Emerging from their 1950s-sitcom ideal roles as wives and mothers, women came out in force during the turbulent times of the Vietnam War. From journalists who risked (and sometimes gave) their lives to provide the American people with the truth, to nurses and volunteers who selflessly served and boosted morale in horrifying conditions and situations, to women who mobilized on the home front in protest or support of the war, women of all ages took advantage of the changing climate brought on by the war and the Civil Rights Movement and broke free of the roles that had been stifling them since the end of World War II. Culminating in the establishment of a Vietnam women's memorial, this book takes a hard look at the war and women's roles in it. Also includes a discussion of Vietnamese women's role in the conflict.