Deborah Gannett serves in military, hides gender Published March 30, 2016 By Airman 1st Class Dan Larson 375th Operations Support Squadron SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Women have shared the responsibility of defending the country for more than 200 years. They have played a crucial role in shaping the United States. Before 1917, women were not allowed to serve in the military, but this did not stop them. Many women enlisted into the military under false names, hiding their gender. During the American Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson Gannett left her family behind in 1782 and enlisted in the Continental Army under her deceased brother's name, Robert Shurtleff Sampson, becoming one of the first American women to do this. During her first battle, she took two musket balls in her thigh and sustained an injury to her forehead. Some of her fellow soldiers took her to a hospital, where her head wound was treated, but she left before they could attend to her leg. To keep her identity a secret, she used a penknife and sewing needle to remove one of the musket balls. The other ball was too deep for her to reach, so she never fully healed. She served in in the Army for 18 months, until she became ill and was seen by a doctor in Philadelphia. It was there that her true gender was discovered. After she recovered, she received an honorable discharge from Gen. John Patterson. Years later, in 1804, Congress awarded Samson's husband a widow's pension for her service. Her courage and initiative pioneered the way for women in the military. Sampson's and other women's selfless acts of patriotism led to the introduction of civilian nurses in 1898. During this time of the Spanish-American War, 1,500 civilian women served as nurses. Later in 1917-18, during the last two years of World War I, women were finally allowed to join the military.