Top Photo: Are you a girl with star-spangled heart?--Join the WAC now!--Thousands of Army jobs need filling! Artist: Bradshaw Crandell. Recruiting Publicity Bureau United States Army. Library of Congress

When the United States declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy in December 1941, the only women in the military were Army and Navy nurses. US Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts recognized that other Allied countries, including the Soviet Union, China, and Great Britain, were allowing or even drafting women to participate in the war effort in factories, air service, air raid protection and, in some cases, combat. Rogers acknowledged that American women would likewise want to serve their country. Wanting to avoid a situation where women would not receive equal pay or benefits like the women who aided the US Army in previous wars,  Rogers introduced a bill in May 1941 to create the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). A year later, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the act, officially establishing the WAAC on May 15, 1942.[1]

Women in the Army before World War II

The WAAC was the first women’s corps to serve within the US Army. However, prior to World War II, 20,000 women assisted the Continental Army during the American Revolution, acting as camp followers, spies, nurses, and some dressing as men to participate in combat.[2] Women also served in the Civil War in the same roles. During World War I, switchboard operators known as “Hello Girls” were members of the Army Signal Corps but were considered civilian contract employees. 

Female US Army Signal Corps telephone operators (“Hello Girls”) in Chaumont, France, during World War I. Courtesy of the US Army.

Women in the Army during World War II

Rogers introduced a bill on May 28, 1941, that provided for a US Army auxiliary unit that allowed women to serve in the Army as switchboard operators, mechanics, postal clerks, drivers, typists, medical personnel, and other noncombat roles. Rogers, having witnessed the unequal status of women in World War I, vowed that if American women served in the Army in World War II, they would do so with the same rights and benefits as men. The bill was initially held up by the Bureau of the Budget, but once the country went to war, Rogers reintroduced the bill. The bill creating the WAAC, H.R. 6293, took 14 pages to outline how the WAAC did and did not differ from the Army. It stated that the corps was to have 25,000 women in noncombatant service: “not a part of the Army but it shall be the only women’s organization authorized to service with the Army, exclusive of the Army Nurse Corps.”[3] This landmark legislation marked a major shift in the US military's inclusion of women, aiming to provide the Army with the critical support needed to fight a global war. The women who volunteered for appointment or enrollment would have to serve a term of one year, which could be extended for the duration of the war plus six months. The age limits for enrollees were 21 to 45, and for officers were “such as would be prescribed by regulations.”

Three months after its reintroduction in March 1942, on May 15, President Roosevelt approved and signed the bill establishing the WAAC. The following day, Oveta Culp Hobby was sworn in as its first director. 

Between 1941 and 1942, Hobby led the Women’s Interest Section in the War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations, investigating ways in which women could serve their country and creating the foundation for them to do so. When Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall asked Hobby to direct the WAAC on May 14, 1942, she embraced her new role. Hobby believed the thousands of women who joined the WAAC who worked in clerical, administrative, and other roles would free just as many men for combat. Upon her appointment, she traveled from city to city across the United States to encourage thousands of women to enlist in the Army. Marshall, who supported the creation and training of the WAAC, stated in a recruiting video from 1943 that “the corps is a most important element of the Army, and I personally am intensely interested in its rapid development in strength as well as in training.”

Oveta Culp Hobby is sworn in as the first director of the Women's Army Corps by Major General Myron C. Cramer, Army Judge Advocate General, as Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson look on. Washington, D.C. May 16, 1942. Courtesy of the National Archives.

Recruitment campaigns for the WAAC emphasized patriotism and service. Hobby traveled extensively to encourage women to join, promoting WAAC service as a way to directly support the war effort while freeing men for combat roles. Under her leadership, recruitment exceeded expectations. Initially aiming for 25,000 volunteers, the program saw over 60,000 enlistments within its first year. Eventually, more than 150,000 women served during the war, far surpassing its original goals.[4]

While the WAAC began as an auxiliary branch, it transitioned to full military status in 1943, becoming the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The WAC granted female soldiers many of the same rights as male soldiers, including equal rank and pay within their service roles. By the war’s end, women in the WAC had firmly established their place in the Army.

Recruiting and Challenges

The recruitment process, however, faced obstacles from the beginning. Cultural stereotypes about gender roles and the perceived appropriateness of women in military service sparked resistance from the public. When Rogers initially introduced the bill to create the WAAC, she wanted the women who joined to take part as members of the Army: she wanted them to have the same pay and disability allowance as men. But she realized that she could not secure equal benefits because “the War Department was very unwilling to have these women as a part of the Army.”[5] 

Once established, the WAAC began training at Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School. But when Hobby asked engineers to draft plans for barracks, they responded by saying that, because the WAAC were only an auxiliary unit, the engineers would not work for them. As late as 1944, even after its integration into the Army, women in the WAC were also often called “petticoat soldiers” by men who did not approve of them.

Of the women’s military branches, the WAC received the most pushback. Despite their impressive numbers and integration into the Army in 1943, Congressman Andrew Lawrence Somers of New York said that the legislation establishing the WAC was “the silliest piece of legislation that has ever come before my notice in the years that I have served here. A woman’s army to defend the United States of America. Think of the humiliation. What has become of the manhood of America, that we have to call on our women to do what has ever been the duty of men? The thing is so revolting to me, to my sense of decency, that I just cannot discuss it.”[6] 

Many WACs also experienced sexual harassment. One WAC was almost court-martialed, but for a fellow WAC witnessing and testifying, for being pulled onto the lap of a patient who then spanked her as her commanding officer entered the room. Another had to rescue a fellow WAC who was being attacked by a male soldier.

In 1943, male American servicemembers began a slander campaign directed toward their female counterparts that affected all women’s branches of the military, but WACs suffered the most. Many soldiers wrote home to their sisters, girlfriends, and wives, telling stories of sexual immorality and rampant pregnancy among the WACs.[7] The campaign hindered recruitment for the remainder of the war. The slander campaign’s fan was flamed by syndicated columnist John O’Donnell, who wrote on June 8, 1943, that “contraceptives and prophylactic equipment will be furnished to members of the WAACs, according to a super secret agreement reached by the high ranking officers of the War Department and the WAAC chieftain.” This article did enormous damage to the WAC’s reputation, despite the article’s later retraction. 

Families reacted negatively to the campaign, with some men going as far as disowning their sisters for joining. In addition, the low enlistment requirements, based only on age, gave the WAC a bad reputation. Mary Heany recalled wanting nothing to do with that bad reputation, but later chose to look past it to serve her country. But many women like Mary joined the military out of patriotism and a desire to serve their countries rather than to chase men. 

Hobby was aware of how critical the presentation of the women’s corps was. If they were presented as “a giddy, featherbrain engaged in powder-puff wars with no interest beyond clothes, cosmetics, and dates… a hen-pecking old battle ax who loved to boss the male species; or… a sainted wife and mother until they left the kitchen, whereupon she became a potentially scarlet woman,”[8] then they would not be received well by the public and would lack the legitimacy needed for Americans to see the WAC as a military necessity. 

To challenge the pushback directed at the WAC, Hobby “sought to insert into the public consciousness a feminine, controlled, young woman—comparable to a college girl—as an antidote to the ‘female protector’ or sexual agent.”[9] Hobby took issues with the views that WACs were female protectors and sexual agents, saying that “Waacs will be neither Amazons rushing to battle, nor butterflies fluttering about.”[10] Instead, Hobby and Marshall wanted to present a women’s corps that was “sober, hard-working…dignified and sensible. … Their work must be shown as real, just as the war was real and the nation’s danger was real.”[11] Under Hobby’s leadership, the WAC proved to be an invaluable asset to the Army, with Marshall adding a letter of support to dropping the WAC’s auxiliary status to make them a part of the Army, “including his opinion that ‘there are unnumerable duties now being performed by soldiers that can actually be done better by women.’”[12]

Despite being allowed to serve from the beginning, Black WACs faced race-based challenges in addition to the other challenges white WACs faced. Hobby tried to be fair to Black women by announcing that they would be recruited in proportion to their number in the population. But this backfired, resulting in further damage to the WAC’s reputation. Many Black WACs were only given menial jobs, including cleaning or cooking. Sixty protested, resulting in four being court-martialed, sentenced to a year of hard labor, and dishonorably discharged. The Army later nullified the trial after pressure from Black newspapers. Black women nevertheless answered the call and served their country with distinction. In November 1944, a battalion of 817 Black and Latina WACs known as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was created and successfully handled the backlog of 17 million pieces of mail needing to be forwarded on to American troops overseas.

Captain Charity Adams drills her company at Fort Des Moines in May 1943. Courtesy of the National Archives

Over time, as WACs proved themselves, male commanders, who initially cried that only over their dead bodies would they allow female soldiers, began to ask for them. Reports also came out that negative comments toward WACs began to drop dramatically once male soldiers began to get used to working with them. Initially skeptical about Army women, Time wrote that “the Army has learned the desirability of its soldiers in skirts, not merely as ersatz men but for their own sakes and skills. … One replacement group of 56 replaced 128 men.”[13]

Who They Were and What They Did

The WAC training programs were rigorous, preparing women for roles as switchboard operators, stenographers, mechanics, drivers, and other essential noncombat positions. Some, though the number was small, were scientists and engineers on the Manhattan Project. WACs tackled their jobs with such enthusiasm that one sergeant declared they learned more in a day than his squads of men did in a week.[14]

Once the WAC lost its auxiliary status, the age limits widened to 20 to 50. WACs were to be of good health and character, be between 5 and 6 feet tall, weigh 105 to 200 pounds, and have completed high school. Officers usually had college degrees. They received the same pensions as male soldiers, but had no allowances for dependents, and would be under the same disciplinary rules as men. However, a key difference was that pregnancy resulted in an honorable discharge for WAC members. Time noted on July 12, 1943, that “the Corps will be a pedigreed part of the Army, shuck off the stepsister status of auxiliaries.” 

The shift from auxiliary to full Army status brought significant changes for WACs, including new standards for recruitment and equal recognition in pensions and discipline. However, one area where equality lagged was in their uniforms. Unlike the Navy’s WAVES, who had a couture uniform, the WAC uniform went through several suggested shapes, fabrics, and iterations before its final version consisting of an olive-green wool coat, skirt, and garrison cap in winter and 8.2-ounce khaki cotton twill in the summer. The uniforms were often ill-fitting and were not altered to individual women. It was not until 1946 that the WAC uniform got a design team. However, the WAC insignia was chosen with care. Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess of war, represented victory and wisdom by fighting only just causes. Despite the poorly fitting uniforms, many WACs loved wearing them, feeling proud and empowered in them.

WACs posing for a picture in Fort Benning, GA. July 8, 1944. Courtesy of The National World War II Museum. From the collection of Maurice T. White, Captain in the 168th Signal Photographic Company, US Army Signal Corps. 2011.065.1347

Women’s motivations for joining the WAC were deeply personal and often rooted in a sense of duty. For many, wearing the uniform symbolized not just service but an opportunity to honor loved ones, pursue career growth, and embrace the diversity within the ranks. Most WACs joined the Army out of patriotism. Some joined because of encouragement from their families. Others joined because they thought the idea of a uniform was romantic. Mary Heaney joined the WACs because of her brother, who was rejected from all branches of the military due to a heart condition. He was devastated by this news, so Mary said, “I’ll tell you what, Joe. I’ll go for you.” WACs saw joining the Army as an opportunity to advance their careers, broaden their cultural experiences, and meet people from different backgrounds. And they did: the WAC was made up of white, Black, Native American, Puerto Rican, and Japanese American women from all classes and backgrounds.  

Private Shizuko Shinagawa, 21, of the Women's Army Corps, who was sent to Denver to recruit Japanese-American women for the WAC. May 22, 1944, Denver, Colorado. Courtesy of WRA no. G-563, War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, BANC PIC 1967.014--PIC, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Densho.

The diverse motivations that led women to join the WAC were matched by the equally varied roles they undertook during their service. While their reasons for enlisting often stemmed from personal duty and patriotism, these women soon found themselves contributing to the war effort in groundbreaking ways. The Army was the only branch of the military that allowed women to go overseas for duty. WACs served in the North Africa campaign, particularly in Algeria and Egypt, in Europe operating switchboards, in India, in the Italian campaign, and in the Pacific theater. 

Discharge and Return to Civilian Life

The Army’s decision to allow women to serve during World War II proved a resounding success. General Carl Spaatz, commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe, noted that “the WAC has been of inestimable value. … Its members have worked devotedly, often at arduous tasks requiring exceptional performance.” Despite their contribution to the war, most WACs returned to civilian life following demobilization. Postwar reductions significantly downsized the Corps, leaving only 8,461 enlisted women and 1,194 officers in its ranks. Those who remained in service, like T. Toby Kafka, transitioned to the Army Reserves, with many pursuing long-term military careers. Whether they returned to civilian life or remained in the Army, most found that serving their country was a fulfilling experience. Mary Heany felt “very proud to have been in” the war; Mary Konen felt like it was a learning experience of which she was proud.

A pivotal milestone came with the Women’s Armed Services Act of 1948, which granted women permanent status in all branches of the armed forces. By the end of that year, hundreds of women had begun training as full-fledged members of the Army, solidifying their place in the military and marking a historic shift in gender roles within national defense.