique perspective on rape and sexual harassment in the United States military. Drawn from the experiences of military personnel and presented in their own words, For Love of Country: Confronting Rape and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military takes an honest and heartfelt look at a pervasive problem. Service veterans speak candidly about a breakdown of values and leadership failure which has perpetrated a culture of abuse. Male and female rape victims reflect on their efforts to serve their country with honor.
The Hello Girls by ISBN: 9780674971479Publication Date: 2017-04-06This is the story of how America's first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army. In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female "wire experts" when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire. Without communications for even an hour, the army would collapse. While suffragettes picketed the White House and President Woodrow Wilson struggled to persuade a segregationist Congress to give women of all races the vote, these competent and courageous young women swore the Army oath.
Marching as to War by Call Number: 5th Floor UB417 .D47 2014ISBN: 0761863435Publication Date: 2014-05-22Since the American Revolution, African American women have served in every U.S. military conflict. Despite this dedicated service to their country, very little empirical research has been published regarding African American servicewomen, including those who have served in the Gulf Wars. Seen through the eyes of eleven African American servicewomen, this book explores issues such as health care, child care, sexism/sexual harassment, racism, religion, military promotions/career advancement, and serving in combat zones.
Side-by-Side by Call Number: UB418 .W65 L49 1999ISBN: 9781556709449Publication Date: 1999-10-13A collection of photographs and personal narratives, Side-By-Side pays tribute to the strength and courage of women in military service - and, in doing so, offers a perspective on American history.- Women's Army Corps, 1945-1978 byCall Number: UA565 .W6 M67 1990ISBN: 0160020026Publication Date: 1990-10-01he Women's Army Corps, 1942-1945 -- Women in the postwar Army -- WAC organization and training -- The Korean War era -- Officer procurement and career development -- Strength goals and the move to Fort McClellan -- Management and image -- The 1960s : a new look -- Vietnam : WAC strength : WAC standards -- The end of the draft and WAC expansion -- The women's rights movement and the WAC -- WAC Center and WAC School -- Women in the Army -- Conclusions
Women in the Military by Call Number: UB418.W65 S46 2007ISBN: 9780791092903Publication Date: 2007-05-01In a time of war, when the need for military personnel is greatest, do restrictions on women soldiers still make sense? Proponents of the existing policies say that, although times may be changing, war is not the time to engage in social experiments that they say could impact unit cohesion and morale. But opponents question how we justify our fight to maintain a free and open society while denying some the right to fully serve to defend those freedoms. Do such restrictions have legitimate aims or are they based on outdated stereotypes?
Women in the United States Armed Forces by ISBN: 9780313374951Publication Date: 2010-03-23This handbook provides the reader with an historical and contemporary overview of the service by women in all branches of the U.S. military, tracing the causes and effects of evolving policies, issues, structural barriers, and cultural challenges on the record and in the future of the accomplishments by women warriors. * Includes results of a proprietary survey undertaken for this book * Offers a chronology of women's history to present day
Films
- The Forgotten VeteransTwenty-four years ago, the longest, most divisive war in U.S. history finally came to an end. A decade ago, 60 Minutes' Morley Safer focused on some forgotten veterans of the Vietnam War. At that point, most Americans were oblivious to the fact that 10,000 women, mostly nurses, served in Vietnam.
- The Silent Truth: Crimes Against Women in the MilitaryHas the Army ever covered up the rape and murder of a female soldier? Even worse, have they done so repeatedly? At least 94 United States military women died overseas during the Iraq War. Of these deaths, some 20 occurred under suspicious circumstances with the additional characterization of 'suicide.' The Silent Truth revolves around the death of 19-year-old US Army Private LaVena Johnson, who was found dead on the military base in Balad, Iraq, in July of 2005. The US Army determined her cause of death to be suicide by a self-inflicted M-16 gunshot.
- Women at WarDescribes the role of women in the war as soldiers, spies, nurses and providing support.
r
US Dept of the Air Force / public domain
Websites
- Experiencing War: Women of Four WarsThe four major wars in which American women served after World War II can be split into two pairs. Korea and Vietnam were conflicts fought in Asian countries divided by the politics of the Cold War. The Persian Gulf War and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were fought in the Middle East and grew out of tensions over aggression in that region and, in the latter instance, the 9/11 attacks. For women, the first two wars signaled few advances in their roles in military service, but in the two recent wars, the areas of women’s participation expanded immensely, with potentially more dire consequences.
- Women In Military Service For America MemorialThe Women In Military Service For America Memorial serves as a permanent reminder of women’s contributions to the nation’s defense—past, present and future. Without it, today’s young military women might take for granted the privilege of serving their country on an equal basis with their male peers, and many in society may not realize that women have been serving in defense of America since its beginning, over 220 years ago.
- Sisters in ArmsWomen in the military have a history that extends over 400 years into the past, throughout a large number of cultures and nations. Women have played many roles in the military, from ancient warrior women, to the women currently serving in conflicts, even though the vast majority of all combatants have been men in every culture.
- Public Law 625: The Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948To establish the Women’s Army Corps in the Regular Army, to authorize the enlistment and appointment of women in the Regular Air Force, Regular Navy and Marine Corps, and in the Reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the “Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948”