Women During World War 1 Essay Example

During World War One, men got recognized mostly for fighting on the front line. “It was very rare women got recognized for their war efforts because this was before women's rights. Women contributed by making bombs and ammunition for the men who were fighting.” (1) Women had to do this job because all of the men were in the war. Even with their new duties women still found the time to write to their sons, boyfriends, husbands, brothers and friends who were fighting on the front line. “They sent them mementos from home such as pressed flowers from the garden, photographs and embroidered handkerchiefs. This was called ‘keeping the home fires burning’. These letters proved to be essential in boosting the morale of their homesick and frightened men.” (6) “In 1901 and 1908 the establishment of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps opened the door for women in the military but ever so slightly. It wasn't until the United States got involved in World War One that some parts of the government got serious about using woman power.” (2) The Army had trouble trying to find a way to enlist women. “The Navy simply ignored the War Department dissenters and quickly recruited women. Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine Corps on the same status as men and wore a uniform blouse with insignia” (2)
Few women served in the front lines fighting, but there were exceptions. “Flora Sandes was a British woman who fought with Serbian forces, attaining the rank of Captain by the war’s end.” (4) There are stories of women in the Russian army throughout the war. “Of course, Sandes' story is unusual. It was rare for an Englishwoman to fire a weapon in combat during World War One. Numerous people at the time commented on the inappropriateness of women in combat. The ideal woman was nurturing and pacifistic. This ideal was summed up in an immensely popular pamphlet allegedly written by A Little Mother (1916) which sold 75,000 copies in