Women in the U.S. Military during the Cold War

Unsung History

Nearly 350,000 American women served in the US military during World War II. Although the women in the military didn’t engage in combat their presence was vital to the American effort, in clerical work as well as in driving trucks, operating radios and telephones, repairing and flying planes, and of course, in nursing.

Women’s active duty was a temporary wartime measure, but when the war ended, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and General Omar Bradley, among others, argued for the continued presence of women in the military. Rep. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine introduced the Women's Armed Services Integration Act to Congress in January 1948, and President Truman signed the bill into law on June 12, 1948.

From the end of World War II through the Cold War, women in the United States military navigated a space that welcomed and needed their service but put limits on their participation. To help us learn more, I’m joined by Dr. Tanya Roth, author of the new book, Her Cold War: Women in the U.S. Military, 1945–1980.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is: “WAF Officer candidate salutes in front of US flag. Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. November 1952.” The image source is the U.S. Air Force, and it is in the Public Domain.

Additional Sources:

• “Pregnant Women to Be Allowed To Stay in the Military Forces,” New York Times, July 8, 1975
• “Over 200 Years of Service: The History of Women in the U.S. Military,” uso.org.
• “Women in the Army,” U.S. Army.
• “Truman and Women’s Rights,” Truman Library Institute.
• “Women in the Military Academies: 40 Years Later,” Department of Defense.
• “Women in the Vietnam War,” History.com.

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