American Women in World War I: They Also Served

by Lettie Gavin

Interweaving personal stories with historical photos and background, this lively account documents the history of the more than 40,000 women who served in relief and military duty during World War I. Through personal interviews and excerpts from diaries, letters, and memoirs, Lettie Gavin relates poignant stories of women's wartime experiences and provides a unique perspective on their progress in military service. American Women in World War I captures the spirit of these determined patriots and their times for every reader and will be of special interest to military, women's, and social historians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I

309 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

A longtime journalist in the Seattle area, Lettie Gavin worked for both the Highline Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Reviews

[Diego Fernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

for class. maybe i should use this as firewood

[Don Alesi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

Great information on women who served in the First World War. A must read for history students. I highly recommend it.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The format of this book makes it easy to use for specific research projects or straight through. The book is divided into chapters that cover specific categories of women who served: nurses, the Hello Girls, Red Cross volunteers, Salvation Army volunteers, etc. Each chapter was thorough but succinct and provided a good window into the experiences of those women. Perfect for someone who wants an overview without getting bogged down into too much detail.

[Aisha Manus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how each chapter is like a short paper with all the notes cited at the end and corresponding pictures. I just liked the layout. Also great information. I somehow never knew about the women who served active duty in the Navy and marines outside of nursing. But interesting book!

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting work that shows how women wanted to serve their country and found ways to do so in spite of the patriarchy. Military men saw the necessity of having women take over some of the jobs of men but did not see fit to give them the rank and respect that were given men. Some, such as switchboard operators thought they were enlisting in the Army going through the swearing in ceremony, etc. In many instances they had to buy their own uniforms. Yet after the war was over they were mustered out as contract civilians and thus did not receive veterans' benefits. And of course racism raised its ugly head. The army put out a call for more than a thousands nurses and more than a thousand African-American nurses were ready and willing to go overseas, yet the army did not want them even though they were needed.
Other women, like those of the American Red Cross and Salvation Army also took part in raising the soldier's spirits and helping out wherever they could.
American women actually took part in the war earlier than American men serving with the British and French armies as nurses and ambulance drivers before America entered the war.
What is most telling is the number of citations and medals given to American women by the French and British governments exceeded that of the United States.

[Julie Bihn]

Fascinating read that told me pretty much everything I needed to know about the topic of women serving in official capacities in World War I. (Technically for my research I could have gotten away with reading just 1-2 chapters, but I'm glad I went through it all.)

It was incredible to see how far ahead of his time Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels was to realize that women could enlist to do non-combat work and effectively "free up a man" to fight. (This was before women had the nationwide right to vote!) It was also mind-blowing to find out that some women in other branches/serving in other capacities had to provide their own (very expensive) uniforms to serve, and that women still got together the money to help the war effort!

I'd love to see another book that offered a similar brief overview of women on the homefront/those who didn't serve with organizations. But you can't really blame a book called "They Also Served" for not covering that topic.

Recommended for anyone interested in the topic.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally well-researched and easy-to-read book on the women who served in the military in World War I. The author uses diaries, memoirs, letters and photos to bring these brave women to life.

[angeleyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

read for hist 395

[WaiThain]

Used for exhibition

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good overview of the role of American women in WW1, as the book's title implies.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read overall, though there were some parts I wished they went into a little more depth.