Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution

Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1982. Hardcover. very good/fair. 434 pages. Appendices, bibliography, index, DJ somewhat soiled: small tears, small chips missing. Inscribed by author. Address sticker inside front flyleaf. At the time of her retirement, after 33 years in the service, General Holm was the highest ranking woman ever to serve in the U.S. armed forces. Major General Jeanne Marjorie Holm (June 23, 1921 - February 15, 2010) was the first female one-star general of the United States Air Force and the first female two-star general in any service branch of the United States. Holm was a driving force behind the expansion of women's roles in the Air Force. During World War II, Holm was assigned to the Women's Army Corps. At the end of the war, she commanded the 106th WAC Hospital Company. In October 1948, during the Berlin Blockade, Holm was recalled to active duty she served as assistant director of plans and operations for the 7200th Air Force Depot Wing, and later was War Plans Officer for the 85th Air Depot Wing, during the Berlin airlift and the early phases of the Korean War. Derived from a Kirkus review: The author provides the inside story. From the 1940s onward Holm is able to balance policy developments and statements with the service women's view of the situation. The women's auxiliary units--the WAACs, the WAVEs, the MCWRs (Marine Corps), and SPARs (Coast Guard)--were initially seen as a means of freeing men for active combat. The services were generally ill-prepared for this innovation. Though originally women were not supposed to see combat, many nurses and support workers did. By the summer of 1945 there were nearly 100,000 WACs, 86,000 WAVEs, 18,000 Women Marines, 11,000 SPARs, plus 57,000 nurses in the Army and another 11,000 in the Navy. At war's end the move to disband these services was not opposed by women commanders. Male opponents feared the possibility of women commanding men. Thus, when the 1948 Women's Armed Services Act was finally passed, it included two percent ceilings on women's strength and grade ceilings on promotions. The combination of the Vietnam War and the drive for women's rights fostered "a new beginning." Barriers to top-grade promotion were removed; women gained access to the service academies.