UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II

Special Studies

THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS

by
Mattie E. Treadwell

 

 

CMH Logo

CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D. C., 1991
   


Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 53-61563

First Printed 1954-CMH Pub 11-8

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402


UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor
 

Advisory Committee
(As of 1 May 1953)

James P. Baxter
President, Williams College
Brig. Gen. Verdi B. Barnes
Army War College
John D. Hicks
University of California
Brig. Gen. Leonard J. Greeley
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
William T. Hutchinson
University of Chicago
Brig. Gen. Elwyn D. Post
Army Field Forces
S. L. A. Marshall
Detroit News
Col. Thomas D. Stamps
United States Military Academy
Charles S. Sydnor
Duke University
Col. C. E. Beauchamp
Command and General Staff College
Charles H. Taylor
Harvard University

 

Office of the Chief of Military History
Maj. Gen. Albert C. Smith, Chief*

Chief Historian Kent Roberts Greenfield
Chief, Histories Division Col. G. G. O'Connor
Chief, Editorial and Publication Division Col. B. A. Day
Chief Editorial Branch Joseph R. Friedman
Chief, Cartographic Branch Wsevolod Aglaimoff
Chief, Photographic Branch Maj. Arthur T. Lawry

*Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward was succeeded by General Smith on 1 February 1953.

iii


... to Those Who Served


Foreword

This history of the WAC is comprehensive and detailed. The author has written it not only from available records but also out of personal experience. She was a WAC staff officer, who, together with all the other WACs, found herself in a man's army that was somewhat shocked by the advent of a women's corps in its midst.

It is usual for both newcomer and old resident to have suspicions of each other, but after the characteristic period of false starts prejudices disappear and confidence is established. So it was with the WAC and the Army.

This book stresses the misunderstanding, appropriately enough, since it affected many decisions reached at the policy-making level. The WAC did not always understand the Army -its customs and traditions, its organization and necessary chain of command. The Army did not always understand the WAC­ its needs and temperament, and the many other things that man, being the son of woman, should have known but did not, much to his continued embarrassment.

Washington, D. C.
30 January 1953
 
ORLANDO WARD
Maj. Gen., U. S. A.
Chief of Military History

vii


The Authors

Mattie E. Treadwell, a native of Texas, holds a B.A. and an M.A. degree from the University of Texas. During World War II she was an officer, first in the WAAC and later in the WAC, holding such assignments as assistant to the Director WAC, assistant to the Air WAC Officer, and assistant to the Commandant, School of WAC Personnel Administration. She had the additional distinction of having been a member of the first class of women sent to the Command and General Staff School. While on active duty she attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

From September 1947 to March 1952 Miss Treadwell was a historian in the Office of the Chief of Military History. Upon her departure she became Assistant Director, Dallas Regional Office, Federal Civil Defense Administration, in charge of women's activities and volunteer manpower, an office that she currently holds. Her present military status is that of a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Washington, D. C.
30 January 1953
 
LEO J. MEYER
Colonel, Reserve Corps
Deputy Chief Historian

viii


Preface

Soon after the end of hostilities, the decision was made to devote to the Women's Army Corps one volume of the Army's major historical series, US ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. Although small by comparison with the size of the Army, the WAC at its peak strength of 100,000 constituted an enviably large group for study. Because of its 24-hour-a-day control of its personnel, the Army had access to information not easily obtainable by business or industry, concerning not only the women's job efficiency but their clothing and housing needs, and the effects of their employment upon their health, conduct, morale, and recreation.

For most of the war months, the potential importance of this material was not recognized, and little systematic effort was made to collect it. A number of Army commands had rulings against the collection of separate statistics for women, while others lacked either the time or the means to compile such material.

In postwar days, with renewed emphasis upon future planning, the present study was authorized in an attempt to pull together such evidence as remained. It was recognized that the experience of the relatively small group in World War II might provide a guide to any later and more extensive national mobilization of womanpower that might be necessary. Although no one possessed sufficient clairvoyance to predict the course of history, it was plainly evident that, in any future emergencies, the proper mobilization and employment of womanpower reserves might become a primary national issue.

The preservation of the wartime discoveries made in this field assumed added importance in view of the fact that no other American or British service has yet published a full official history of its women's corps. Significantly, comparison of the records of these groups reveals that the problems and achievements of each fall into a pattern so similar as to suggest a strong measure of predictability of the course of future groups. The Navy Department's draft narrative of the WAVES remains under classification, as do those of the Women Marines and the Army Nurse Corps. The story of the Air Forces women is included in the present volume, since the wartime Air WACs were a part of the WAC

The Army's discoveries in general appear valid and reliable, not only for militarized groups, but for most nonmilitary institutions or businesses which train or employ women. The observations on health, fatigue, accident rates, and psychological patterns should be a useful addition to current industrial studies. The discoveries in the fields of training, housing, clothing, feeding, and

xi


disciplining groups of women may present a fresh viewpoint to educational institutions. In particular, the conclusions on the leadership of women offer a clue to an explanation of the current misunderstandings and contradictory impressions on the subject.

It must be recognized at the outset that the problem of integrating women into an army was merely a part of the larger problem of their evolving status in civil life, accelerated by the industrial revolution and affecting every phase of modern society. Although the scope of this volume does not permit frequent comment upon the general place of women in society, few of the developments were without precedent. This was particularly true of the public skepticism and masculine hostility into which the WAC ran headlong in its first year. Admittedly, the Army had its share of a conservative element that had scarcely recovered from the shock of the mechanized horse when confronted with the militarized woman.

It should also be noted that the development and integration into the Army of a women's corps was at every turn a part of the larger development of the Army, and that few problems of the smaller group were unique. The Women's Army Corps, like this volume, must be viewed in perspective as one small facet of the larger entity.

While parallel, the problems of the employment of men and women were by no means identical in nature or solution. At the time of the organization of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps early in World War II, the misapprehension was general that women could be treated exactly like men and that little research would therefore be required for the successful incorporation of womanpower into the Army. Some believed that the WAC, as a minor group within the Army, was in the same general category as other groups dubbed minorities by reason of race, creed, or color, for whom differences of treatment would be improper. In practice it was soon discovered, however, that while a soldier might wear the same design of clothing regardless of race or creed, the same could not be said regardless of sex. The same principle was shortly found true in the fields of medicine, conduct, recreation, recruiting, physical capacity, and others. While all authorities were agreed that equal treatment must be given to men and women in the Army, it was soon apparent that equal did not mean identical in every case. The Army was thus faced with the problem of what styles of garments, though not identical with those of men, gave equal comfort, fit, and military appearance; what medications and surgery, although not identical, promoted equally good health; what standards of conduct, well-being, recreation, and training would enable the military service to answer to the American public for the women in its keeping as conscientiously as it customarily did for the men. In most cases, by the end of the war, these problems were successfully solved or the key to the solution was known.

As the following pages will reveal, the final conclusions of the wartime heads of the women's services were far from optimistic concerning the dangers of employing women in the armed forces if their special needs were not constantly understood and dealt with by trained specialists and well-informed commanders.

xii


Several major decisions concerning the scope and nature of this volume were dictated by the wide range of subjects it must cover, by the fact that its material was scattered through world-wide Army commands, and by the fact that only one writer-researcher could be assigned to the task. One such decision was that the approach must generally be on the level of policy and planning, rather than upon that of individual unit histories and statistics. Army commands employing WACs activated and inactivated hundreds of companies, and sent thousands of women back and forth among them individually and in small groups, to an extent that would have required another volume to record. Even could statistics be included upon the locations and movements of such personnel, the significance for future planning would be small.

However, in the interests of proper emphasis and perspective, it should be noted that an account at this high level is not necessarily a complete picture of the Corps. The efficiency of a WAC unit in the field was often relatively untouched by the struggles concerning the nation's womanpower which raged over its head. A WAC unit could, and often did, exist happily for months without proper uniforms, training, or other advantages, no matter how distressing to the War Department such deficiencies might be.

A generally more unworried tone could be given this volume only if it were possible to place in a row, beside the headaches of headquarters, the approximately five hundred separate stories of field achievement, which by sheer weight would reduce the policy and planning problems to their proper proportion.

Another decision which affected the nature of the history was that it should include all possible material of assistance to future planners. A considerably shorter volume could have been produced by a rapid account of the Corps' formation, strength, employment, and achievements, with no indication of its problems, the private controversies they engendered, or the means by which they were surmounted. However, for those specialists whose assigned mission is the efficient employment of womanpower, or even for the general Army reader, such a surface analysis would have been of small value.

In preparing this volume, I have had the advice of almost all of the wartime leaders, men and women, of the Women's Army Corps. Col. Oveta Culp Hobby has not only commented upon the manuscript, but has answered specific questions and has given me generously of her time in discussing puzzling references. Lt. Col. Helen Hamilton Woods, WAAC preplanner and later Deputy Director, read and reread various drafts, and opened her Washington home to me for interviews with prominent participants including Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers. Dr. Betty Bandel has submitted a detailed commentary on each chapter in its draft form, and has answered innumerable questions concerning the 40,000 Air Forces women, whom she represented, and the Corps as a whole, of which she was Acting Deputy. Lt. Col. Katherine R. Goodwin has clarified many points regarding the Army Service Forces WACs, for which she was advisor. Before her death, Dr. Jess Rice, the wartime Deputy Director, commented upon early parts of the manuscript and gave me many

xiii


admonitions concerning historical technique, which I have endeavored to follow, as well as strictures against making her a heroine of the story, which I have endeavored to ignore in the interests of historical accuracy.

Gen. George C. Marshall has read and commented upon various passages, appealing on one occasion to the former Director to know if she had actually encountered all of the recruiting difficulties described.* Maj. Gen. Miller G. White, the Army man who, as G-1 of the War Department, worked most closely with WAC policy, has read all of the manuscript and added comments and excerpts from his diary. The Auxiliary Corps portion has been commented upon by, among others, Maj. Gen. John H. Hilldring, Brig. Gens. Don C. Faith and Thomas B. Catron, and Cols. Harold Tasker and Gilman Mudgett.

To the hundreds of other Army men and women-from general officer to private-who have given me their opinions-each chapter will make proper acknowledgment.

Within the Office of the Chief of Military History, I have received great assistance from the Chief Historian, Dr. Kent R. Greenfield, the Deputy Chief Historian, Lt. Col. Leo J. Meyer, and their entire staff, whose aid will be particularly acknowledged in the chapters concerned. Dr. Mae Link has contributed valuable research on the Army Service Forces, and Maj. Margaret Bacchus on the British services. For typing and preparing the manuscript I am indebted to Sgt. Amelia Madrak, Mrs. Lorraine Bonifant, Mrs. Lois Riley, and Mrs. Elizabeth Phillips and her staff.

My particular aid and counsel has been Miss Ruth Stout, the editor of this volume, who has provided much-needed help and encouragement as well as perspective, advice, and good judgment. We are both grateful to the Chief Editor, Mr. Joseph R. Friedman, for his sympathetic interest and advice, and to Mr. Allen R. Clark for care and precision in copy editing. I am also indebted to Mr. Clark for the comprehensive index. The work of selecting illustrations has been performed by Miss Margaret E. Tackley, who lent the project not only her technical skill but her experience as a wartime officer of the WAC, thereby avoiding the errors common to inexperienced judges of WAC photographs.

Credit for the successful planning and launching of the project belongs to the early staff of the Army's Historical Division, especially Col. Allen F. Clark, Col. John M. Kemper, Col. Allison R. Hartman, and the first Chief Historian of the Army, the late Dr. Walter L. Wright. Jr. And finally, the broad and constructive criticism, based on years of military experience, offered by Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward, Chief of Military History during the last months of the volume's preparation, was of great assistance in completing the work.

Washington, D. C.
15 April 1953
MATTIE E. TREADWELL
 

*Her answer: "No, more."

xii


Contents

PART ONE  

Organization and Growth of a Women's Corps

 

Chapter   

Page
I FROM 1776 TO WORLD WAR II 3

Total War and the Industrial Revolution

4

The Army Nurse Corps

5

World War I

6

Twenty-three Years of Peace

10

Plans for a Women's Service Corps

12

The Hughes Plan

13

The Approach of World War II

15

H. R. 4906

18
   
II ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WAAC 24

The Appointment of WAAC Pre-Planners

25

Selection of a Director

28

Organization of Director's Headquarters

30

Assignment to Services of Supply

31

The British Parallel

32

Recruiting Plans

34

Search for a Training Center

35

The Uniform

36

Housing Plans

39

Allocation of Units

41

WAAC Regulations

42

Passage of WAAC Bill

44
   
III THE WAAC'S FIRST SUMMER 46

The Press

46

Establishment of WAAC Headquarters

49

Location in the Services of Supply

50

Director's Schedule

51

Operating Duties

52

Selection of the First Officer Candidates

54

Screening of Applicants

55

Special Groups of Candidates

58

The First WAAC Training Center

59

Expansion Plans, Summer of 1942

61

The First WAAC Officer Candidate Class, 20 July - 29 August 1942

63

The Training Course

66

Graduation

71
   
IV SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1942: BEGINNINGS OF FIELD DUTIES 73

New Graduating Classes

75

The Second WAAC Training Center

77

Aircraft Warning Service Units

78

Appeals for Publication of Command Channels

82

New Expansion Plans

84

General Marshall's Intervention

85

Assignment of Regional Directors

88

Field Action

89

Director Overseas

91
   
V NOVEMBER 1942 JANUARY 1943: PLANS FOR A MILLION WAACS 92

The Adjutant General's Estimates

92

Estimates Based on Field Requisitions

93

Proposals to Draft Women

95

The Weakness of the Auxiliary System

96

Proposals for Expansion on Auxiliary Status

97

The Winter Months

99

Shipment of the First Post Headquarters Companies

103

First Overseas Shipment

104

End of 1942

110

Indecision as to Planning Goals

110
   
VI THE NEED FOR MILITARY STATUS 113

Administrative Handicaps of an Auxiliary

113

The Auxiliary Disciplinary System

115

Remedial Legislation

117

Introduction of WAC Bill

118
   
VII SPRING, 1943: EXPANSION AND DECENTRALIZATION 122

Expansion Program Decided

122

Expansion of WAAC Training

126

Delegation of Command Authority

127

Inclusion in the Troop Basis

128

Staff Directors Assigned to New Commands

130

Major Commands Receive Waacs

132

Readiness for Increase in Number

135
   
VIII STRESSES OF RAPID BUILD-UP: PERSONNEL AND TRAINING 136

Training Center Confusion

136

Commissioning of Unqualified Officers

137

Unsuitable Mentors

139

The "Nightmare" of Basic Training

140

Personnel Problems in Headquarters

144

Shipment of T/O Units

146

Replacement of Soldiers

148
   
IX STRESSES OF RAPID BUILDUP: SUPPLY AND THE WAAC UNIFORM 149

Shortages of Clothing

149

Appearance of the Uniform

155

The Need for New Types of Work Clothing

161

Public Reaction to Unsuitable Uniforms

166
   
X STRESSES OF RAPID BUILDUP: RECRUITING 168

Danger Signals

170

Disputes Over Lowering Standards

173

AGCT Standards

174

Medical Standards

176

Moral Standards

178

Inexpert Sales Methods

179

Transfer of Responsibility to WAAC Headquarters

181

The Restoration of Standards

183

The Advertising Contract

184

The Revised Campaign

186

The Cleveland Plan

188
   
XI THE "SLANDER CAMPAIGN" 191

Record of the WAAC's First Year

191

Publicity Machinery

193

Attacks by Private Letter and Gossip

195

The Civilian Uniforms

198

The Organized Rumors

200

War Department Denial

204

Investigation by Intelligence Service

205

Investigation at Daytona Beach

208

Other Investigations

211

The Question of Axis Influence

214

Ineffectiveness of Denials

216
   
XII JULY-SEPTEMBER 1943: THE CONVERSION TO ARMY STATUS 219

The First Wac

220

The Conversion

221

First Companies in the WAC

224

Why Some Went Home

224

Why the Majority Stayed

228

The End of the WAAC

229
   
XIII ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE RECRUITING 231

The Search for a Recruiting Theme

231

The Manpower Theme

232

The All-Stales Plan

235

The Recruiters

236

Sources of Assistance

237

The Air-WAC Plan

238

The Quota

239

The Campaign

239

Opposition of the War Manpower Commission

242

Public Apathy

244

The Success of the All-Stales Campaign

245

Revival of Plans to Draft Women

246

The Austin- Wadsworth Bill

247

Army Manpower Crisis

249

Sudden WAC Popularity

249

The Job-and-Station Promise

250

Women-in-War Campaign

254

Campaign Conclusions

255
   
XIV INTEGRATION INTO THE ARMY 256

Abolition of Separate Grades

256

The Office of the Director WAC

259

General Impression of Director's Status

262

First WAC Regulations

263

Rights and Benefits of the WAC

265

Army Advisers Depart

266

Field Needs After Integration

266

Close of 1943

268
   
XV REMOVAL OF DIRECTOR'S OFFICE TO G-1 DIVISION 269

G3 Recommendation

269

Handicaps on ASF level

270

Move to General Staff Authorized

272

The Meek Report

272

Corrective Action by the Chief of Staff

274
   
PART TWO  

World-Wide Employment

 

Chapter   

Page
XVI THE ARMY AIR FORCES 281

Acceptance of WACs on Airfields

282

The Air WAC Division

282

AAF "Firsts"

283

Flying Jobs for Women

285

Specialist Training

286

Conventional Clerical Sobs

289

Technical Assignments

289

Officers

293

Grades and Ratings

293

Overseas Assignment

294

Conclusion of Program

294
   
XVII THE ARMY GROUND FORCES 296

AGF WAC Jobs

299

Experiment With Mixed Tactical Units

301

Problems of Full Integration

302

Effect of Manpower Shortages

304
   
XVIII THE ARMY SERVICE FORCES 307

The Signal Corps

309

Chemical Warfare Service

321

The Corps of Engineers

326

Ordnance Department

329

The Quartermaster Corps

329

The Transportation Corps

331

The Adjutant General's Department

336

Finance Department

337

Corps of Chaplains

337

The Provost Marshal's Department

338
   
XIX THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT (ASF) 339

Female Medical Technicians Campaign

340

Success of Training

341

Relative Success in Medical Jobs

341

Commissioned Duties

344

Medical and Surgical Technicians

344

The Hospital Orderly

345

Request for Survey

347

Hours of Work

348

Cessation of Medical Department Recruiting

349

WACs vs Nurses' Aides

352

T/O Units for General Hospitals

353

General Hospital Campaign

354

Conclusions

358
   
XX THE NORTH AFRICAN AND MEDITERRANEAN THEATERS 360

Arrival of First Unit

361

Administrative Difficulties

362

Further WAC Shipments

364

Fifth Army WACs

366

Headquarters Duties

368

Degree of Adjustment Required

370

Health, Discipline, and Morale

371

Social Association

374

Other Women's Groups

376

Demobilization

377
   
XXI THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 380

First WAAC Separate Battalion

381

Buildup of Units Prior to D Day

383

The Move to the Continent

385

WAC Job Assignments

390

Officer Assignments

393

WAC Staff Director's Office

394

Housing, Supply, and Clothing

395

Health, Morals, and Discipline

397

Civilian Competition

400

Social Association

402

Policy on Marriage

403

Public Relations

404

Post hostilities Period

406

Demobilization

406

Appraisal

408
   
XXII THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA 410

Direct Commissions

413

Arrival of WAC Staff

414

First WAC Contingent in Australia

418

Arrival in New Guinea

420

Headquarters Rendered Mobile

422

Oro Bay

423

Hollandia

426

The Philippines

428

Other Bases

430

Manila

432

Job Assignments

433

The Question of Expense

437

Medical Evacuation Rate

439

Deficiencies in Uniform and Supply

440

Morale

444

Length of Working Day

445

Discipline and Morals

446

Restrictions on Daily Life

449

Inferior WAC Commanders

451

Command of Enlisted Women by Male Officers

453

Transfer of Responsibility to WAC Section

455

War Department Investigation

456

Demobilization

459

Conclusion

460
   
XXIII OTHER OVERSEAS THEATERS 463

Southeast Asia Command

463

The China-Burma-India Theater

464

The China Theater

471

The Middle East Theater

474

Other Overseas Areas

478

Independent Commands Overseas

479
   
XXIV THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR WAC 480

Removal of Operating Duties

481

Liaison With Other Women's Services

483

Liaison With the National Civilian Advisory Committee

484

Liaison With the American Red Cross

485

Liaison With Other National and Local Organizations

485

Liaison With Congress

486

Liaison With Private Citizens

487
   
PART THREE  

War Department Policy Concerning The Women's Army Corps

 

Chapter   

Page
XXV LEGAL, SOCIAL, AND MORAL PROBLEMS 495

Discharge

495

Discipline

503

Confinement

505

Maternity Care

507

Marriage

510

The Social Caste System

511
   
XXVI HOUSING, FOOD, AND CLOTHING 515

Housing

515

Unit Messes

525

Clothing

527
   
XXVII THE EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL: ENLISTED WOMEN 543

Restrictions on Nonmilitary Assignments

544

Restrictions on Permanent Kitchen Police Duty

546

Restrictions on Food Service Assignments

548

Other Questions of Proper Employment

550

Results of Enlisted Personnel Policies

559
   
XXVIII THE EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL: OFFICERS 564

Restrictions on Officer Assignment

564

Limitations on Further WAC Commissions

566

The Officers' Pool

567

Reclassification Proposals

568

Shortage of WAC Troop Officers

569

Proposals for an A Corps

571

Integration of Specialist Officers

573

The Question of Direct Commissions

574

Promotion of Officers

574

Officer Education

577

Warrant Officers

577
   
XXIX THE EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL: OVERSEAS SHIPMENT 578 578

Medical Screening

580

Psychiatric Screening

581

Shipment of Nonvolunteers

582

Objections to Filling Requisitions

583

Processing for Shipment

584

Rotation

587

Shipment in T/O Units

588

Effectiveness of Shipment Program

588
   
XXX THE EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL: MINORITY GROUPS 589

Negro Personnel

589

Conclusions

601
   
XXXI HEALTH AND MEDICAL CARE 602

Medical Standards for Enlistment

602

Rejection and Discharge Rates

607

Monthly Physical Inspection

608

Sick Call, Dispensary Care, and Hospitalization

610

WAC Morbidity Rate

610

Gynecological Care

611

Psychiatric Problems

622

Accidents and Injuries

626

Weight and Diet

627

Fatigue and Health Impairment

627

Reconditioning

629

Separation

630
   
XXXII TRAINING 631

WAC Training Centers

631

Basic Military Training Courses

634

Basic Technical Courses

640

Miscellaneous Courses

646

WAC Officer Candidate School

648

Intermediate Officers' School (IOS)

649

Leadership Courses for Enlisted Women

650

Testing Procedures

651

Evaluation of Effectiveness of Training

651

Closing of Training Centers

658

Attendance at Army Specialist Schools

660

Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP)

661

Continuation Training in the Field

661

Opposition of Personnel Officers

662

Physical Training for Field Units

664

Personnel as Training Needs

666
   
XXXIII THE LEADERSHIP OF WOMEN 669

Capabilities of the Woman Leader

670

Efforts To Determine Qualities of Leadership

672

Sensitivity to Discipline

672

The Maternalistic Commander

673

Other Leadership Problems

674

Problems Peculiar to WAC Leaders

676

The One Essential Quality

677

Selection and Training of Leaders

680

The Army Commander as a Leader of Women Troops

681
   
XXXIV RECRUITING AND PUBLICITY 684

Recruiting

684

"Fighting Men and WACs"

685

Improvement of Recruiting Machinery

686

Diagnosis of Resistance to Enlistment

688

Remedial Action by The Adjutant General

692

Establishment of a Separate WAC Recruiting Service

694

Achievements of the WAC Recruiting Service

696

Last Days of WAC Recruiting

696

Public Relations Support

699

Establishment of the WAC Group

701

Support by Films and Stage Shows

705

Evaluation

708
   
PART FOUR  

Last Days of the Wartime WAC

 

Chapter   

Page
XXXV 1945: THE CLOSING MONTHS OF THE WAR 711

Rotation Proposals

712

Refresher Training of Officers

713

School for WAC Personnel Administration

715

Evaluation of Refresher Training

717

Director Hobby's Resignation

719

Recommendations for Promotion

721

Choice of Successor

721

Final Recommendations

724
   
XXXVI DEMOBILIZATION 726

Action Following V-J Day

728

Slowing of WAC Demobilization

729

WAC Effort To Hasten Demobilization

732

Cessation of WAC Demobilization

733

Separation Procedure

735

Veterans' Administration Policy

737

Reserve Proposals

739

Plans for a Regular Army WAC

741

The Interim

743

Congressional Action

746
   
XXXVII EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 750

Cost to the Army

750

Recommendations for the Future

752

Report of the Hoover Commission

762

The Final View

763
   
Appendixes  
A. TABLES  
1 Strength of the Women's Army Corps: July 1942-December 1946 765
2 Accessions of Personnel in the Women's Army Corps: 1942 - 1946 766
3 WAAC Personnel Statistics 767
4 Strength of Women's Army Corps in Continental United States: May 1943 - December 1946 769
5 Women's Army Corps Enlisted Personnel in Army Air Forces, Continental United States, by Military Occupational Specialty: 31 January 1945 770
6 Women's Army Corps Officer Personnel in Army Air Forces, Continental United States, by Military Occupational Specialty: 31 January 1945 771
7 Strength of Women's Army Corps in Overseas Theaters: 1943-1946 772,773
8 Decorations and Awards Made to the Women's Army Corps: December 1941 - 30 June 1947 774
9 Personnel Discharged From the Women's Army Corps Because of Pregnancy: 1942 -1946 775
10 Percent Distribution of WAC and Male Personnel in the U S Army, by Grade: December 1942 - December 1946 776
11 Strength of Negro Personnel in the Women's Army Corps: 1943 -1946 777
12 Enlisted Personnel Separated From the Women's Army Corps: August 1942 -December 1946 778
13 Officers Separated From the Women's Army Corps: September 1942 ­ December 1946 779
   
B. EXCERPT FROM REPORT ON BRITISH WOMEN'S SERVICES 780
   
C. A SUMMARY OF CONTROVERSY ON LEGAL STATUS OF WAAC 782
   
D. A SUMMARY OF WASP CONTROVERSY 784
   
E. COURSE CONTENT 786
   
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 791
   
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 798

Charts

  Page
Favorable Comment on Women's Services 448
Average Cost Estimates on Enlisted Personnel 751

Illustrations

  Page
Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby Frontispiece
Women During World War I 9
Gen George C Marshall 22
WAAC Insignia 40
Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby 47
Screening of Applicant 57
WAAC Staff and Members of the Press 64
First Officer Candidate Class 68,69
WAAC Officers Assigned for Duty in Washington 74
Filter Board, Mitchel Field, New York 80
Lt Col Helen H Woods 90
Brig Gen Don C Faith 103
On the Job at Fort Sam Houston, Texas 105
First American Waacs En Route to North Africa 107
Processing for Overseas 108,109
First Officer Elizabeth Strayhorn 125
Maj Betty Bandel 133
KP Duty 142
WAAC Band 157
"You'll just have to get used to low-heeled shoes! " 160
Physical Training 163
Recruiting Officers of Sixth Service Command 170
Recruiting Poster 185
"What makes you think the WAAC is coining to this camp?" 196
The President and Mrs. Franklin D Roosevelt 202
Clergymen Visiting Fort Des Moines 217
Mass Enlistment Ceremonies 225
Maj Jessie P Rice 235
All-States Recruiting Campaign 240,241
Station Job Recruiting Demonstrations 253
Training at Lowry Field, Colorado 287
First Officer Emily E Davis 297
Women Assigned to the Army Ground Forces 298
Lt Col Katherine R Goodwin 308
Quebec Conference, August 1943 313
Instruction in Radio Theory 322
Women Decontamination Experts 323
Medical Recruiting Display 355
Maj Westray Battle Boyce 363
WACs Arriving at Caserta, Italy 366
Gen Henri H Giraud Reviewing Waacs 375
Docking in Scotland 382
Landing in Normandy 386
Lt Col Anna W Wilson 389
Postal Directories in the European Theater 391
Arriving in Sydney, Australia 471
Commanding Officer of Third Contingent of WACs 424
Hollandia, Netherlands New Guinea 428,429
WAC Area, Tacloban, Leyte Island 431
Taj Mahal 466
Maj Gen Miller G White 481
WAC Housing 518,519
Recreation Rooms 523
On Leave In Paris, 1945 534
Suitable Army Jobs for Women 560,561
General Marshall 575
Overseas Training 586
Maj Margaret D Craighill 603
Processing at Training Centers 633
Chemical Warfare Training 637
Member of the Cooks Course 644
Motor Transport Training 646
Last Basic Training Inspection 659
Vocation Counseling 736

Photographs are from the Department of Defense files.


Page updated 3 February 2003


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