The Women of World War I

Where: American History Museum, Third Floor East exhibit case

When: closing April 28, 2019

When one thinks of Americans serving in WWI, the image of a fresh-faced doughboy comes to mind, or, more realistically, the image of a young man with a thousand-yard stare, covered in mud from the trenches.  What both of these pictures leaves out is the large number of women who also served during the "Great War."

Even before the U.S. entered the war, women volunteered with social service and religious organizations.  Over 20,000 volunteered for the Navy Nurse Corps, and 13,000 filed the ranks of the Navy and Marine Corps, doing office jobs that freed up the men to fight.  In the Army Signal Corps, there were 450 female telephone operators.

Of course, as women were nursing and administrating and signaling in the military, they were also fighting for the right to vote at home.  I'm assuming that the work women did during the war, including taking over jobs at home that there were no men to do, helped lawmakers to see that they could be entrusted with the vote.

This display includes the uniforms of several women who worked, either at home or abroad, during WWI.  As we head into the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote, I'm hoping we see more of these informative shows that highlight the role of women in American history.

Verdict: If you're in the museum, be sure to give this a look while you're on the third floor.