"Hold Up Your End!" War Fund Week Poster
"Hold Up Your End!" War Fund Week Poster
In service and at the ready for World War I
During World War I, many women risked their lives to care for troops and took on active roles, as depicted in this poster seeking contributions for war relief efforts. Although women were still denied the right to vote, the government allowed them to serve in limited roles, ranging from dietitian to telephone operator. But the majority of female service members—more than twenty-three thousand over the course of the war—were nurses. The government refused to grant American military nurses permanent commissioned rank and its accompanying benefits until after World War II.
