They Were in This War, Too

By

Master Sergeant Pia Maria Kanoy

Sergeant Major Terry Reeder

Mll

13 April 2004 11

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Women's entrance into the military

A. Early history role of women in the military

B. Women in World War I and until the beginning ofWorld War II

III. The establishment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (W AAC) and the

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

A. The slander campaign

B. African American female soldiers' struggles during World War II

IV Conclusion They Were in This War, Too

In early 1941, "Never!" was the typical reaction to the idea of women serving in the

United States Army. The imagination of pictures of women wearing helmets, carrying rifles, and attacking an enemy in a war zone were outrageous. This popular thinking changed after the attack on Pearl Harbor. With new demands on labor to produce war equipment, our Nation was faced with a critical manpower shortage.

Females were reluctantly accepted into the army as a last-minute effort to fulfill recruitment quotas. Women warriors have been the archetype in the folklore of every

Western culture (Rustad 8), but just as in Western Europe, early U.S. armies excluded women from serving except in frontier outposts where they often accompanied their husbands. A major theme in the female warrior myth was that armed women were an unnatural force. Only when female goddesses were subjugated was there a possibility of civilization (Rustad 8). Formal military organization in the developed slowly. In contrast to the Prussian and British armies of that period, the Revolutionary

Army was primitive and poorly developed. A few women fought in the Revolutionary,

Civil, and Spanish-American wars, disguised as men. Many accounts described how women bound their breasts, attached mustaches, and cross-dressed to join their husbands or brothers on the battlefield. The most famous cross-dressed women soldiers were

Deborah Sampson in the ; Lucy Brewer in the War of 1812; and

Loretta Velasquez in the Civil War.

The first formal auxiliary role for women in industrial armies was in nursing, as the 2 inefficiency of civilian nursing and volunteers in the American Civil War led to the development of a single unified nursing corps. Prior to Florence Nightingale, women who cared for sick soldiers were labeled as prostitutes. But the introduction of lethal explosives created a need for trained medical personnel, and the role of the war nurse replaced that ofthe camp follower. The militaries of early democratic nations envisioned no role for women except as prostitutes, laundresses and canteenkeepers (Rustad 20-21).

13,000 women served in the enlisted Army without formal status during World War 1.

They were demobilized and forced out of their temporary war work at the end of hostilities, and women soldiers and war workers were the first to enter the unemployment lines. Women nurses were dismissed from Marine and Navy units by the end of

November 1918 and stripped of any military status or benefits. World War I did not emancipate women, and the extreme depression that began toward the end of 1929 severely worsened their position. By 1930, 20 percent of women normally employed were permanently displaced. Nonetheless, immediately after women gained the right to vote in 1920, the War Department began making plans to deploy females in the event of another total war.

An enormous amount of guns and airplanes were needed to supply the increasing numbers of American soldiers and sailors after Pearl Harbor. This crisis changed the nature of the questions about women in the Army: What could women do in the Army?

Would they ever be in combat? What weapons would they fire? Would they be giving orders to men? How would the Army, a traditional male society, accept women into its midst? 3

The driving force behind establishing a Women's Anny Auxiliary Corps was

Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of with support from Margaret

Chase Smith of , as well as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Rogers introduced a bill to the 77th Congress in January 1942 to enlist 150,000 women for non-combat duties. Much debate erupted over the subject. Legislators envisioned an intolerable situation in which "women generals would rush about the country dictating orders to male personnel and telling commanding officers ofposts how to run their business"

(Morden 4). Other members objected to giving women disability pensions, retirements, and veterans benefits. Some congressmen received support for their arguments from male officers who disliked the bill, but dared not publicly oppose legislation supported by the War Department.

Finally on May 14, 1942, after all debate ended, Congress established a Women's

Anny Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), but did not grant its members military status. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the compromise bill into Public Law 77-554.

The act authorized the Anny to enroll 150,000 officers and enlisted women between the ages of 21 and 45 for non-combatant service, to organize them in separate units, and to pay, house, feed, cloth, train, and provide medical care for them at Anny posts and other facilities. It did not bar them from service overseas. Enlisted women held the comparable ranks of Private through Master Sergeant (today's E7 equivalent).

Immediately after the WAAC bill was signed, Colonel Don C. Faith, a regular anny infantry officer was assigned by the War Department as the first commander of the

WAAC Training Center at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. With hard work and perseverance, 4

Colonel Faith and his stafftransfonned the old cavalry post with its stables, riding halls, and hitching posts, into a home for the WAAC (Morden 7). On July 20, 1942, 125 enlisted women, as well as 440 officer candidates, arrived for the four-week basic training course. The size of those classes grew larger as recruiting increased and additional training facilities were established. The average age of the female enlisted personnel was twenty-four with 60 percent being high school graduates and many also possessing some college education. Enlisted females were taught military customs and courtesies, organization of the Anny, map reading, first aid, supply, drill and ceremony, and guard duty. Officer candidates also received training in leadership, teaching techniques, voice and command, court-martial procedures, W AAC company administration, and mess management. Days were long and the recruits kept a tight schedule throughout the day. They also perfonned Kitchen Police (KP) duties, trash collection, and other tasks necessary to maintain military orderliness despite cramped living conditions. The trainees learned to "hurry up and wait" as they stood in long lines for meals, mail, and an ironing board (Morden 8). The majority of females adapted well to the military lifestyle and experienced increased satisfaction, morale, and camaraderie.

After graduation, the enlisted soldier was assigned to a ISO-women table of organization (TO) company, unless she remained at the training center to replace a male soldier. The TO units only had positions for clerks, typists, drivers, cooks, and unit cadre. Women recruits were disappointed that the Anny would not utilize their civilian skills such as accounting, communications, dental hygiene, drafting, linguistics, library science, mathematics, school administration, and photography. 5

W AAC recruiting quickly met its goal of 25,000 women before June 30, 1943, and

Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, quickly increased the goal to the ceiling set by

Congress of 150,000 as well as directed the opening of additional training centers.

Before the end of 1942, Daytona Beach, Florida opened a second center, and between

January and March 1943, centers opened at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, Fort Devens,

Massachusetts, and Camp Ruston, Louisiana. Although the enlistment standards were fairly high for the W AAC, most female recruits met or exceeded those standards and contributed to the program's great success.

On November 1, 1942, women received the same pay and allowances as members of the Regular Army serving in corresponding grades. The W AACs were governed by

W AAC regulations, which covered appointment, enlistment, promotion, discipline

(including a code of conduct and suggested punishment for infractions), training, uniforms, pay, and discharge, since women were not an integral part of the Army.

W AAC officers alone would command W AAC units and administer punishment.

Despite inequities and limitations, recruitment was well under way. Chief of Staff,

General George C. Marshall selected Oveta Culp Hobby, a native ofTexas, as the first director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Her headquarters fell under the largest of the Army's three major commands; the Services of Supply Command. This Army­ wide command directed and managed administration, personnel, training, and supply.

In early 1943, women achieved increased status. Mrs. Rogers and Director Hobby drafted a bill to abolish the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (since it gave women only

Partial military status) and create instead the Women's Army Corps (WAC). After six 6 months of debate and compromise, the 78th Congress approved the bill and President

Roosevelt signed it into law 78-110. This new organization provided women the same rank, titles, and pay as their male counterparts.

Recruitment standards changed in January 1943, when Army Recruiting Service tried to enlist thousands more by lowering its standards, because the Army had to compete with the other armed forces. After strong protests by Director Hobby, General Marshall assigned recruitment to her, and the previous higher standards were reintroduced.

One of the most important themes in the recruitment of women as soldiers was the

"Release a Man" slogan. A second theme in the recruitment campaign used guilt and fear to recruit reluctant females. Wartime propaganda had to persuade women to take war jobs without challenging basic assumptions about their role in society:

The patriotic appeal had two aspects, the positive "do your part" approach and the negative "a soldier may die if you don't do your part" warning. The campaign slogan,

"The More Women at Work-The Sooner We'll Win," promised women that their contributions could bring their men home sooner. The picture of a soldier and an empty machine, captioned "This soldier may die unless you man this machine," warned that if women did not take war jobs, their men might not come home at all.

But in either case, the appeal to patriotism usually took on a personalized cast,

urging women to work for their men rather than for their country (Rustad 31).

The Army had both the highest hopes and the least success in attracting women

(Mitchell 16). Only 13,000 more women enlisted, which fell short of the 150,000 goal.

The slander campaign against the WACs was one of the main reasons for the 7 diminished interest. The devastating assault on the reputation of the W AAC began in the spring of 1943 and quickly spread to the other women's services. Some men used the corps as the subject of obscene jokes, scandalous gossip, and spreading of rumors about the women's moral character and behavior. Newspaper headlines during the early period of the Women's Army Corps reflected resistance to the inclusion of women in the war effort even as temporary workers. "Petticoat Army Formed!", "Doughgirl

Generalissimos!", "Fort Wackies!", and "Here Comes the Naked Amazons!" read the front page headlines. Fundamentalist religious leaders were the most vituperative in their opposition. An Arkansas radio evangelist gave a regional broadcast in which she alleged that women recruits were "lined up naked for the male officers to inspect." (Rustad 29).

Also during the first year of the Women's Army Corps, sex-role stereotypes hindered the mobilization of enlisted women. Many Americans could only believe that the kind of women who would join the Army were not the kind to take home to mother (Mitchell

16). Tales of rampant promiscuity and lesbianism were met with strong denials from the services. Official investigations found little to substantiate the rumors, but the bad reputation was implanted nonetheless. While the general public thought women who joined the Army were either whores or lesbians, enlisted males were another major obstacle to the females' integration. According to military intelligence reports, enlisted male attitudes were the most important impediment to hesitant female prospects. "You join the WAC and you are automatically a prostitute in my opinion." "I don't want you to have a thing to do with them, because they are the biggest whores." "Honey, don't you ever worry your poor head about joining the WACs for we went all over that once before. 8

Ha! You are going to stay home." "I would rather we never seen each other for 20 years that to have you join the WACs for gosh sakes stay a good girl {civilian} and I'm not just kidding either." "Get the damn divorce. I don't want no damn WAC for a wife."

Military intelligence reports also surveyed the attitudes of females in the Army and the views of female recruits: "When a girl sees an Army officer refuse to return a WAC salute and even leave a restaurant because a group of WACs walk in, is that any inducement for her to enlist?" (Rustad 29-30).

At the beginning, female military participation seemed to contradict traditional sex­ role ideologies. The Women's Auxiliary units had been subject to the following rumors that carried over to the Women's Army Corps: (1) WAACs solicited men and engaged in sex acts in public places; (2) W AACs were issued prophylactics and required to carry them whenever they left the barracks; (3) W AACs were recruited to serve as sexual outlets for frustrated military males; (4) many of the W AACs had gonorrhea; immoral

WAACs infected many of the men; (5) WAACs joined the service to meet other lesbians and to engage in homosexual orgies; (6) W AACs were drunks and brawled in bars; (7)

W AACs who were not sexually active were rejected by Army physicians; (8) W AACs had to have large breasts and other anatomical specifications; (9) W AACs were immoral in conduct and appearance; (10) W AACs impeded the combat readiness of the Army

(Rustad 30).

African American women, who joined or tried to join the W AACIWAC were forced to confront either racism or sexism; often both simultaneously. World War II marked a turning point for racial minorities and women in the U.S. armed forces. The nature of the 9 conflict challenged existing forms of social stratification in the Army, as well as in other

American institutions (Moore 1). The Selective Service Training Act of 1940 lifted previous military restrictions placed on race, and African American men were recruited for the war effort in increasing numbers. Opportunities for African American women also expanded with the U.S. War Department's movement to recruit large numbers of women into the military to contribute to the War.

Until World War II African American women were almost completely excluded from military service. Eighteen black nurses participated in World War I, but by contrast,

African American women were immediately accepted into the WAAC after its founding

This was a result from pressure placed on the War Department by black political organizations demanding racial equality. The women joined the U.S. Army because the other military services categorically refused to admit them (the Navy did not accept black females for active duty until two and one-half years after the WAVES were established, and the Marine Corps did not enlist African American women until September 1949.)

Thus, the Army offered the greatest opportunity for racial minorities during the war.

Black women joined the W AACIWAC for different personal, political, and economic reasons, and the military represented a glimmer of hope for realizing their dreams.

Widespread unemployment existed among African Americans in the 1940s. The United

States typified a racial-caste society then, which placed blacks at a disadvantage in relation to other racial and ethnic groups. Although they had no idea where the Army would assign them, they believed that they would be treated the same as white female soldiers. African American women were told that the military would not discriminate 10 against them because of their race, and they believed it (Moore 7). Some women joined to demonstrate patriotism, because they were deeply affected by the nationalistic themed advertisements in the black press. Headlined with the now-famous slogan "Uncle Sam

Needs You," a W AAC recruitment poster in 1942 depicted an African American woman painting to the caption "Women Answer America's Call."

Both black and white recruiters visited black school campuses to recruit black females and promote the military benefits, especially the popular GI Bill, which was a strong incentive for those who wanted to go on to higher education after their military service.

Elaine Bennett joined the WAC "because I wanted to prove to myself, and maybe the world, that we {African Americans} would give what we had back to the United States as a confirmation that we were full-fledged citizens" (Moore 9). Bennett later became the first sergeant of Company D, 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which was the only unit of African American WACs to serve overseas during the war as non-nurses. It consisted of 855 African American WACs, of which 824 were enlisted and 31 officers.

Black nurses had served in Australia and Africa before the establishment of the Postal

Battalion, and the first black women to serve overseas were a unit of nurses assigned to

Liberia. A unit of sixty-three black nurses cared for German prisoners of war (POW) in

England in June of 1944.

The United States entered World War II for the explicit purpose of making the world safe for democracy, a concept that resonated in the hearts and minds of African American women (however ironically, given their legal and societal status in pre-civil-rights­ movement America (Moore 19). Despite the segregation and discrimination experienced 11 by blacks in the military, the African American community demonstrated strong support for the ideals for which World War II was fought (Barrett Litoff, Smith 66).

The overseas deployment of the African American women in the 6888th Central Postal

Directory Battalion represented a victory for all who fought for racial equality in the armed services, especially the WAC. Throughout the history of the United States African

American women have fought to be recognized as citizens in civil, political, and social arenas (Moore 50). The accomplishments of black female soldiers, however, were never highlighted in the reports of the Advisory Council of the Women's Interest Section or of the National Council Advisory Committee. It was almost as though African American women were invisible to these organizations (Moore 47).

Mary McLeod Bethune in 1935 founded the National Council ofNegro Women

(NCNW) that addressed both race and gender issues. This distinguished African

American woman, who held several high profile leadership positions in the country was the driving force behind encouraging black women to join the military as an opportunity to advance themselves socially and politically. She personally assisted in selecting several African American women to attend the first Officer Candidate School (OCS) and instructed the black candidates on their dual mission in the military. First, they had to carry out the duties of the WAAC, as they had sworn by taking the enlistment oath.

Second, they were to behave in such a way as to show that African Americans were capable soldiers and respectable people worthy of first-class citizenship.

Although the Army offered African American women more opportunities than the other armed services, it was far from free of racial biases. Black females often were 12 refused applications to join the W AAC by white recruiters. Many women were surprised at the racial segregation they encountered.

In 1942 African American women were also subjected to the swimming pool on Fort

Des Moines being open only one hour a week for colored personnel; that signs in the mess hall designated which tables black W AACs could occupy; that the women were directed to sit in one section of a classroom; that they were banned from the officers' recreational facilities; and that they encountered racial slurs in the classroom. The problem of mal assignment was also prominent for African American women with college education or civilian job qualifications, who were assigned to the most menial tasks based on their color and not their abilities. Due to political pressure, the War Department desegregated the living and recreational facilities of the OCS at Fort Des Moines in

November 1942.

The WAC's policy of racial segregation encouraged racial bigotry by creating an atmosphere in which individuals could practice their prejudices. Elsie Oliver, who while stationed at Fort Des Moines almost died because a military dentist deliberately used soiled instruments to work in her mouth. Oliver was hospitalized with a serious infection and gave this report:

I was notified to go to this dentist {one reported as expressing disdain for African

Americans} and his office was filled with Whites. When everybody else was out of

his office but his assistant, they called me. I figured they would not see me that day

at all. It was almost night when he called "Elsie Oliver." I went down to his chair,

and when I sat down I noticed that all the instruments were soiled ... So I said: "Sir, 13

you're not going to work on me with that!" He said: "I'm the dentist, you'll do as

I tell you." So then he pushed me in the chair and started rubbing his hands up on

my legs. I said: "I'm not here for anything but dental work ...." So that's when he

pushed my head back and started working in my mouth .... The next morning infection

had set in .... I was in the hospital for three or four weeks (Moore 78).

Director Hobby's command authority changed with the establishment of the WAC, and the Corps was governed by Army regulations with few exceptions, as well as the

WAC females being subject to the Articles of War and falling under the Regular Army chain of command. In another move, the WAC personnel management, supply, training, and operations fell under the G-l (Personnel) of the War Department's General Staff.

Army regulations excluded women from combat training that involved weapons or tactical exercises and from duty assignments that required weapons. The only exceptions allowed were women assigned to non-combat duty positions, such as disbursing or pay officers, intelligence personnel who worked in code rooms, or drivers in certain overseas areas, which required the carrying of a weapon. Those females received proper training on their assigned weapon, which usually was the .45-caliber automatic pistol, but the public relations officers ensured that no news media photographed or printed a weapon carrying female soldier.

Female enlisted soldiers began to deploy overseas. In January 1943, 190 enlisted females deployed with the W ACC Post Headquarters Company to North Africa in support of General Eisenhower's theater headquarters. Others supported the Army in

England, the China-Burma-India Theater, as well as Australia and New Guinea. 14

Although Anny life was hard on the women, especially in the Southwest Pacific

Theater, by mid-1945 over 140,000 had joined the Women's Anny Corps. Commanders

praised the WAC's performance, and one woman received the Distinguished Service

Medal, 62 the Legion of Merit, 565 the Bronze Star, three the Air Medal, 10 the Soldier's

Medal for heroic actions (not involving combat), and 16 the Purple Heart. In total, 201

Army nurses died in World War II, and 88 nurses, all officers, were held Prisoners of

War (Skaine 66).

General Marshall and Chief of Staff, General Eisenhower recognized the role of

women established during World War II. The postwar introduction of women into the

Regular Anny resulted from that recognition. The idea was not to provide equal

opportunity for women or to set a precedent for society; it was to relieve as many men as

possible from administrative jobs, so that they would be available for combat. Bibliography

Barrett Litoff, Judy, and David C. Smith. We're in This War, Too. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Mitchell, Brian. Weak Link. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, Inc., 1989.

Moore, Brenda L. To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race. New York: New York University Press, 1996.

Morden, Bettie J. The Women's Army Corps, 1945-1978. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1989.

Rustad, Michael L. Women in Khaki. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1982.

Skaine, Rosemarie. Women at War; Gender Issues of Americans in Combat. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland and Company, Inc., 1999.