As casualties soar, America's women face reality of front line
Joanna Walters reports from New York on how Iraq is changing the face of warfare

Joanna Walters in New York
Sunday May 1, 2005
The Observer

Facing the highest ever casualty rate for servicewomen in its history, America is considering making official what is already a reality - allowing women to fight on the front line in war.

The ground war in Iraq has made the historical tradition of not having women in combat unworkable. A total of 35 US servicewomen have now died in Iraq and 271 have been injured. It is a small percentage of the 1,500 US service personnel fatalities and the 11,600 wounded, but these women are being killed and injured under enemy fire.

Three days ago army private Sam Huff was buried with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery. She was 18 and died on 18 April when her convoy was blown up by a roadside bomb. 'Beneath that beautiful young lady was a backbone of steel,' her sergeant, Sam Jones, wrote in a letter read aloud at her hometown funeral in Tucson, Arizona.

Huff's parents reluctantly let her join the army when she was 16 and she quickly gained a reputation for enthusiasm and grit. 'She's the bravest kid I've ever known,' said her father, Robert Huff. 'She was up and down that damned road between Baghdad and the airport, which is notorious for improvised explosive devices. But she knew the risks and believed in the mission.'

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