Who were the American women who fought in World War 2?

Answer 1

Women acctually had a huge role in the war. When the men were called to fight, thewomen had to take their place in the wartime economy, working on assembly lines making weapons, rounds, aircraft, vehicles, and much more, generating the famous image of Rosie the Riveter. They could also join the Red Cross, working overseas and on the homefront boosting morale and helping troops. Becoming a Nurse was another role a woman could play, working in a field hospital, at home treating more severely wounded soldiers (those who were sent home from the front), or on a hospital ship.

Answer 2

Women were forbidden to be in combat, but that doesn't mean they didn't serve. Thanks to the efforts of a congresswoman from Massachusetts (Edith Nourse Rogers) and a Texas businesswoman and lawyer (Oveta Culp Hobby), women were able to enter the military for the first time during WW2. They served as WACs (Women's Army Corps), WAVES (Women's Naval Auxiliary), etc. Their roles were largely clerical, although some were also ham radio operators or involved with supply functions; but there were also some women aviators who actually flew supply runs and put their lives in great danger. The best known of these was Jacqueline Cochran. So, regarding how many women "fought", probably not that many. How many served? A sizable number, as all of the news magazines of the early 1940s noted with pride.

Answer 3

Women did indeed fight in WWII.

This will come as a shock, but females have fought and participated in war since time immemorial. Just a few examples:

Deborah, one of the Judges of Israel. Source: The Bible (Book of Judges)

In 529 BC, Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae in southwest Asia, led her armies in defeating the invasion of Cyrus the Great of Persia.

In 61 AD Queen Boudicca of the Iceni of Norfolk led a major rebellion against the Romans during which she sacked and burned modern day London and St. Albans.

Revolutionary War:

Margaret Cochran Corbin, born in Pennsylvania in 1751, was assisting her husband John with his cannon when he was killed on Nov. 16, 1776 during a British and Hessian attack on Fort Washington, New York. She took over the cannon and continued to fire at the enemy until she was seriously wounded and lost the use of her arm. In 1779 she was awarded a disabled soldier's pension by the Continental Congress and in 1780 became the only woman enrolled in the "Invalid Regiment" which was stationed at West Point. When the "Invalid Regiment" was disbanded in 1783 Corbin remained in the area drawing her supplies from the commissary and being cared for by the military. She is buried in the soldier's graveyard behind the Old Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where a bronze plaque commemorates her as "the first American woman to take a soldier's part in the War for Liberty".

Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley served alongside her husband, John Hays, in the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery and later in the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment. On the battlefield she carried water, swabbed out cannon bores and loaded shot. When John was seriously wounded in June 1778 while fighting at Monmouth, New Jersey, Mary ignored her own wounds and operated his cannon until the battle ended. After the war she was awarded a veteran's pension of $40 per year by the State of Pennsylvania. She is believed by many historians to be the inspiration for the legendary "Molly Pitcher".

Deborah Samson (some sources use the spelling Sampson) served with the 4th Massachusetts Regiment disguised as Robert Shurheff (some sources use the spelling Shirtliffe or Shurtliff) from May 1782 until October 1783. She was wounded in a skirmish near Tarrytown, New York and according to some sources was later hit by a musket ball in another skirmish at East Chester. Once her gender was discovered she was given an honorable discharge on October 23, 1783. After the war Deborah married Benjamin Gannett and had three children (Earl, Pauline and Mary). On January 19, 1792, at the urging of Paul Revere who was convinced she should receive a veterans pension, the Massachusetts legislature granted Deborah 34 pounds sterling with interest from her date of discharge. She died on April 29, 1827 and is buried in Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon Massachusetts. In 1944 the liberty ship Deborah Sampson Gannett was christened in her honor. On May 23, 1983 she was named the Official Heroine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in 1985 was honored with a Commemorative Medal by the U.S. Capitol Society.

Civil War:

Kady (aka Kate) Brownell served as a markswoman with the 1st Rhode Island Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. She fought openly as a woman in several battles alongside her husband Robert and guarded her unit's flag during the first battle of Bull Run. In August 1861 the 1st Rhode Island disbanded and the Brownells each received a regular army discharge. They reenlisted in the 5th Rhode Island Infantry the following October. Although Kady was ordered to remain at the rear during engagements some contemporary accounts place her on the battlefield at New Bern, North Carolina where Robert was wounded. The Brownell's were transferred to New York where Robert spent several months recuperating in the Soldier's Relief Hospital. They were both discharged in the winter of 1863. In 1884 Kady Brownell was granted a veteran's pension of $8 per month. A surviving photograph taken during her service with the 1st Rhode Island, shows her armed with a sword and wearing a knee length dress over pants.

WWI

In 1915 Madame Arno, an artist, organized a regiment of Parisian women to fight the Germans. Helene Dutreux was the first of a number of women the French government officially permitted to become military pilots during WW I.

Emilienne Moreau fought in the front ranks in a number of actions including the Battle of Loos where she killed two snipers. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Bristish Red Cross Medal and the St. John Ambulance Society Medal. In 1940 she once again fought for her country earning a second Croix de Guerre.

WWII

Elena Haas fought with the Czech Resistance. In 1944 she led a raid that destroyed a vital and heavily guarded bridge. Leading several other raids she destroyed Nazi supplies and ammunition as well as killing many of the enemy. She died in 1945 while leading a raid against an airfield.

About 1,000 women aviators were trained as fighter and military transport pilots, 30 of them were awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroism in combat. Three aviation regiments, the 586th Women's Fighter Regiment, the 587th Women's Bomber Regiment and the 588th Women's Night Bomber Regiment utilized only women pilots, engineers and mechanics. Major Tamara Aleksandrovna commanded a Russian all-female air-borne regiment on more than 400 sorties and 125 combat engagements. She and the women she commanded shot down thirty-eight enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Polina Gelman was a bomber pilot who flew 18 combat missions and was decorated five times.

There's also plenty of examples from Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and OIF.

Some Bibiography:

Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Women and War. New York: Basic Books, 1987.

Greenspan, Karen. The Timetables of Women's History. New York:

Touchstone Books, 1994.

Loth, Heinrich. Women in African Art. Connecticut: Lawrence Hill, 1978.

Macksey, Joan & Kenneth. Book of Women's Achievements. New York: Stein

& Day, 1975.

Miles, Rosalind. The Women's History of the World. London: Michael

Joseph, 1988.

Muir, Kate. Arms and the Woman. London: Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd., 1992.

Polesetsky, Matthew & Wekesser, Carol (ed.) Current Controversies -

Women in the Military. California: Greenhaven Press, 1991.

Qunta, Christine. Women in Southern Africa. London: Allison & Busby,

1987.

Salmonson, Jessica. The Encyclopedia of Amazons. New York: Paragon

House, 1991

Seth, Ronald (ed.). Milestones in Japanese History. Philadelphia:

Chilton, 1969

Sertima, Ivan Van (ed.). Black Women in Antiquity. New Brunswick:

Transaction Books, 1984:rev 1988.

Stark, Suzanne J. Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail.

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1996.

Taylor, Kathryn. Generations of Denial: Seventy-five Short Biographies

of Women in History. New York: Times Change Press, 1971.

Truby, J. David. Women at War. Boulder: Paladin, 1977.

Answer 4

American women were not allowed to enter in combat like the British and the Soviet women who were used as spys, snipers, plane mechanics etc. Because America entered the war later then all the other countries, it wasn't as desperate for men as the other countries were (Who had lost many over the course of 2 years) But they did serve as nurses and clerical workers that helped the war effort.

Answer 5

Senior Lieutenant Lilya Litvak of the Soviet Union. Called "the White Rose
of Stalingrad", she was a fighter "Ace" and died in combat.

Answer 6

These women ferry pilots were called WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots).

Answer 7

Women were instrumental in the war by working in heavy industry.

Answer 8

therese bonney

Answer 9

yes