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Women in World War II

Last November marked the seventieth anniversary of the beginning of World War II. Because so many men were drafted to the military, many of the jobs that were thought of as “male-only” jobs had to fall to women. This happened both at home and in the military. At home, women could now be found working as heavy industrial workers, jobs previously given to men only (some were forced to leave their children at home, or even in the car for the entire workday due to lack of childcare).

In the military, women began to act as test pilots and transport pilots for the airforce so that males were freed to fly as fighter pilots. The same happened in the army and navy: in the army, women served as control tower operators, parachute riggers, and bomb site maintenance specialists. They became mechanics, electricians, engineers; they would issue weapons to soldiers and make test tubes; they were used as surgical, X-ray, and dental technicians; and a few participated in the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb.

Many people in this country responded negatively to the idea of women working in the military. Many of the male soldiers wrote letters criticizing these women (some wrote home forbidding their sisters, wives, and fiancés from joining). Civilian workers felt threatened that their jobs would be taken over by these women; and townspeople complained that they took over their beauty shops and restaurants.

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