MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- At Graff Mt. Pleasant, we honor those who have an continue to give so much of themselves in order to keep our country safe. We're of course referring to our military. No matter what your branch, rank, or division. Whether on active duty, retired, or passed on. We thank you for your service.
While the military has long been a predominately male profession, women have and continue to be immensely prevalent within the ranks.
In this blog, we'll be discussing 5 important women in United States military history.
1. CAPT. KRISTEN GRIEST & LT. SHAYE HAVER
The Army Rangers are a Special Operations division of the military, and prospects must pass many grueling trials including the notoriously difficult Ranger School in order to prove that they have the endurance, stamina, intelligence, and mental toughness to join their prestigious ranks. Up until 2015, those ranks were exclusively comprised of men.
On April 20th of that year, Capt. Kristen Griest and Lt. Shaye Haver were two of 18 women to enter into the first gender-integrated Ranger School, and later that August would become the first female soldiers to graduate and be accepted into this elite corps. Since Capt. Griest and Lt. Haver shattered the Army's glass ceiling, 12 more women have graduated Ranger School as of 2018.
2. GENERAL ANN D. DUNWOODY
General is the highest rank an individual can achieve in the Army, and as of 1981, the four-star grade is the highest achieved of that rank. As a senior commander of the branch, the responsibilities of an Army General include overseeing Central Command (CENTCOM) and policy-making.
In 2008, General Ann D. Dunwoody became the first woman to hold the rank and four-star grade and served in this capacity until 2012. When General Dunwoody joined the Army in 1974, women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC), and things were far from equal. Much has changed since then, however, and General Dunwoody is a prime example, paving the way for other women in the military to achieve greatness previously reserved for men.
3. CATHAY WILLIAMS
Following the American Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers were the first African-American unit of the military sanctioned by Congress. Despite being stationed in one of the most inhospitable regions of the nation and subject to poor living conditions, the Buffalo Soldiers had the lowest desertion rate in the standing Army, taking their commitment to defending their land and people very seriously.
Back then, women were not allowed to serve in the military, and African-American women were especially barred from enlisting given the intense racism and misogyny of the time. Cathay Williams ignored this prejudice, disguising herself as a man and enlisting under the name "William Cathay", becoming the first documented African-American woman to serve in the military as one of the famed Buffalo Soldiers, holding her own alongside the men on the harsh frontier of the American Southwest for two years before she was discovered and discharged in 1868.
4. COL. EILEEN COLLINS
Being a NASA astronaut takes crazy amounts of training, including conditioning the body to handle being shot into outer space and subsequently enter zero gravity, among other things. Being a shuttle commander, however, that takes nerve.
Following her graduation from Syracuse University in 1978, Col. Collins was one of four women chosen for Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. While in the Air Force, she served as an instructor pilot at both Vance and the Air Force Academy flying the T-38 Talon, C-141 Starlifter, and T-41 Mescalero. In 1990, she was selected by NASA for astronaut training, and just nine years later became the first female commander of a US Spacecraft with Shuttle STS-93, deploying the Chandra X-ray Observatory which is responsible for the discovery of several black holes across the universe as well as imaging the never-before-seen remains of exploded stars.
5. 2D LT. ELSIE S. OTT
Prior to World War II, wounded personnel were not evacuated from the battlefield and all medical care was provided on the spot. This was extremely dangerous to both the wounded and medics, as they were left completely exposed to enemy attacks, the risk of infection was high, and proper equipment was difficult to carry and resupply in the midst of the action. However with the advancement of aeronautics at the time, "air ambulances" became more tangible.
On January 17th, 1943, Second Lieutenant Elsie S. Ott was selected to serve as an in-flight nurse on the first-ever med-evac mission. Despite having only 24 hours notice and zero air-evacuation or pilot training, 2D Lt. Ott masterfully cared for five soldiers suffering from grave conditions ranging from paralysis to tuberculosis. She was instrumental in safely transporting them from India all the way to Washington D.C. During her flight, she took meticulous notes of things that could benefit future air evacuations, many of which are still in use today.
Following the incredible success of the mission, 2D Lt. Ott became the first woman to receive the US Air Medal, which is awarded to individuals who display acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in an aerial flight.
Despite the military being a mostly male-dominated world, there have been several women throughout American history who have proven they can definitely hang with the men. From earning their place in the ranks of one of the most decorated Spec Ops divisions to changing military operation and policy for the better, female soldiers have and continue to close the gender gap in America. From all of us at
Graff Mt. Pleasant, we thank you for your service.
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