The United States Army has designated the 2021 Women’s History Month theme as “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” This theme honors the brave women who fought to win suffrage rights for women and for the women who continue to fight for the voting rights of others and serve in our military today. 

Women have played vital roles in our Army since the Revolutionary War. Today women are Soldiers, Generals, Army Civilians, Veterans and family members who are critical members of our Army team. Women make our Army stronger. 

The strength of the Army comes from its diversity. Developing and maintaining qualified and demographically diverse leadership is critical for mission effectiveness and is essential to national security, a fact we know and are fostering through an initiative called Project Inclusion. 

Project Inclusion empowers a culture of trust and acceptance for the experiences, culture, characteristics and background each Soldier and Civilian brings to the institution, placing value on the wealth of diversity that we have in our Army and in our nation. 

I would like to share with you the stories of some women who made our diverse nation what it is today. 

During the Revolutionary War, women served as spies, nurses, seamstresses, laundresses and cooks. Women also fought in combat alongside their husbands or disguised as men.  

Deborah Sampson, a descendant of preeminent Pilgrims Myles Standish and William Bradford, disguised herself as a man and used the name Robert Shurtleff in order to fight in the Revolutionary War. Assigned duties as a scout, even leading a raid on a Tory house that led to the capture of 15 men, she evaded detection for a year and a half, despite being wounded twice – a sword gash to her forehead and a shot in the thigh, and she pulled the pistol ball out herself. She received an honorable discharge in 1783 and became the first woman to receive a full military pension when a court ruled that she had performed the duties of a Soldier. 

Women continued to distinguish themselves with selfless service during the Civil War as well. For example, Harriet Tubman, born into slavery and best known for her work guiding dozens of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, was also a scout and a spy for the Union Army. She helped John Brown plan and recruit for his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, and organized and led a group of freed slaves who sought out information about Confederate troops in the Beaufort, South Carolina area. Her work enabled Union troops to conduct a series of raids to acquire supplies and destroy enemy torpedoes, railroads and bridges.

Tubman is also the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War, guiding the raid at Combahee Ferry and liberating more than 700 enslaved people. Following the war, she remained active in the Women’s Suffrage movement until being overcome by illness. 

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker served as a surgeon with the Union Army. She was captured and imprisoned as a spy, and when released returned to work as a surgeon at a prisoner-of-war hospital. Dr. Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Andrew Johnson, and is still the only woman to receive this highest military honor. Dr. Walker knew well the importance of women in the military, once stating, “Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” 

More than 35 thousand American women volunteered for military service during World War I. The Navy and the Marine Corps were the first military services to recruit women for non-combat positions such as radio electricians, telephone operators, accountants and clerks. More than half of the women who served in the military during World War I were part of the Army Nurse Corps, and most of the switchboard operators were women. They worked close to or at the front lines, living in bunkers and makeshift tents. 

Grace Banker, a switchboard operator who served as the chief operator of mobile for the American Expeditionary Forces in the Signal Corps, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for her extraordinary service assuring the success of the telephone service during the operations of the 1st Army during the Meuse Argonne offensive in 1918. Women had been fighting for the right to vote for decades, without much real success. But with women serving overseas, it was hard to ignore the call for equality. The service of these women inspired change across the nation and helped to propel the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920, guaranteeing women the vote. 

During World War II, approximately 140 thousand women served as members of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women’s Army Corps. They provided critical services, such as military intelligence, cryptography, parachute rigging, maintenance and supply. More than a thousand women flew aircraft for the Women's Air Force Service Pilots and more than 60 thousand Army Nurses served, often in harsh conditions. 

Mary Roberts Wilson was the first woman awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in combat for her action during the battle of Anzio. With her Army evacuation hospital under fire, Wilson continued to supervise her nursing staff of 50, allowing the hospital to continue functioning. 

Anna May McCabe Hays worked as an Army nurse overseas during World War II and Korea. She led the Army Nurse Corps at the height of the Vietnam War and in 1970 became the first female General Officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. She pushed to expand scholarship opportunities and education for Army nurses. She also supported policy changes, so married nurses who became pregnant were not automatically discharged. 

Due to the exceptional service of women in the military during World War II, President Harry S. Truman signed the Women's Armed Service Integration Act into law on June 12, 1948. This bill authorized a permanent presence of women in the military. 

Women continued to prove themselves over and over during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2005, Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, a military police officer in the Kentucky National Guard, became the first female Soldier awarded the Silver Star since Mary Roberts Wilson in World War II. When her convoy was attacked near Baghdad, Hester maneuvered her team through an enemy kill zone, where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M-203 rounds, then engaged three enemy soldiers while clearing two more trenches, thus saving numerous American lives. 

Specialist Monica Brown, a medic, is the first woman to receive the Silver Star during the War in Afghanistan, and the second to earn the Silver Star since World War II. Brown was riding in a convoy on a routine security patrol when the trail vehicle struck a pressure plate improvised explosive device – commonly referred to as an IED – the initiating event for a planned ambush. As enemy fighters engaged the patrol, Brown ran through gunfire to provide medical care to wounded Soldiers, at one point throwing herself over the wounded to shield them from mortar fire. Approximately 15 mortars impacted within close range as Brown continued to help her fellow Soldiers. As the platoon continued to return fire, Brown once again shielded the wounded from enemy fire and falling brass, ensuring all the wounded were stabilized and ready for MEDEVAC. 

There are common threads that run through the stories of these women and our veterans. These individuals are willing to put the needs of their country above their own. They fight for equality and fairness. And it is this self-sacrifice and determination that ensures that our country not only survives, but thrives. 

Today, women have more opportunities than ever in the Armed Forces. About 18% of the total Army is female and all positions in the Army are open to women. The Army has accessed and/or transferred more than 1,400 female Soldiers into Infantry, Armor and Field Artillery positions. 

All Infantry, Armor and Field Artillery Battalions include female Soldiers and gender-integrated Infantry and Armor units are currently deployed. The Army wants female Soldiers assigned to positions that provide full and challenging career and promotion opportunities. We know from history and experience that the contributions and achievements of women make our Army stronger. 

I stated before that the theme this year is: “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” We honor the hard work of the women who paved the way for today’s Soldiers. And we honor today’s Soldiers for securing our future – a future for women with more opportunities than ever before. Right now, in a recruiting station, or Basic Training class, or ROTC program are young women, eager to serve, whose energy, talent and leadership will shape our future military. 

We know that when women succeed, America succeeds. The strength of our economy rests on whether we make it possible for every citizen to contribute to our growth and prosperity. As we honor the many patriots who have shaped not only the destinies of other women, but also the direction of our history, let us resolve to build on their efforts in our own time. 

Mario A. Guerra is the former mayor of Downey and current Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. He may be reached at mario@guerrains.com or at www.marioaguerra.com