Women are weak existences in the eyes of most people. Under traditional customs, women basically play the roles of mothers and wives, that is, housewives-these women's It seems to be an inherent tradition that life should revolve around one's own family.
As for war, this kind of bloody and tough word seems to have nothing to do with women. However, if you really look at history, you will find that there are precedents for female soldiers in history, such as The Women's Legion of King Gezuo of Dahomey in West Africa is one of them. In the United States, since the Revolutionary War, a number of women have gradually joined the army and contributed to the country.
1. The Revolutionary War
At the beginning of the founding of the United States, although many women followed their husbands to fight in the army, most of them only "followed the army" and did not mainly participate in "combat operations". ". However, it is not accurate to say that all of them did not fight. During this period, there were still a few heroines who joined the war. They were even praised later, such as Mary Hayes-Mary Hayes's husband was originally from Pennsylvania at that time. He was an artilleryman in a regiment, but unfortunately he was seriously injured in a war, leaving the position vacant. When Mary saw no replacement, she volunteered to go to the battlefield to fill the vacancy. After the war, Mary was eulogized by countless people and permanently recorded in history.
Of course, people like Mary did not enter the army as women. After all, women disguising themselves as men and going to the battlefield is not a patent of the Chinese Mulan. Women like them not only have the same bravery and perseverance as men, but also possess the unique delicacy and caution of women. However, such outstanding women still do not get the respect they deserve. For example, there was such a national hero in American history—Sampson. She joined the Army and has been fighting for the United States, but the country even She was still in arrears with military pay. After her death, her children could not receive pensions like ordinary martyrs and children of soldiers, which is very sad.
Getting back to the subject, according to statistics, during the Revolutionary War, at least 20,000 women followed serving soldiers to fight in various places. Among them were not only the wives of soldiers, but also their mothers and daughters. The army at that time These women will be appointed to take on tasks such as cooking or sewing to provide convenience to the soldiers. In addition, many women are employed by the military and serve as "less professional" field nurses in the medical team.
2. The American Civil War and World War I
1. During the American Civil War, more and more women were dressing up as men. In Livermore's memory, "more than 400 women went into battle disguised as men." And in addition to sewing and cooking, which were already common before, many women even began to run on the front lines and became scouts and intelligence agents. Sometimes they could even be seen in commandos.
In addition, during the Civil War, there were women in the form of female spies. Their "beauty trap" method of seducing the enemy was a relatively "popular" method at the time. However, these women usually only have two endings in the end. One is to be praised as a national hero, and the other is to be lost in history.
At this time, the role of field nurses cannot be underestimated compared to before, and the field nurses at this time are already more professional, rather than the previous "part-time", which subverts the original field nurses This kind of professionalism is most reflected in "specificity" - field nurses no longer need to do laundry, cooking, sewing and other tasks at the same time, and only need to concentrate on rescuing wounded soldiers.
However, despite their overall increasing role, the US military has never given this professional nurse medical team a "status" during this period. In other words, this team is still not equal to the soldiers. If it were not for their ability to rescue the soldiers, they might not even be able to retain their status as soldiers. At that time, one military medical director even publicly stated that he did not want women to enter the battlefield.
2. During World War I, due to the shortage of manpower, the US military had begun to recruit women into the army on a large scale. At this time, the United States also officially established a nurse corps. This was considered the first time that American women had entered the army. Small breakthrough.
However, they still do not enjoy relatively fair treatment. This unfair treatment is manifested in many aspects - the Navy stated that women in the reserve force cannot enter warships, and the Army strongly opposes women entering the battlefield. , and directly refused female doctors to enter the battlefield on the grounds that women's bodies were not adapted to the battlefield.
Although the status of female soldiers has not been high before, and even if it has increased, the increase has been relatively small. However, this situation has made a revolutionary progress during World War II. During World War II, it can be said that the status of female soldiers in the United States was the highest. This is a critical period for the status of soldiers, and this improvement in status is also reflected in many aspects.
1. Army aspect
1. The Army aspect is roughly divided into two parts. The first is the establishment of the Army Women’s Auxiliary Corps
In 1940, due to the first When compulsory military service in peacetime was enacted into law, more and more women were asked to join the military, and women's organizations took advantage of the opportunity to respond. They made considerable contributions to promoting women to join the military, and ultimately in various fields Thanks to the efforts of the United States, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in the United States.
However, when it was first established, it only recruited a small number of women (that is, capable), and the vast majority of women still had no way to enter. However, as time went by, the war became more intense, and some insightful people in the United States also vaguely felt that their country might not be able to survive alone. It should be imperative for women to join the army on a large scale at this time, so General Marshall at the time once said many times This time, he showed his strong desire to have women join the army on a large scale.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war really broke out. From then on, the opposition to women entering the military completely disappeared, and instead there was praise for General Marshall's foresight. Since then, a large number of women have entered the army, freeing up the time of male soldiers so that they can be more engaged in combat. This has become an indisputable fact.
2. Then came the establishment of the Army Women’s Team
The women’s auxiliary team mentioned above was actually mainly auxiliary, which resulted in the women’s team not being considered a real army at that time. Enter the military. It was not until 1943 that the U.S. Congress officially passed a law, which changed its position from auxiliary to principal. The Women's Army Corps was formally established. The U.S. government granted women the same military status as men. Women became official soldiers and achieved the same status as men. equality. Women in the military no longer have an image of being dependent on men, but an image of independence.
At that time, the Army Air Corps had the largest number and concentration of women. Nearly half of the female soldiers here were not engaged in the kind of administrative work we imagined, but were engaged in some technical jobs like men. High-quality jobs - such as aircraft pilots, corrugated sheet metal workers, electrician technicians, etc., and facts have proven that they are no worse than men.
2. Navy
In response to the war, the Navy also began to expand the number of women and established the Navy Women's Team. This was consistent with the fact that women were not allowed to enter warships during World War I. A strong contrast. In 1942, the Navy's Women's Volunteer Emergency Service Corps was formally established, and relevant training courses were set up to train newly recruited female soldiers.
Nearly 85,000 women serve here. They work hard in their positions and have made great contributions to the country. Although most of these positions are indirect combat positions, it has to be admitted that if Without this group of strong backers, the United States may have paid far more than we know now.
3. Overall treatment
As mentioned above, before World War II, the status of American female soldiers was not comparable to that of male soldiers at all, let alone good treatment. However, during World War II During this period, female soldiers began to receive good treatment - for example, each person received a monthly salary of 18.75 yuan, and also had a life insurance of 10,000 yuan.
In addition, they can also be awarded military ranks, but at that time the military rank was not as high as that of male soldiers. The highest was colonel. At that time, many women in the Navy Volunteer Emergency Women's Team were appointed Ranks such as captain, lieutenant, and second lieutenant. At this time, female soldiers will no longer be fired at will if they get married and become pregnant. If they sexually assault female soldiers, they will be severely tried. This to a large extent ensures the safety of female soldiers.
Summary
In general, compared to before, the World War II period was definitely a major turning point for women to join the military. Since then, the identity of female soldiers has been protected by law. At the same time, independent units for women have been established. They are no longer subordinate to their original status. Moreover, female soldiers are no longer engaged in single secretarial, logistics, and medical work. They can engage in Non-direct combat work across all services.
The most important thing is that during this period, Americans' thinking also began to change. The original male chauvinism of the military gradually changed, and the contributions of female soldiers were also recognized by the whole society. This It also shows from another aspect that American women's recognition of social supremacy is constantly increasing.
In fact, not only female soldiers, but also the occupational constraints faced by women in other societies are constantly being alleviated, and women’s employment channels are constantly expanding. This is a very huge change for American society. .