What was the role of female service members during the Korean War?
When the Korean War erupted in June 1950, women in the armed services numbered about 22,000 worldwide. Roughly 7,000 of these women were healthcare professionals, the rest served in line assignments in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC); Women in the Air Force (WAF); Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES); and Women Marines. Although Congress had passed the Women’s Armed Forces Integration Action in 1948 giving women increased prospects for military careers, the Department of Defense’s efforts to recruit more women during the Korean War met with limited success and were discontinued in 1952. Individually, the WAC, WAVES, WAF and Women Marines each increased their strength during the war. However, the overall number of enlisted women in the services during the Korean War declined as a net percentage of Armed Forces personnel. Specifically related to the war, women served as nurses. Some Army nurses served in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital or M.A.S.H. un
