Agent Peggy Carter is back on ABC and still solving cases with style! We first saw the Marvel spy in Captain America: The First Avenger. During World War II, the fictional Peggy Carter was an officer in the British Army and then a Strategic Scientific Reserve agent, who helped transform Steve Rogers into Captain America. She was tough and had an instrumental part in defeating the Nazis.

Fortunately, there were many real-life Peggy Carters who helped win World War II for the Allies. Women during World War II drove trucks, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, worked as radio operators, served as nurses, worked in the factories, helped out with war-related organizations, and managed households. They also flew and repaired planes. Women in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) logged more than 60 million flight miles, ferrying planes from factories to bases, transporting cargo, and participating in simulation strafing and target missions. In 2010, these women finally received the Congressional Gold Medal and the recognition they deserved. More than 200 of the women attended the ceremony at the capital. Some even wore their World War II uniforms!

Women during World War II also served in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women’s Reserve, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurses Corps. Altogether, about 350,000 women served in the US Armed Forces on the home front and in every theater of war. Sadly, some women made the ultimate sacrifice. Thirty-eight WASPs lost their lives during the war. Sixteen women serving in the Army Nurses Corps were killed by enemy fire. Another 68 women serving in the Armed Forces were captured and held as POWs in the Philippines.

I love watching Agent Carter. She reminds me of all the smart, strong, real-life women who helped win the war!