Timeline of women in warfare in the United States from 1900 to 1949 facts for kids
This article shares a timeline of important moments for women in the United States military from 1900 to 1949. It shows how women's roles grew and changed in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and later, the Air Force.
Contents
Women in the Military: 1900s
- 1901: The United States Army created the Army Nurse Corps. This group was a permanent part of the Army. It was made up only of women until 1955.
- 1908: The United States Navy started its own Navy Nurse Corps on May 13. This group also had only women until 1965. The first 20 nurses, who were the first women in the Navy, started work in Washington, D.C., in October 1908. By the end of World War I, there were 1,386 Navy nurses. During the war, these nurses worked on ships that carried soldiers overseas to places like England, Ireland, and Scotland.
Women in the Military: 1910s
- 1913: U.S. Navy nurses, who were all women, served on the transport ships USS Mayflower and USS Dolphin.
World War I: Women's Vital Roles
During World War I, 21,498 U.S. Army nurses served in military hospitals. These nurses were all women at that time. They worked in the United States and overseas. Many of them were close to battlefields. They cared for more than a million soldiers who were hurt or sick. Sadly, 272 U.S. Army nurses died from diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, and pneumonia.
In 1917, U.S. Army nurses Clara Ayres and Helen Wood became the first women in the U.S. military to die while on duty. They were killed on May 20, 1917. They were on the ship USS Mongolia heading to France with Base Hospital #12. During a practice drill, one of the ship's guns exploded. Pieces of the shell flew across the deck, killing Nurses Ayres and Wood.
Eighteen African-American Army nurses also served during the war. They worked in the United States, caring for German prisoners of war (POWs) and African-American soldiers. They were sent to Camp Grant, Illinois, and Camp Sherman, Ohio. They lived in separate housing because of segregation rules at the time.
Hello Girls: Wartime Operators
The "Hello Girls" was a nickname for American female switchboard operators in World War I. Their official name was the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit. These operators were sworn into the Army Signal Corps during the war. This group was created in 1917 because General John J. Pershing wanted to make communications better on the Western Front.
To join the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit, women had to speak both English and French. This was important so that orders could be understood by everyone. More than 7,000 women applied, but only 450 were accepted. Many of them had worked as switchboard operators before. Even though they wore Army uniforms and followed Army rules, they were not given honorable discharges. This was because Army rules said only men could be in the military. They were seen as "civilians" working for the military. It wasn't until 1978, 60 years after the war ended, that Congress finally gave these women veteran status and honorable discharges.
Women Join Regular Forces
The first American women to officially join the regular armed forces were 13,000 women who joined the U.S. Navy during the war. They worked in the United States in various jobs. They received the same pay and benefits as men, and they were treated as veterans after the war.
The U.S. Marine Corps also enlisted 305 female Marine Reservists (F). Their job was to "free men to fight" by taking on roles like clerks and telephone operators at home.
In 1918, during the war, twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker became the first uniformed women to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. They had transferred from the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve. Before the war ended, several more women joined them. All of them served at Coast Guard Headquarters.
After the war ended, these women left the military. Except for the Nurse Corps, the uniformed military became only male again. In 1942, women were brought back into the military, following a model similar to Great Britain.
Women in the Military: 1920s
- 1920: A new law, the Army Reorganization Act, gave U.S. military nurses officer status. They had "relative rank" from second lieutenant to major. However, they did not have all the same rights and privileges as male officers. U.S. Nurses, who were all women, also served aboard the USS Relief (AH-1). This was the first U.S. ship built to be a floating hospital.
Women in the Military: 1930s
- 1938: The U.S. Naval Reserve Act allowed qualified women to join as nurses.
Women in the Military: 1940s
1942: New Opportunities
- 1942: The Women's Reserve of the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve program, nicknamed the "SPARs," was started.
- 1942: YN3 Dorothy Tuttle became the first SPAR to enlist. She joined the Coast Guard Women's Reserve on December 7, 1942.
- 1942: The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was approved by the U.S. Congress in July 1942. Its goal was to let male Marines go fight in World War II.
- 1942: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law creating the Navy's women's reserve program on July 30, 1942.
- 1942: The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded.
- 1942: The name of the U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially changed to the Women's Army Corps (WAC).
1943: Chinese-American Women Join
- 1943: The U.S. Women's Army Corps recruited a group of Chinese-American women. They served with the Army Air Forces as "Air WACs."
1944: Nurses Get Full Rank
- 1944: A new law, Public Law 238, gave full military rank to members of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. At this time, all Navy nurses were women.
1945: Breaking Barriers
- The first African-American woman to join the Navy Nurse Corps was Phyllis Mae Dailey. She was a student from New York. She joined on March 8, 1945. She was one of only four African-American women to serve as a Navy nurse during World War II.
- The first five African-American women joined the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARs). Olivia Hooker was the very first African-American woman to join the Coast Guard.
- 1945: SPAR Marjorie Bell Stewart received the Silver Lifesaving Medal. She was the first SPAR to get this award.
1946: New Leadership
- Nellie Jane DeWitt became the Superintendent/Director of the United States Navy Nurse Corps.
1947: Nurses Become Regular Officers
- July 25: The SPARs program was stopped.
- Lotus Mort became the first female warrant officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- The Army-Navy Nurse Act of 1947 made the Army Nurse Corps and Women's Medical Specialist Corps part of the regular Army and Navy. This law also made sure that all nurses were commissioned officers.
1948: Women Join All Branches Permanently
- January 31: Turkey Point Lighthouse keeper, Fannie Salter, retired. She was the last woman to retire as a lighthouse keeper.
- June 12: President Harry Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act. This important law allowed women to become permanent, regular members of the U.S. armed forces. This included the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the newly formed Air Force. Before this law, women (except nurses) only served in the military during wartime. However, the law still limited women's service. For example, they could not serve on Air Force or Navy ships and aircraft that might be in combat.
- July 7: Kay Langdon, Wilma Marchal, Edna Young, Frances Devaney, Doris Robertson, and Ruth Flora became the first six enlisted women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
- Esther Blake was the first woman to join the regular U.S. Air Force. She enlisted right at the start of the first day that women were allowed to join the regular Air Force, on July 8, 1948.
- October 15: The first eight women to become officers in the regular U.S. Navy took their oaths. They were Joy Bright Hancock, Winifred Quick Collins, Ann King, Frances Willoughby, Ellen Ford, Doris Cranmore, Doris Defenderfer, and Betty Rae Tennant.
- The position of Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women (ACNP(W)) was created. This was the first step toward having an Office of Women's Policy. The woman officer in this role was a high-ranking officer.
- Colonel Katherine A. Towle became the first Director of Women Marines.
1949: More Firsts for Women
- January 6: Edith DeVoe transferred to the Navy Nurse Corps. She was assigned to the Navy Communication Annex Dispensary in Washington, D.C. This made her the first black nurse in the regular Navy.
- The Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard Reserves (SPARs) was started again by the President on August 4, 1949. It became active on November 1, 1949.
- The U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps was established.
- The first African-American women enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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