FLASH: “In a surprise ruling with major ramifications, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision in the case of Becker vs. Minneapolis Draft Board for Josiah Becker, who had sued claiming the recently passed Selective Training and Service Act unfairly singles out males. The decision extends the draft to all US citizens age eighteen or older regardless of gender.”
—United Press International—Washington, DC
It’s 1942 and in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US army has entered the fray. In Michael’s version of history the girls aren’t stitching socks for the brave boys at the front. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are three of the newest recruits in the US Armed Forces. They stand shoulder to shoulder with the boys from home as the first generation of female soldiers in the American army.
Rio has grown up in a world where men don’t cry and girls are supposed to care only about ‘money and looks’. She has never been a particularly good fit for domestic life. When her sister is killed in action, Rio decides it is her duty to enlist. Her action leads her to discover strengths she only suspected she had. Frangie enlists to support her family, her father no longer being able to work. Rainy is propelled into the army out of hatred for Hitler and his treatment of the Jewish people.
These three soldiers were just ordinary girls but their moment in history requires them to do extraordinary things.