00:23Ladies and gentlemen, this is Henry Fonda.
00:27I am an actor, not an historian, but at this moment history is recording a march of events
00:33which affects every one of you looking at this screen.
00:36I'm going to tell you a little more about it in a minute or two,
00:38but first I want you to meet a great American and a man who is one of our most dedicated
00:43and valuable public servants,
00:45the Honorable Robert A. Lovett, Secretary of Defense.
00:49Our principal aim today, and the goal toward which we all struggle,
00:53is a period of peace during which all may lead secure and useful lives.
00:59American women can and must play an important role if we are to realize that goal.
01:05Every day in every city and town in our land,
01:08we see continuing demonstrations that American women know how to do a job,
01:13whether she is a teacher, a doctor, a defense worker, a housewife, or a nurse in Korea.
01:23And for further word about the splendid work of a special group of thousands of American women,
01:29I'd like you to hear the words of testimony uttered by General Matthew Ridgway
01:33while decorating an Army nurse just before he left Korea to take his new assignment in Europe.
01:39The hundreds of vital duties being handled by the service women of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force
01:46in the Far East Command
01:48are too numerous to mention, but their importance cannot be minimized.
01:53Without the efficient, devoted, tireless, and frequently courageous services these splendid women render,
02:00our missions here would fall far short of successful accomplishments.
02:06Whether it be the military nurse ministering to the sick and wounded,
02:11the enlisted woman in communications, administrative, or medical work,
02:14or a woman officer in essential staff or operational duty,
02:19the story is always the same, duty well performed.
02:23I wish that the parents, relatives, and loved ones of our service women over here
02:29could see their fine manner of performance.
02:32They would be proud just as we are who serve with them.
02:35Our service women have accepted the full challenge of American citizenship,
02:40the challenge to help keep our nation the great, free, God-fearing country it is.
02:47Keep our nation great.
02:49Those words from General Ridgway are backed up by millions of open-minded people.
02:53There are a lot of great Americans who have come to realize there is a place for women in the
02:56armed forces of our nation,
02:59particularly so at a time when the need is so great, when no asset must be wasted.
03:05In World War II, I saw many of the hundreds of thousands of women
03:09who handled dozens of non-combatant jobs previously held by men.
03:14Now they've taken over hundreds of job classifications,
03:17and in many cases perform their chores not only as well but better than men.
03:22These jobs have a real challenge with some honest-to-goodness built-in satisfaction.
03:27Let's take a look.
03:30Waves who teach enlisted men the meaning and operation of pressurized compartments and cabins
03:35are part of a new scheme of things, in step with the march of scientific miracles of electronics.
03:42Special schools prepare these women for important and exciting posts in several fields of operation, including communications.
04:01A technician with a more personal touch is a WAC dental hygienist, also a product of a special service school.
04:09Many a flyer is in the air today partly because of the Marine who called the shots during blind flying
04:14practice in a link trainer.
04:19Once the pilot is in the air, these WAF weather observers will help keep him out of trouble with up
04:23-to-the-minute reports on winds and other disturbances.
04:26The whereabouts of all aircraft, friendly or otherwise, is of paramount importance to our air commands,
04:32and the women who interpret the patterns on the radar scopes have a vital job affecting the safety and security
04:38of our shores.
04:54This is a feminine traffic cop, formally labeled an air traffic control specialist.
05:04Do your talents run toward photography? This can lead to interesting developments.
05:16Women who have a feeling for design and line are turned into crack map makers.
05:25From playing in a unit band or orchestra to a job in a hush-hush intelligence department demonstrates the extremes
05:31of service for women.
05:36Just as important to the overall picture of service are the posts where you expect to find women at work.
05:42Nurses in the Army, Navy, and Air Force pride themselves on attracting only the best women in the nursing field,
05:48all of whom are commissioned officers.
06:02Trained physiotherapists work wonders with sick or wounded men in service hospitals.
06:07Yet not only must muscles be restored, but the mind and spirit too.
06:12Occupational therapists and their assisting medical technicians help immensely in this respect.
06:18Seemingly there is no end to the talents and skills which women can make available to the armed forces.
06:27The formulae of the biochemist is also a weapon in the arsenal of defense.
06:33But there is more to it than just serving.
06:35It's a rare woman who doesn't like to travel in foreign lands,
06:39see things in places which formerly existed only in a geography book or tourist folder.
06:45Yet travel is not the only broadening influence offered by the services.
06:49Sports and recreational activities provide a continuing dividend for women who invest in a service hitch.
06:55And here too there is great variety for all.
07:16Leisure time and all the services offers a talented girl a chance to express herself in camp entertainment programs.
07:27For every woman there is an opportunity for a generous interlacing of social life to help develop the personality along
07:33with new contacts that have the invigorating flavor of different backgrounds and interests.
07:44Never is there a feeling of isolation.
07:46Daily mail call is a constant link with family and friends.
07:56Meanwhile, life on the post holds forth the best in living conditions,
07:59from fine food to the comfortable informality of dormitory style life.
08:09Compulsory courses in deportment and correct personal habits highlight the service's genuine concern for the nation's daughters in uniform.
08:19Church services of all denominations and chaplain guidance are available at every post.
08:25Never is there a camp dance without cheerful chaperonage that has more of a spiritual rather than strategic effect on
08:32the young people.
08:33Every woman's health is checked constantly and the best in medical care is instantly available.
08:39But fitness actually starts with a character check on every candidate even before she enters a branch of service.
08:45The girl who finally makes up her mind to join one of the services has her own reasons for doing
08:49so and yet there is a certain sameness in the fabric of her motivation that matches that of all women
08:55who enlist.
08:56A pattern that involves not only patriotism and duty but a desire for self advancement.
09:01But these are not new qualities in American women.
09:04Throughout history our women have endowed this nation with their hearts, their hopes, their spirit of sacrifice.
09:10Women like Molly Pitcher and Clara Barton were the fearless gingham clad women who rode the Oregon Trail.
09:17Nor is there any indication that women today are denying their historical and emotional heritage, their background of prideful service.
09:25These women marching so proudly are just as dedicated, just as devoted to that heritage as women who have gone
09:32before them.
09:33And we shall be a better or more secure nation because of them.
09:51Thank you!
