TY - JOUR TI - They served too DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3ZW1J50 PY - 2014 AB - Military women have been written out of the historical record, despite the fact that they have served in the United States military since the beginning of time. This thesis seeks to place women back in their rightful place in military history by exploring the unique experiences of U.S. military women during the Vietnam War and the immediate post-war. It analyzes gender, race, sexuality, and sexual assault in the military, among military women who served in Vietnam and stateside. Furthermore, it examines the coping mechanisms utilized by servicewomen and their memories of war, looking at how history has been rewritten to exclude references to anything that may have complicated the perceptions of military women as noble pillars of American virtue. As the war drew to a close, the military began to change with the creation of the all volunteer force, and this project explores the gains made by servicewomen during the last years of the war and shortly after the war, but also the backlash that halted the fight for military equality and allowed for women’s contributions to be forgotten and. In the immediate post-war period, this thesis delves into women’s experiences returning to civilian life and healing from war. While veterans always face challenges reacclimating, Vietnam-era female veterans faced their own challenges, many due to their status as non-veterans and the backlash that wrote their service out of military history. By analyzing experiences specific to Vietnam-era military women, this dissertation seeks to complicate military history. KW - History KW - Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Participation, Female LA - eng ER -