in the armed forces All branches of the U.S. military enlisted women during World War II. The Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps was established by the Army in 1942. Also formed during this time were the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), the Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, and the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARS). Women saw combat during World War II, first as nurses in the Pearl Harbor attacks on 7 December 1941. In 1944, WACs arrived in the Pacific and in Normandy. During the war, 67 Army nurses and 16 Navy nurses were captured and spent three years as Japanese prisoners of war. There were 350,000 American women who served during World War II, and 16 were killed on duty. In total, they gained over 1,500 medals, citations, and commendations. After World War II, demobilization led to the vast majority of serving women being returned to civilian life. Law 625, The Women's Armed Services Act of 1948, was signed by President Truman, allowing women to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in fully integrated units during peace time, with only the WAC remaining a separate female unit. During the Korean War of 1950–1953, many women served in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals. During the Vietnam War, 600 women served in the country as part of the Air Force, along with 500 members of the WAC and over 6,000 medical personnel and support staff. The Ordnance Corps began accepting female missile technicians in 1974 and female crewmembers and officers were accepted into Field Artillery missile units. In 1974, the first six women naval aviators earned their wings as Navy pilots. The congressionally mandated prohibition on women in combat places limitations on the pilots' advancement, but at least two retired as captains. The 1991 Gulf War proved to be the pivotal time for the role of women in the U.S. Armed Forces to come to the attention of the world media; there are many reports of women engaging enemy forces during the conflict. In 1991, women were permitted to fly military aircraft. Since 1994, women can serve on U.S. combat ships. In 2010, the ban on women serving on submarines was lifted. On 3 December 2015, U.S. defense secretary Ashton Carter announced that all military combat positions would become available to women. This gave women access to the roughly 10% of military jobs which