What the Oliver Stone docu says about the nuclear bombing of Japan is...

[MADem]

134. Your comments were not accurate. We aren't talking about 12 ladies in a knitting circle.

There WERE substantial numbers of women in uniform--I gave you numbers. I met a lot of them during my military career, and I never met a one that didn't impress the hell out of me. Spines of steel. Smart as hell. Confident and capable. They had to endure a lot of shit, the least of which was the lack of recognition for their work for so long. Many died before respect was paid.

They flew planes, they served as nurses and doctors, as logistics personnel, as mechanics, as intelligence specialists, as spies, and a slew of other specialities, not just secretaries and typists--and they did it IN UNIFORM. They were POWs, some of them, and some died.

....Approximately 543 military women died in the line of duty during World War II, including 16 from enemy fire, and others from a variety of causes including aircraft and vehicle accidents and illness. .... 67 Army nurses and 11 Navy nurses captured in the Philippines were held by the Japanese for nearly three years, and five Navy nurses captured on the island of Guam were held as POWs for four months. One Army flight nurse was aboard an aircraft that was shot down behind enemy lines in Germany in 1944. She was held as a POW for four months.

http://www.womensmemorial.org/H&C/Resources/hfaq.html


All branches had women serving--not just the WACS and Waves, but the Coast Guard (SPAR) and USMC as well.

Those are not costumes in those photos, they are military uniforms. These women beat down the door and paved the way for other women to be allowed to serve in uniform during peacetime. Had they not done their jobs superbly, the military would have remained an all-male bastion. Their contributions were important. Vital, in fact.

I was at this woman's retirement ceremony aboard USS CONSTITUTION in the mid eighties--she was a relative elder when she joined the Navy in 1944, at the age of 38: http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm

Smartest person in the room, she was.