" We often view history in terms of images and when most of us consider World War II’s heroes, especially its American heroes, the images that come to mind are usually male. And there is a legitimate reason for this: millions of American men fought in the war. They volunteered for duty, and they were drafted, they stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, they trudged through the snowy Forest of the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge; they mounted a US flag on the top of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima; and they flew above the dangerous skies of enemy territory. My earliest personal images of the war involve the latter: my dad and his three older brothers all served in the airborne branch of the US Army.

But women are the other half of humanity, and to overlook their place in history generally, and to the Allied effort during WWII specifically, is to leave out half the story and loose a complete understanding of the war. So I’d like to take a few moments on this Memorial Day to remember some of the Allied women who made a difference in defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during WWII. "

― Kathryn J. Atwood