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'Free a man to
fight!' This was the call for women to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve
during two world wars. Feb. 13, 2003, marks the 60th anniversary of
the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Although 305 women served in the
Marine Corps Reserve during World War I, all were separated from service
by June 30, 1919 after the war ended. It wasn't until Feb. 13, 1943,
that Gen. Thomas Holcomb, the 17th Commandant of the Marine Corps,
announced the formation of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.
In 1917, countless
young men volunteered for the Armed Forces, and for the first time
in U.S. history, the labor potential of women became important.
Pioneers like Pvt. Opha Mae Johnson, the first woman to enlist in
the Marine Corps Reserve Aug. 13, 1918, paved the way for women
in the Marine Corps today. During World War I, most of these women
Marines, referred to as Marinettes, freed male Marines from clerical
billets at Headquarters Marine Corps, enabling them to fight in
France. Others filled jobs at recruiting stations across the country.
Although women still didn't have the right to vote, they were willing
and able to serve their country.
Twenty-five
years later, the country was embroiled in another world war and
women again answered the call to serve. More than 22,000 officer
and enlisted women joined the Corps during World War II as part
of the Women's Reserve. Women Marines in this war performed more
than 200 military assignments. In addition to clerical work, they
also filled positions as parachute riggers, mechanics, radio operators,
mapmakers, and welders. By June 1944, women reservists made up 85
percent of the enlisted personnel on duty at Headquarters Marine
Corps and almost two-thirds of the personnel manning all major posts
and stations in the United States and Hawaii. At the war's end,
Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps,
credited these women with "putting the 6th Marine Division
in the field."
Following Japan's
surrender, demobilization of the Women's Reserve proceeded rapidly,
with only 1,000 remaining in the reserve by July 1946. Then Congress
passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, which authorized
the acceptance of women into the regular component of the Marine
Corps and other Armed Services.
For the first
time in history, the Women's Reserve was mobilized in August 1950
for the Korean War, reaching peak strength of 2,787 active-duty
women Marines. Again, they stepped into stateside jobs and freed
male Marines for combat duty. By the height of the Vietnam War,
about 2,700 hundred active-duty women Marines served stateside and
overseas. During this period, the Marine Corps began opening career-type
formal training programs to women officers and advanced technical
training to enlisted women. It was also during the 1970s that women
Marines were assigned to Fleet Marine Force units for the first
time. By 1975, women could be assigned to all occupational fields
except infantry, artillery, armor and pilot/air crew.
The 1990s saw
additional changes and increased responsibilities for women in the
Marine Corps, including flying combat aircraft. Approximately 1,000
women Marines were deployed to Southwest Asia for Operations Desert
Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991. Women have served in every
rank from private to lieutenant general.
Milestones
for women in the Marine Corps include:
- Col. Margerat
A. Brewer's appointment to brigadier general in 1978 made her
the Corps' first woman general officer.
- Col. Gail
M. Reals was the first woman to be selected by a board of general
officers for advancement to the rank of brigadier genera in 1985.
- Brig. Gen.
Carol A. Mutter became the first woman to assume command of a
Fleet Marine Force unit at the flag level when she assumed command
of the 3rd Force Service Support Group in Okinawa in 1992.
- 2nd Lt.
Sarah Deal became the first woman Marine selected for Naval aviation
training in 1993.
In 1994, Brig. Gen Mutter became the first woman major general
in the Corps and the senior woman on active duty in the Armed
Forces.
- Lt. Gen.
Mutter made history again when she became the first woman Marine
to wear three stars in 1996.
- Today, women
serve in 93 percent of all occupational fields and 62 percent
of all billets. Women constitute 6.2 percent of the Corps end
strength and are an integral part of the Marine Corps.
This, the 60th
anniversary of continuous active service of women in the Marine
Corps, is a significant part of the Corps' history and today's female
Marines carry on that heritage.
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