GI Jane: A Debt and a Date

When Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby said that American women had “A debt and a date, a debt to democracy and a date with destiny” shortly after becoming the first commander of the new Women’s Army Corps (commonly known as the “WACs”) during the middle of the United States’ involvement in WW II she was certainly talking about the future of women in the military service of their country but was also paying tribute to the untold thousands who have served our country in one capacity or another since the times of the Revolutionary War.

From the legendary Molly Pitcher who reportedly took up loading and firing her fallen husband’s cannon during the Revolution, to Clara Barton who with boundless energy nursed the wounded and dying of both sides during the Civil War, to Colonel Hobby herself, who almost single-handedly is responsible for modern women in the military having received equal training, recognition, acceptance, and the opportunity to serve America in times of both war and peace, women have played a vital; and often unappreciated; role in the history of our Armed Services.

It is difficult to find a veteran of Vietnam or the first Gulf War who was wounded and doesn’t have at least one story about how important it was to their recovery to have the caring ministrations that one of the many hundreds of nurses in the battlefield hospitals provided to them. Often words such as “angel” and “lifesaver” are used to describe these brave female soldiers.

In the military of today women have truly achieved equality in training, assignments, promotions, and the opportunity to serve in combat units. It is obvious that American women have fulfilled “their debt to democracy” and are keeping their “date with destiny” just as Colonel Hobby stated so many years ago.