Women+In+WWI

==Men weren't the only ones with dangerous missions in World War I. Women had to take over the jobs men left for war, such as doing heavy work unloading coal. Another job was treating wounded soldiers. These ladies showed a lot of courage, grit and determination during this war. Some even disguised themselves as soldiers! Women were a big part of World War I. == ==On April 6, 1917, the United States joined World War I. On active duty that day wee 403 nurses who included 170 reserve nurses ordered to duty in twelve Army hospitals in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. In May 191, six general hospitals with more than 400 nurses sailed to France for service in the British Expeditionary Forces. By 1918 there were 186 nurses on active duty serving 198 stations worldwide. ==

== __Dorothy Lawrence __ was born in Polesworth, Warwickshire on October 4, 1896. Lawrence strongly wished to be a war reporter for the First World War, but because it was hard even for men to get such a job it was highly unlikely for her. With the help of two English soldiers, Lawrence disguised herself as a man to get the job. She faced many hardships and became ill. She realized that she had to present herself to the commanding sergeant, and when she did she was declared a spy! Lawrence was not allowed to tell the story of her hardships in the war until after it was over. == == __﻿ __ __Opha Mae Johnson__ was the first of the total 305 women who were enlisted in the United States Marines Corps Reserve. She worked as a secretary, military nurse and other jobs which women in World War I were permitted to do. Female Marines were finally allowed to serve in the war zone only after the late 1940s. ==



==﻿ __Flora Sandes__ was born on January 22, 1876 in Poppleton in Yorkshire. Not only was she the only British woman known to be officially enrolled as a soldier in the First World War, but she was widely know to be the first woman to be commissioned as an officer of the Serbian Army and she was the first volunteer to become a nurse. She obtained her training at an early age at the Ladies' Nursing Yeomanry. Around August of 1914, Flora Sandes joined the Serbian Red Cross but got separated from her unit which then caused her to join the Serbian Regiment, securing her rank of Corporal. Right after she was promoted to Sergeant Major she was injured and unable to serve the army. Sandes continued to run a hospital for the rest of her later years. == 

British Red Cross poster of WWI. These nurses went to the front lines to get wounded soldiers on some were killed on the way.
==When men left their jobs for the war women had to take over many jobs. The number of women who were employed increased from 3,224,600 in July of 1914 to 4,814,600 in January 1918. Nearly 200,000 women were employed in government departments, half a million became clerical workers in private offices, and over 700,000 of these women worked in very dangerous munitions industries. Women also worked stoking furnaces and even building ships. == 

Gladys Powers selutes the camera at age 109.
==Gladys Powers, the last female veteran of World War 1, died at the age of 109 on August 15, 2008 at 2A.M. peacefully in her sleep. Powers died in her home in Abbotsford, British Columbia. She became the last surviving female and World War I veteran after the death of Charlotte Winters in March 2007. Powers was the 11th World War I veteran to die in 2008. ==

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