As a high school senior, I wanted to become a nurse like my mother. Being a bit adventurous, I would have volunteered for Vietnam. Now I understand that path could have led to PTSD.
At the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, it took 11 years to add a statue of nurses. Years ago, I saw a play about Army nurses in Vietnam (based on actual stories) that expressed the shock and trauma of being in the States one day and the next day seeing the ravaged bodies of young men.
Women have served in and survived wars throughout history, and not just as victims. The misnamed Amazon warriors of the steppes and female Viking warriors did fight, and they were feared and fearless. In West Africa, women made up elite troops that fought against colonialism. There were also women gladiators.
Dr. Rhonda Cornum, author of She Went to War, was captured by Iraqi troops in 1992, the first female POW in that conflict. Later, she advocated lifting restrictions on Army women’s roles. Former POW Shoshana Johnson was the first Black female POW. Her rescue came after 22 days in captivity in Iraq, when Marines kicked down the door of her prison. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, the first Thai American Congresswoman, lost both legs when the helicopter she piloted in Iraq was hit in 2004.
Women are willing to serve their country across the military specialties, including some in combat units. (Not all men aspire to combat, either.) Studies have indicated that gender integration has had minimal negative effects on unit readiness, cohesion, or morale, with performance often comparable to that of men. Until 2024, the fraction of female recruits increased faster than that of male recruits.
Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, former Vice Chief of Naval Operations, said that she “looks forward to the day that more women will break the military’s glass ceiling.” (American Legion, March 2025)
Women have clearly proven themselves not just as nurses, but as fighters.
