In March, I did a four week series to celebrate Women’s History Month starting with Amazing Military Women from History. I’m going back to these episodes to highlight the stories I shared live now on the Women of the Military podcast and YouTube. I have learned so much about military history and specifically women in the military because of my work as a freelance writer and podcast. I am so excited to share these stories in a new way.

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Amazing Military Women from History

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Deborah Sampson (revolutionary war)

Sometime between 1781 and 1782, Deborah Sampson made the decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army. She bound her breast, sewed men’s clothing. Took on the name Robert Shurtleff, enlisting in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment1. She was spot during a battle and to keep her identity hidden by removing the bullet herself. When she fell ill in 1783 and a doctor discovered her gender. He waited until she had recovered and then revealed her gender to General Patterson in a letter. She was discharged in the fall of 1783. You can learn more about her story here. 

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

Dr. Walker is the only woman to be awarded a medal of honor. Dr. Walker  wanted to serve in the Union but was told because she was a woman she could not be a medical officer. So she volunteered to work in the hospital but was limited to duties as a nurse in Washington, so she moved to Virginia to treat men closer to the front lines. She was also a prisoner of war, captured by the confederate as a spy and was held for months. In 1865, she was awarded the medal of honor. In 1916, the medal of honor was taken away because of a government review of eligibly. Dr Walker had not served in the military. This did not deter her from wearing her medal until her death in 1919. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter reinstated her medal of honor.

Harriet Tubman (civil war)

While most people know Harriet Tubman for her role in the underground railroad which is a remarkable story. She was also a spy and helped coordinate the Combahee Ferry Raid in 1963. Tubman was key to the success in this raid. She gathered important intelligence and was able to direct the mission she even led 150 men in the raid. 

Lt Col Nancy Harkness Love (WASP)

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were pilots during WWII that backfilled roles so that more men could deploy overseas. They were led by Jackie Cochran and Nancy Love. Nancy led the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron while Jackie ran the  Women Flying Training Detachment. The two groups merged together to make the WASP in 1943. The WASP were disbanded in Dec 1944, with the war coming to an end ,men were coming home and it led to the Congress not to pass to allow the women to receive military recognition. Over 1000 women completed the training and 38 women lost their lives while performing various duties including ferrying aircraft, training new pilots, towing targets and more. 

1. 1. Episode 223: The Women with Silver Wings (Dr. Katherine Sharp Landdeck)
   2. Episode 49: The Original Women Pilots with Erin Miller author of Final Fight, Final Flight

Major Charity Adams Earley (6888th)

Led the 6888th, an all black woman battalion stationed in Europe during WWII. They cleared a backlog approximately 17 million items of mail in three months, they were given six months to do it. Some of the mail had gotten misplaced and hadn’t been delivered in 3 years. Their motto was no mail, low morale. They worked in shifts and 24hrs 7 days a week had women sorting mail. She was the highest ranking black woman during WWII. Netflix is currently working on a movie highlighting their story in 2021 they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Her story is all highlighted in Chapter 15 of The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line by Mari Eder who was a guest on Women of the Military podcast, Episode 70.

Elizabeth “Betty” Peet McIntosh (reporter during Pearl Harbor and OSS agent during the war in Morale Operations in Japan)

She was at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and helped to capture the story of what happened but because of how graphic the description was it went unpublished for 71 years. But her story doesn’t end there she was a member of the Office of Strategic Support (it became the CIA after the war was over) She worked in Morale Operations for Japan and China, she was stationed in India and China.

Her story is highlighted in Chapter 4 of The Girls Who Stepped out of Line by Mari Eder, Episode 70.

Elizabeth Smith Freedman

I discovered Elizabeth’s story when I stumbled upon The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone. It tells the remarkable story of Elizabeth Freedman. How she started working in the field of cryptanalyst where she met her husband, William Freedman, another code breaker. They both went on to have amazing careers and were pivotal in the creation of what would later be known as the National Security Agency (NSA). The work she did in South America was pivotal in helping prevent the Nazis from gaining a foothold in South America.

1st Lt Sharon Lane

She decided to join the Army Nurse Corps in 1968. Lane arrived in Vietnam on April 29, 1969, and was initially assigned to the intensive care unit. A few days later was transferred to the Vietnamese Ward (Ward 4). On the morning of June 8, 1969, the 312 Evacuation Hospital was struck by a salvo of 122mm rockets fired by the Viet Cong. One rocket struck in between Wards 4A and B, killing two people and wounding another twenty-seven. 1st Lt Lane died instantly of fragmentation wounds to the chest. She was one month shy of her 26th birthday

Her death is highlighted by the book The Women by Kristin Hannah a novel that highlights the stories of the nurses of Vietnam. Though a fictional novel Hannah did extensive research to ensure the stories were told were as realistic as possible including both real events and even highlight Lt Lane’s death.

Captain Rosemary Mariner

The first six pilots to serve on active duty were in the Navy. In 1972 it was announced by Navy Secretary John Warner. Six women were chosen for flight training. Their story is outlined in Beverly Winetraub’s book, Wings of Gold. We will dive more into the stories of these remarkable women in week 3 when we look at important events in history between 1970-1990.