US Army Nurse Corps personnel, 1944
© Bettmann/Getty Image
Waiting for action. Women's History Month
To celebrate the start of Women's History Month, our homepage photo features a candid shot of members of the US Army Nurse Corps in 1944. The women are shown in between training exercises while they await deployment to the South Pacific near the end of World War II. At the time, all who served in the Army Nurse Corps were women, and the units were all segregated. And though the need for nurses was urgent, the army had set a quota for just 160 Black nurses. By the end of the war, that number had increased to nearly 500.
Women's History Month offers an opportunity to study and celebrate women's vital role in history and their essential contributions to society today. The theme for the observance in 2022 is 'Women providing healing, promoting hope'—which seems like a good fit for our photo. How will you celebrate Women's History Month?
Portrait Monument of women's suffrage pioneers, Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC
Rosa Parks sits in the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Dec 21, 1956
Skeleton figures (calacas) dressed up for Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
Floral tributes left in London, England, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
'Legacy' mural painted by Josh Sarantitis and Eric Okdeh within the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The 369th Infantry returns to New York City, 1919
The Clan House at Totem Bight State Historical Park near Ketchikan, Alaska
Artist Jesus 'CIMI' Alvarado painting his mural 'Fronterizos' on a wall of the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas
