In defense of America: women who serve.

• Author: Vaught, Wilma L.
• Position: Includes related article on the Women in Military Service for America Memorial

On April 28, 1993, Air Force 2nd Lt. Jeannie Flynn took her place among the first women in the history of the military to be assigned to fly combat aircraft. Since 1948, women officially had been banned from serving in combat positions in the American armed forces. Pres. Clinton and Secretary of Defense Les Aspin announced the new policy, effectively removing one of the last major barriers to their full utilization in the military, though they still are barred from participating in ground combat.

This historic change did not come about by chance. For more than two centuries, women have played a role in the American armed forces. Their stories of courage, dedication, sacrifice, and valor are a part of the fabric of the nation's history. Nearly 2,000,000 women have served since the Revolutionary War, each a pioneer in the march toward progress and equality.

American Revolution. In 1782,25-year-old Deborah Sampson decided to enlist in the Continental Army by disguising herself as a man. She became Pvt. Robert Shurtleff of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. During one raid, the company encountered a band of Tories outside of White Plains, N.Y. In the ensuing battle, she engaged in hand-to=hand combat, receiving her first wound, a saber slash across the left side of the head.

A few weeks later, the company was ambushed at East Chester, Pa. In a bloody battle, the Americans fought their way free, but not before Shurtleff took a musket ball in the thigh. The location of the wound made Shurtleff dread that doctors would learn her secret, so she called out to her comrades that she was mortally wounded and should be left on the battlefield. Not heeding her words, they carried her to safety to a field hospital. At the field station, the doctors were overwhelmed with injured soldiers, and Shurtleff crawled off into the woods to treat her wound in privacy. She hid out for several days, washing and dressing the wound. She returned to the camp later, with the musket ball still imbedded in her thigh, but the injury had healed sufficiently to keep her from seeking medical care.

She was transferred to Philadelphia to serve as an orderly to Maj. Gen. John Paterson and was struck down with a fever that was sweeping the city. After she became unconscious, her identity finally was discovered by the surprised doctor who treated her. Gen. George Washington was notified of the situation and Pvt. Robert Shurtleff was given an honorable discharge.

In addition to the numerous recorded incidents of females disguising themselves as men to fight in the American Revolution, they served as nurses, cooks, and camp helpers. It was a common and accepted practice for wives, mothers, and daughters to go along with their men when they went off to war, helping out in a myriad of ways in the camps and on the field of battle.

Civil War. During the Civil War, women on both...