Women have fought and died in battle since time began, from the warrior queen Boadicea's stand against the Romans to Joan of Arc and American women are no exception.

In 1778 Deborah Samson of Plymouth Massachusetts disguised herself as a man and served for 3 years and was wounded twice. When she came down with a brain fever, her gender was discovered and she was returned home for better care. After the war she was granted a pension and was granted land for her service.

The War of 1812 was raging when Lucy Brewer donned men's clothing and served as a member of the USS Constitution's Marine guard in some of the bloodiest sea fights of that war in order to prevent being impressed into a house of ill repute in Boston.

During the Mexican-American War of 1846, Mrs. Sarah Borginis and a Mrs. Foley enlisted into the cavalry with their husbands and during a battle at Fort Texas (Fort Brown), Gen. Zachary Taylor brevetted her to Colonel, making her the first female colonel of the U.S. Army.

Women fought and died on both sides during the Civil War as both enlisted men and officers, both individually and beside each other. Most of these women served their causes masquerading as men as the only women authorized for service at this time were medical personnel and one of these, Doctor Mary Walker, was the first woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

It was not until 1901 and 1908 with the establishment of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps that the doors cracked slightly open to allow women to serve in the Armed Forces. However, only after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when the United States was plunged into total war was the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps founded and then other auxiliaries were added as the war progressed.

On June 12th, 1948, at the behest of General Dwight Eisenhower and several other senior officers, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 625 (The Women's Armed Services Act of 1948) into effect. This effectively integrated women into all branches of the Armed Forces. Of course there were many objections to this because men might have to (heaven forbid) take orders from senior NCO and Officer women.

In spite of all the resistance, women have served our country in increasing capacities and responsibility until today when we now have over 193,000 women proudly wearing the uniforms of our Armed Forces and who are slowly moving into command positions. These brave and understated individuals often lack the support structures and information necessary for claiming their rights and benefits as Veterans of the United States Armed Forces.