Women’s Unsystematic Military: The Different Experiences of Women in the Nurse Corps and Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots in World War II

Women played a vital role in the economy and labor force during World War II in the United States. They took up temporary positions in new fields as men were drafted into the military. Women worked as bank tellers, government clerical workers, agricultural laborers, munition and airplane workers, and ship builders. The involvement of American women in the labor force changed many people’s minds, both male and female, about the types of work women were able to do. In the military, in particular, women made major strides in the opportunities given to them. However, each branch of the military open to women allowed them to enlist in separate capacities. Although the Army and Navy women’s branches played a key role in the war effort and the advancement of military women’s careers, two other branches of women’s organizations were more unique in experience. During their time serving with the military during the 1940s, the Nurse Corps and the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) had different, sometimes opposing, experiences