You’re in the Army Now: The Womens Auxiliary Army Corp

The establishment of the WAAC in 1942 brought a new force into the U.S. military.

A detail from a recruiting poster for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), “This Is My War Too,” between 1941 and 1945.National Archives at College Park. (Public Domain

Throughout U.S. history, women have served a vital role on the front lines in every war and conflict. In fact, many women disguised themselves as men to fight in combat in the Revolutionary War.

Since then, and at the onset of World War II, women officially only served strictly supportive roles and didn’t have the same benefits as full members of the U.S. military. But in 1941, just as WWII was starting in Europe, Massachusetts Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers (1881–1960) knew something had to change.