It's My Country Too

May 1, 2017
“A sailor and a Marine walked into a bar”: so begins this timely and thought-provoking anthology of women’s military stories edited by Bell, a retired naval officer and editor of the Veterans Writing Project literary journal, O-Dark-Thirty, and Crow (Eyes Right), a former Marine Corps officer. These stories crackle with personality and demonstrate how remarkably determined American women have been to serve an institution that didn’t seem to want them. During the Revolution, for example, Sarah Osborn traveled with the Continental Army to stay close to her husband and perform domestic services for his unit, while Deborah Sampson Gannett dressed like a man to enlist. Sarah Emma Edmonds and Loreta Janeta Velazquez did the same as Gannett during the Civil War. In WWI, such deceptions were no longer necessary because the military began enlisting women. Selections in the book’s “Gender Wars” section attest to the sexual harassment women have endured as a matter of course once they earned a permanent place in the armed forces. The editors provide just enough historical context to deliver a smooth chronological flow and they include a helpful list of further readings. The foreword by veteran Kayla Williams is disappointingly anemic, but Bell and Crow have done a service by amplifying the important voices in this collection. Illus.

Starred review from June 1, 2017

This rich anthology of women's military stories is ripe with the history of female contributions to U.S. conflicts. Edited by Bell (managing editor, O-Dark-Thirty) and Crow (Eyes Right), with an introduction by Kayla Williams (Love My Rifle More Than You), this collection provides firsthand military accounts from scores of women spanning from the Revolutionary War to the Afghanistan War. While some of the women, such as abolitionist Harriet Tubman, are already well known, these accounts also draw upon the service of those who may otherwise have been lost to history. Particularly for earlier conflicts, this compendium relies upon government records to piece together women's efforts, but it truly shines when women's own words are used to tell the tales of combat and military experience. VERDICT This engaging, meticulously researched work belongs on the shelves of libraries across America. Enthusiastically recommended for all collections.--Mattie Cook, Lake Odessa Comm. Lib., MI

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