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

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.

Rogers witnessed how women who helped during World War I were treated.  She was adamant that things had to change if the United States found itself in another war. “I was resolved that our women would not again serve with the Army without the same protection the men got,” Rogers stated, according to the U.S. Army website.

Rogers first introduced a bill to congress to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in May 1941, but it received little support. Some lawmakers like Michigan Congressman Clare Hoffman (1875–1967) questioned who would stay on the home front while the men were away. But after Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, it became apparent that the United States would be heading to one of the deadliest wars yet. The military could use all of the help it could get. The senate eventually approved the bill on May 14, 1942. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill into law the next day, officially establishing the WAAC.

WAAC officers at First WAC Training Center, Fort Des Moines, Iowa, take the oath of office on Sept. 1, 1943. Public Domain

WAAC Established

The day after he signed the bill, President Roosevelt set a recruitment goal of 25,000 for the first year. But that goal was unexpectedly exceeded right away. Oveta Culp Hobby (1905–1995) was chosen as the WAAC’s first leader, and a training camp was established in Des Moines, Iowa.

Col. Oveta Culp Hobby (R) talks with Auxiliary Margaret Peterson and Capt. Elizabeth Gilbert at Mitchel Field, New York, 1943. Al Aumuller, World Telegram & Sun. Public Domain

When the WAAC was first formed, women were paid the same as men while in the country, but they were ineligible for overseas pay and benefits in the case of death. This changed in 1943, when the army asked Congress to change the auxiliary status of women who served. After some debate, Congress eventually agreed, and the WAAC became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) on July 3, 1943.

“There weren’t enough men even with the draft and volunteers to sustain the losses, so women were allowed in laundry and any non-combat position,” Mary Hansen told The Epoch Times. Hansen served in the WAC from 1975 to 1981 because her father and grandfather had both served in the military. “But we went on to prove we were adept in combat. We were needed and still are. ... We were put into non-combat positions, which allowed more of [the men] to go into the needed combat positions.”

Slander

President Roosevelt visited the Third WACC Training Center at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. and saw 3000 WAACS parade past his reviewing post on April 17, 1943. The President. Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, National Archives. Public Domain

At first, women all over the country flocked to recruitment offices to join the WAAC. Then in 1943, a slander campaign painted women serving in the military in a negative light. WAAC leader Hobby demanded an investigation into the slander campaign, as she suspected it was the work of the enemy Axis forces. The investigation instead determined that efforts to slander women in the WAAC were conducted by soldiers’ wives, jealous civilian women, disgruntled discharged WAACs, and male Army personnel.

Despite the slowdown in recruitment, around 150,000 women served some type of role in the WAAC and WAC during WWII. Even though some tried to portray the women who served in a negative way, Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) said otherwise. He once called the WACs his best soldiers, saying they were better disciplined, worked harder, and complained less than their male counterparts.

Women continued to serve in the WAC after WWII ended. Then they were called to action again during the Korean War. In 1962, a group of WACs was sent to Vietnam to help train South Vietnamese women to provide similar support to their soldiers.

In 1976, the first female cadets enrolled at the U.S. Army’s West Point Academy, and the WAC was officially disbanded in 1978. While women were allowed within the male ranks, the transition didn’t come easily.

1942 "Do Your Part Join the WAAC" recruiting poster for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University. Public Domain

In the Army

“I was in for the short period of time when we had the basic training with the men,” U.S. Army veteran Yvonne Wilson, who served for 15 years, told The Epoch Times. “From 1979 to 1983, I think it was tougher for females to go through basic training because the standards were much higher than they are now. [It changed] once they established the fact that they shouldn’t have men and women training together in basic training. So I think that was a tough time for women in the military—that transition from WAC to regular army.”

Overall, Wilson said that being a woman in a man’s world made her a stronger person. She and other female veterans agree that the establishment of the WAAC in 1942 definitely led to women serving in the military after that. It helped them obtain equal pay as men in the military, as they do today.

Col. Hoisington meets cadre members of the WAC Detachment, Vietnam in October 1967. (L-R) Rhynell M. Stoabs, Betty J. Benson, Col. Hoisington, Peggy E. Ready, Edith L. Efferson, and Patricia C. Pewitt.  Public Domain

Veteran Jody Larreau served in the U.S. Army for 26 years. “When the early women joined the WAAC, they paved the way for the totally integrated force, which I was part of,” Larreau told The Epoch Times. “If they hadn’t been able to join, then it would have never been allowed open for the rest of us.

“The military gives you non-tangibles: a sense of belonging to something greater than yourself and being a part of something. It gives you the pride and camaraderie and everything that you can’t buy because you are part of something so much greater than yourself for such a greater cause.”

WAAC recruiting poster, “This Is My War Too,” between 1941 and 1945. National Archives at College Park. Public Domain

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