Members of the Women's Army Corps working in the communications section of an air force operations room, 1944.
U.S. Army photograph. Public domain.
More than 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps, which the Army first established as an auxiliary in 1942. They worked as clerks and drivers, cryptographers and radio operators, intelligence analysts and specialists in dozens of trades the Army had always reserved for men. They served in Europe, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean, sometimes close to the front, freeing soldiers to fight.
1918 to 2002
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army; commanding officer, 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
Adams was the first African American woman commissioned in the WAC and commanded the only all-Black WAC unit to serve overseas in World War II. The 6888th cleared a multi-year backlog of seventeen million pieces of mail, serving seven million U.S. personnel in the European Theater between 1945 and 1946.
1905 to 1995
Colonel, U.S. Army; first Director, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and Women's Army Corps.
Hobby took the oath as Director of the WAAC on 16 May 1942 and led the WAC through its growth to more than 100,000 members by 1944. She was the first woman to receive the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
1907 to 2005
Colonel, U.S. Army; third Director of the Women's Army Corps, 1947 to 1953.
Hallaren commanded the WAC's first overseas battalion in Europe during the Second World War. She succeeded Westray Battle Boyce as the third Director of the WAC and was instrumental in passage of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, which gave women permanent status in the regular armed services. She was among the first women commissioned in the Regular Army outside the medical corps.
1893 to 1987
First Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps; chief nurse, Hickam Field Station Hospital.
Fox was the first woman to receive the Purple Heart, awarded for her actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Her decoration was later converted to the Bronze Star when Purple Heart eligibility narrowed to combat wounds. She is cited here for the early recognition of Army women's service that paved the way for the WAAC.
Researched and written by Erin Faith Allen · Fortitude Research