World War 1
Women during world war 1 did a tremendous amount and helped hugely on the front line her is an example of what happened during the last two years World War I. 33,000 women serve as nurses and support staff officially in the military and more than 400 nurses died in the line of duty
Women have long been involved in the military during times of war, though not always in a capacity that we might recognize as “traditionally” military. For centuries women have followed armies, many of them soldiers’ wives, providing indispensable services such as cooking, nursing, and laundry, and armies relied on them a lot to help them to function in combat.
With the onset of World War I, women took on these same roles and newer ones, but their service during this conflict was significantly different from that of earlier wars. Thousands of women in the United States formed and/or joined organizations that worked to bring relief to the war-torn countries in Europe, even before official American entry into the war in April 1917. After the United States joined the Allies, women continued to join these organizations and dedicate themselves to supporting and expanding the war effort. These groups were highly organized, much like the military, which helped women garner respect from their fellow citizens and have their patriotic endeavors taken seriously.
Aside from their mass involvement in these voluntary organizations and efforts, a key difference between women’s service during World War I and that of previous wars was the class of women involved. Typically women who followed armies were from the working classes of society, but during the Great War, women from all classes served in many different capacities. Upper class women were the primary founders and members of voluntary wartime organizations, particularly because they could afford to devote so much of their time and money to these efforts. Middle and lower class women also participated in these organizations and drives, although they were more likely to be serving as nurses with the military or replacing men in their jobs on the home front as the men went off to war.
Another significant change to women’s service during the Great War is that American civilian women donned uniforms. The uniforms allowed women to look the part and claim credibility for their services, as well as to be taken seriously by others; many women saw their wartime service as a way to claim full citizenship, and the uniforms symbolized “their credentials as citizens engaged in wartime service.”
Other women donned uniforms because of their association with the military—World War I was the first time in American history in which women were officially attached to arms of the American military and government agencies. Yeomen (F) served with the Navy and the Marine Corps, while the Army Nurse Corps was attached to the Army. In France, 223 American women popularly known as “Hello Girls” served as long-distance switchboard operators for the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
When the United States entered the European War on April 6, 1917, it marked the first time in the history of the country that regular Army and Navy military nurses served overseas. Some of them even acted as Salvation Army volunteers near the front lines in Europe. Negative public opinion and hesitant military leaders limited women's roles, but the country needed their skills to pursue the war effort and to move male soldiers out of office jobs and onto the battlefield.
By war's end, American military women had served stateside and overseas on the eastern and western war fronts. Over 230 bilingual civilian telephone operators organized and trained by AT&T took the same oath of allegiance as male soldiers. Dubbed the "Hello Girls," they maintained communications in 75 French localities, sometimes working under combat conditions.
And from the beginning of World War I, long before American troops arrived on foreign soil, American women were “over there” volunteering with civilian organizations to provide nursing, transportation and other war relief services. Women aligned themselves with humanitarian organizations such as the American Red Cross, YMCA, Salvation Army and others to meet wartime needs.
Women have long been involved in the military during times of war, though not always in a capacity that we might recognize as “traditionally” military. For centuries women have followed armies, many of them soldiers’ wives, providing indispensable services such as cooking, nursing, and laundry, and armies relied on them a lot to help them to function in combat.
With the onset of World War I, women took on these same roles and newer ones, but their service during this conflict was significantly different from that of earlier wars. Thousands of women in the United States formed and/or joined organizations that worked to bring relief to the war-torn countries in Europe, even before official American entry into the war in April 1917. After the United States joined the Allies, women continued to join these organizations and dedicate themselves to supporting and expanding the war effort. These groups were highly organized, much like the military, which helped women garner respect from their fellow citizens and have their patriotic endeavors taken seriously.
Aside from their mass involvement in these voluntary organizations and efforts, a key difference between women’s service during World War I and that of previous wars was the class of women involved. Typically women who followed armies were from the working classes of society, but during the Great War, women from all classes served in many different capacities. Upper class women were the primary founders and members of voluntary wartime organizations, particularly because they could afford to devote so much of their time and money to these efforts. Middle and lower class women also participated in these organizations and drives, although they were more likely to be serving as nurses with the military or replacing men in their jobs on the home front as the men went off to war.
Another significant change to women’s service during the Great War is that American civilian women donned uniforms. The uniforms allowed women to look the part and claim credibility for their services, as well as to be taken seriously by others; many women saw their wartime service as a way to claim full citizenship, and the uniforms symbolized “their credentials as citizens engaged in wartime service.”
Other women donned uniforms because of their association with the military—World War I was the first time in American history in which women were officially attached to arms of the American military and government agencies. Yeomen (F) served with the Navy and the Marine Corps, while the Army Nurse Corps was attached to the Army. In France, 223 American women popularly known as “Hello Girls” served as long-distance switchboard operators for the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
When the United States entered the European War on April 6, 1917, it marked the first time in the history of the country that regular Army and Navy military nurses served overseas. Some of them even acted as Salvation Army volunteers near the front lines in Europe. Negative public opinion and hesitant military leaders limited women's roles, but the country needed their skills to pursue the war effort and to move male soldiers out of office jobs and onto the battlefield.
By war's end, American military women had served stateside and overseas on the eastern and western war fronts. Over 230 bilingual civilian telephone operators organized and trained by AT&T took the same oath of allegiance as male soldiers. Dubbed the "Hello Girls," they maintained communications in 75 French localities, sometimes working under combat conditions.
And from the beginning of World War I, long before American troops arrived on foreign soil, American women were “over there” volunteering with civilian organizations to provide nursing, transportation and other war relief services. Women aligned themselves with humanitarian organizations such as the American Red Cross, YMCA, Salvation Army and others to meet wartime needs.