The Vietnam Women's Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses. It serves as a reminder of the importance of women in the conflict. It depicts three uniformed women with a wounded soldier. The woman looking up is named Hope, the woman praying is named Faith, and the woman tending to a wounded soldier is named Charity. It is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and is located on National Mall in Washington DC, a short distance south of The Wall, north of the Reflecting Pool. The model for the wounded male is named Michael Webb. It was designed by Glenna Goodacre and dedicated on November 11, 1993. There is a scale model of the statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in Angel Fire, New Mexico. 10.000 women serve in the Vietnam war .ALL women who served in Vietnam were volunteers, whether civilian or military. At one time there was discussion about drafting women nurses, but this was never implemented. Some women military asked to go to Vietnam, and some were sent against their wishes and even against recruiter's promises, but all were volunteers because they voluntarily signed up for the military. In the history of women in the military, there are records of female U.S. Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers who enlisted using male pseudonyms, but a letter written by Annie Oakley to President William McKinley on on April 5, 1898 may represent the earliest documentary proof of a political move towards recognizing a woman's right to serve in the United States military. Annie Oakley, Sharpshooter and star in the Buffalo Bill Show, wrote a letter to President William McKinley on April 5, 1898 "offering the government the services of a company of 50 'lady sharpshooters' who would provide their own arms and ammunition should war break out with Spain.". The Spanish-American War did occur, but Oakley's offer was not accepted.  The first American woman soldier was Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts. She enlisted as a Continental Army soldier under the name of "Robert Shurtliff". She served for three years in the Revolutionary War and was wounded twice; she cut a musket ball out of her own thigh so no doctor would find out she was a woman.  During the American Civil War, Sarah Rosetta Wakeman enlisted under the alias of Private Lyons Wakeman.   The Woman’s Naval Reserve and Marine Corps Women’s Reserve were created during World War II. In July 1943 a bill was signed removing ‘auxiliary’ from the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, making it an official part of the regular army. In 1944 WACs arrived in the Pacific and landed in Normandy on D-Day. During the war, 67 Army nurses and 16 Navy nurses were captured and spent three years as Japanese prisoners of war. There were 350,000 American women who served during World War Two and 16 were killed in action; in total, they gained over 1,500 medals, citations and commendations. The Woman’s Army Auxiliary Corps was established in the United States in 1941.   Virginia Hall, serving with the Office of Strategic Services, received the second-highest US combat award, the Distinguished Service Cross, for action behind enemy lines in France. Hall, who had one artificial leg, landed clandestinely in occupied territory aboard a British Motor Torpedo Boat.   Law 625, The Women's Armed Services Act of 1948, was signed by President Truman, allowing women to serve in the armed forces in fully integrated units during peacetime, with only the WAC remaining a separate female unit. During the Korean War, women serving in Korea numbered 120,000. From 2005, the first all female C-130 Hercules crew to serve a combat mission for the U.S. Air Force.   Records regarding American women serving in the Vietnam War are vague. However, it is recorded that 600 women served in the country as part of the Air Force, along with 500 members of the WAC, and over 6,000 medical personnel and support staff. The case United States v. Virginia, in which the Supreme Court ordered that the Virginia Military Institute allow women to register as cadets, gave women soldiers a weapon against laws which (quoting J. Ruth Bader Ginsburg) “[deny] to women, simply because they are women, full citizenship stature—equal opportunity to aspire, achieve, participate in and contribute to society.”   December 20, 1989, Capt Linda L. Bray, 29, became the first woman to command American soldiers in battle, during the invasion of Panama. She was assigned to lead a force of 30 men and women MPs to capture a kennel holding guard dogs that was defended by elements of the Panamanian Defense force. The 1991 Gulf War proved to be the pivotal time for the role of women in the American Armed forces to come to the attention of the world media. Over 40,000 women served in almost every role the armed forces had to offer. However, while many came under fire, they were not permitted to participate in deliberate ground engagements. Despite this, there are many reports of women engaging enemy forces during the conflict. During the Iraq War, U.S Army reservists Lynndie England and Sabrina Harman were convicted by court martial of cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. In Afghanistan, Monica Lin Brown, was presented the Silver Star for shielding wounded soldiers with her body, and then treating life-threatening injuries. As of November 2008, the U.S. military has only one woman, Ann E. Dunwoody, with the rank of four-star general.

Studies suggest that a high percentage of women serving in the United States military are raped Today, women can serve on American combat ships, including in command roles. There is a plan to allow women to serve on submarines. Spec. Jamiell Goforth, a combat medic with Headquarters Support Company, 404th Aviation Support Battalion, won the 2007 Forces Command Soldier of the Year competition at Fort Bragg, N.C, July 29-Aug. 3. She is the first female Soldier to win this title. Goforth had won the Soldier of the Year competition for the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, to qualify for the FORSCOM competition. About 20 competitors from throughout FORSCOM took part in the five-day event.   Wikipedia®