Servicewoman

The modern U.S. armed forces are more than 15% female. Yet it was scarcely a century ago that the previously all-male force accepted its first female recruits onto active duty, paving the way for future generations of servicewomen to be represented in an increasingly diverse number of military occupational specialties. This special collection includes three Cold War-era recruiting films aimed at persuading young women to sign up for a stint in the military. From the archives of the U.S. Army comes "No Greater Heritage" (1967), covering the history of the Women's Army Corps, and from the Marine Corps comes "Serving America as a Woman Marine" (1964) and "Thoroughly Modern Molly" (1968), both showing the different career opportunities available for female Marines. Though their depiction of a co-ed military is a far cry from today's concepts of gender equality, these three vintage films nonetheless provide a fascinating time capsule of the continually evolving role of women in the American military.