Women's Army Corps
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The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was a special unit of the United States Army during World War II and afterward which organized the female enlisted personnel. Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby, from Texas.
As many as 150,000 American women served in the corps during World War II. They were the first women other than nurses to serve with the Army. While conservative opinion in the leadership of the Army and public opinion generally was initially opposed to women serving in uniform, the shortage of men necessitated a new policy.
During the same time period, other branches of the U.S. military had similar women's units, including the Navy WAVES, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the SPARS of the Coast Guard and the (civil) Women Airforce Service Pilots, .
The WAC was disestablished in 1978. Since then, women in the U.S. Army have served in the same units as men but do not have combat duties.
Popular culture
- In the Cheap Trick song "Surrender," the narrator expresses surprise to discover his parents' lives before he was born, despite knowing them all his life. These include that his mother served with WACs in the Philippines.:)
- The movie Francis Joins the WACS was released in 1954. In it, Francis the Talking Mule joins the Women's Army Corps.
- The movie Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) gives us Lana Turner joining the WACs, starring with Agnes Moorehead while sporting uniforms designed by Hollywood designer Irene (1) and hair styled by Sydney Guilaroff.
- The movie I Was a Male War Bride (1949) depicts a French officer who married an American WAC, and their escapades as he attempts to emigrate to the United States under the auspices of the 1945 War Brides' Act.
See also
External links
- [WAAC/WAC history and WWII women's uniforms in color] — WWII US women's service organizations (WAC, WAVES, ANC, NNC, USMCWR, PHS, SPARS, ARC and WASP)
- [The Women's Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service]
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