They Also Served

             Before World War II, a woman's place was in the home. Women were expected to care for the children while the men went to work. However, this all changed during World War II. Women were needed to serve as nurses, cooks, and instructors. As more women served, the public gained much confidence in their abilities. They Also Served uses the accounts of 28 women who were involved in the many services available to them during World War II, to explain these services, and how women's involvement in these services helped to change the attitudes of the American Public.
             One of the first services available to women during World War II was the Army Nurse Corps. About 57,000 nurses belonged to the ANC. These women served across the globe in hospital ships, flight evacuation crews, on beachheads, and in hospitals at home and overseas. Their working environment was not very stable; sometimes working in buildings, other times in tent cities. Wherever the Army went, the ANC followed.
             Considered military personnel, the women in the ANC endured the frigid cold, overwhelming heat, and foreign attacks, just as the soldiers did. By the end of World War II, 201 Army nurses had died, and many others seriously hurt, taken prisoner, or interned by the enemy. However, being an Army nurse was not all bad. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for "meritorious service and bravery under fire". In April of 1947, by an act of Congress, the Army Nurse Corps became a part of the Regular Army of the United States.
             Another branch of women's services during World War II was the Navy Nurse Corps. The NNC first started in Washington DC, with only 20 women. However, when the United States declared war in 1941, the number of nurses rapidly increased, and by 1945, 11,086 nurses were enrolled in the NNC. Navy nurses served in countries around the world in hospitals, evacuation planes, and hospital ships. They endured long hours and often miserable conditions.