“We will not again look upon a women flying as an experiment”, said by General Henry H. Arnold during the last graduation in 1944. He believed in the Women AirForce Service Pilots. After the WASP program General Arnold knew that a woman flying an aircraft is and will be a normal thing for everyone. He agreed to form two groups designed to help meet the needs of American WWII pilots to ferry aircrafts over to other military bases.
In the 1940’s World War II was the most widespread war in history. After Pearl Harbor was attacked the United States quickly became involved. Women pilots were utilized for the first time by the government. The Women AirForce Service Pilots (WASP) program freed up male pilots for combat service. The WASP’s exchanged knowledge and service for the U.S. While the program was active the 1,830 women who got accepted were given the opportunity to explore military aviation. The women encountered discrimination from the government and other male soldiers but,
The WASP exchanged roles with male pilots. Giving the WASP women the opportunity of a lifetime. These women would make sure that those marvelous aircraft built by the "Rosies" were ready for combat service overseas. The “Rosies” was a cultural icon of the U.S. representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during this era. They produced munitions and war supplies for soldiers overseas. (Partners in Winning the War) In 1943, thanks to Jacqueline Cochran the first classes of WASP graduates were awarded wings but, should these women pilots be given Army Air Corps Wings? (Merryman, pg. 208) Cochran knew how important winning the silver wings was to these young women, the wings award was an exchanged for the hard work the WASP’s graduates accomplished. WASP women worked so hard to help the war effort and the war was
Within Megan H. Mackenzie’s essay, “Let Women Fight” she points out many facts about women serving in the U.S. military. She emphasizes the three central arguments that people have brought up about women fighting in the military. The arguments she states are that women cannot meet the physical requirements necessary to fight, they simply don’t belong in combat, and that their inclusion in fighting units would disrupt those units’ cohesion and battle readiness. The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act built a permanent corps of women in all the military departments, which was a big step forward at that time. Although there were many restrictions that were put on women, an increase of women in the U.S. armed forces happened during
...wise you were to bring your women into your military and into your labor force. Had we done that initially, as you did, it could well have affected the whole course of the war. We would have found out as you did, that women are equally effective, and for some skills, superior to males." (Albert Speer, head of Nazi war production)
The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.
My interviewee went through a lot during World War II and sharing her amazing story left me evaluating her words for a long time, rethinking and still not willing to imagine the pain. She was one of the 150,000 American woman served in the Women’s Army Corps during the war years. They were one of the first ones to serve in the ranks of the United States Army. She recalls being teased a lot about being a young woman in a uniform but was very proud of it. Women finally were given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the national affair, especially a world war. It started with a meeting in1941 of Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers and General George Marshall, who was the Army’s Chief of Staff. Rogers asked General to introduce a bill to establish an Army women’s corps, where my interviewee, Elizabeth Plancher, was really hoping to get the benefits after the World War II along with other women. ( Since after World War I women came back from war and were not entitled to protection or any medical benefits. )
fighting in the war alongside the men these women did make an impact on the war.
Military aviation was in no way spared from the deficit of labour and resources across the globe. In 1939, an American pilot named Jackie Cochran, famous for her competitive achievements breaking speed and altitude records, wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt suggesting that women aviators could help out in the face of an emergency. By 1940, Britain’s Royal Air Force began using women as ferry pilots and in Russia, women were flying combat missions (Myers, 640).
Plan of Investigation This investigation will evaluate the question, to what extent did the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force assist the Allies’ war efforts during the Second World War? This question is important because in World War 1 British women were active in the war effort but to a limited extent, acting as nurses on the battle field and working in munitions factories, but resumed their traditional roles in society after the war. In World War 2 women were more active in the military through auxiliary groups, such as Women’s Auxiliary Force (WAAF) and it is important to understand how much of an impact their work made on the Allies war effort.
In a 1944 magazine article, Eleanor Roosevelt claimed that American “women are serving actively in many ways in this war [World War II], and they are doing a grand job on both the fighting front and the home front.”1 While many women did indeed join the workforce in the 1940s, the extent and effects of their involvement were as contested during that time as they are today. Eleanor Roosevelt was correct, however, in her evaluation of the women who served on the fighting front. Although small in number due to inadequate recruitment, the women who left behind their homes and loved ones in order to enlist in the newly established Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC), and later the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), were deemed invaluable to the war effort.
"Women in WWII at a Glance." The National WWII Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was instituted in May of 1942 by Congress. It was later changed to the Women’s Army Corps which also had full military status. There were more than 100,000 WAC’s and 6,000 female officers by 1945. Another role women played in the war was given by the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. (American Women in World War II) Women who obtained a pilot license prior to service became the first to fly American military aircraft. Over 1,000 WASPs served in the military and thirty-eight lost their lives during the war. The fallen WASPs were not granted military benefits or honors and it was not until 1977 that they were given full military status. (American Women in World War II)
Historically, women’s participation in combat roles was limited or hidden, with the exception of a few individuals. Although women had fought unofficially in the U.S army as far back as the Revolutionary War, which they usually disguised themselves as men in order to avoid the rules that excluded them. The gender war and integration in the military has always faced the question of social acceptance, were as society can accept how women will be treated and respected in the military. Throughout the history of the military, our leadership has always sought ways of how to integrate without upsetting the general public to believing that women are capable and created equal as any man.
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.
In 1943, not only had the female population contributed exponential numbers in support of the war but women had begun to dominate. Reports indicate that more than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry; this made up more than half of the total workforce. Prior to this moment in history, women’s involvement in the aircraft industry was merely one percent. Despite the manifestation of Rosie the Riveter propaganda and the continuous push to recruit women, they still were not granted equal pay for their services.
Women have changed people`s ideas on war for the past two centuries of American history. “People are realizing females have contributed to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” stated Professor Megan Mackenzie (Harris 2). Although women are not fighting on the front lines, they help in many different ways in the military such as being nurses and women Air force Service Pilots. In his career, General Martin Dempsey has noticed an improvement in the culture, discipline, and physical prowess since women first joined the military (Harris 2). Leon E. Panetta once stated that women are willing to fight and die alongside men, proving that everyone is committed to the job (Roulo 2). In November of 2012, four female soldiers planned to sue the Department of Defense because the “brass ceiling” was stopping them from proving they could fight (Harris 1). The American Civil Liberties Union and others supported them because they thought the military was discriminating against women (Harris 1). Women have shown that they are committed to helping though their contributions to past wars and battles in American history.
The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their duties were fulfilling the patriotic and feminine role. After the war the government and media had changed their message as women were to resume the role of the housewife, maid and mother to stay out of the way of returning soldiers. Thus the patriotic and feminine role was nothing but a mystified tactic the government used to maintain the American economic structure during the world war period. It is the contention of this paper to explore how several groups of women were treated as mindless individuals that could be controlled and disposed of through the government arranging social institutions, media manipulation and propaganda, and assumptions behind women’s tendencies which forced “Rosie the Riveter” to become a male dominated concept.