Army Women:
World War II and Beyond
The history of the Women's Army Corps is one of determination and persistance. Read about our beginnings below. For recommended links to trusted sources, see our resources page.
As an auxiliary of the Army, the WAAC had no military status. Therefore, Mrs. Rogers introduced another bill in 1943 to enlist and appoint women in the Army of the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill on July 1, 1943. Ninety days later, the Women's Army Corps (WAC) replaced the WAAC. Colonel Hobby continued as Director of the WAC.
Six months before women received military status, the first WAAC contingent arrived in Algeria, North Africa. In July 1943, the first WAAC Separate Battalion arrived in England led by Lt. Col. Mary A. Hallaren.
After official incorporation, three WAC units joined Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's Southeast Asia Command in New Delhi, India, in October 1943. In November a WAC platoon arrived in Caserta, Italy, and month later, another arrived in Cairo, Egypt. January 1944 marked the arrival of the first WAC unit in the Pacific at New Caledonia. In May a large group arrived in Sydney, Australia.
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Five training centers were opened within a year. These included the first at Fort Des Moines, Iowa; the second at Daytona Beach, Florida; the third at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; the fourth at Fort Devens, Massachusetts; and the fifth at Camp Ruston, Louisiana.​​
Swearing in of the first WAC officers
Fort Des Moines, Iowa
The Beginning: Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
In 1941 as World War II was showing no signs of resolution, the Honorable Edith Nourse Rogers, a Congresswoman from Massachusetts, recognized the need for increased Army support. Rogers introduced the first bill to establish a women's auxiliary unit that would allow women to serve in non-combat roles, filling critical positions to free men for combat duties. On May 14, 1942, Congress approved the creation of a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Two days later, Oveta Culp Hobby was appointed the first Director of the WAAC.
Restructuring: Post WWII
The WAC numbered 99,000 at its peak in 1945. After Victory in Europe in May 1945 and the surrender of Japan the following August, the remaining WAC training centers at Fort Oglethorpe and Fort Des Moines closed. No further WAC training was conducted, and WAC numbers began to decline.
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Noticing the drop in enrollment, the War Department launched a program in February 1946 aimed at retaining women still in service and re-enlisting those who had served during World War II. The Chief of Staff, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, announced that he would ask Congress to make the Women's Army Corps a permanent part of the Regular Army and the Organized Reserve Corps.
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Noticing a decline in WAC numbers, the War Department began a program in February 1946 aimed at retaining women still in service and re-enlisting those who had served during World War II. The Chief of Staff, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, announced that he would ask Congress to make the Women's Army Corps a part of the Regular Army and the Organized Reserve Corps.
​Unfortunately, by the end of May 1946, the WAC had dropped from a wartime high of more than 99,000 women to about 21,500. By the end of May 1948, WAC strength totaled approximately 6,500 women on active duty.
On June 12, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, permitting women to serve in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. A new training center at Camp Lee, Virginia, was opened in July 1948.
The Korean War: Back in Action
With the beginning of the Korean conflict, women were again needed in greater numbers than in peacetime. Within two years after the Women's Armed Services Integration Act became law, more than 120,000 women enlisted.
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To train these new soldiers, Congress appropriated funds to establish a permanent home for the WAC at Fort McClellan, Alabama. The center conducted basic training, clerk-typist, stenography, personnel specialist, leadership, and cadre courses for enlisted personnel, as well as basic and advanced courses for officers. The first commander of the WAC Center was Lt. Col. Eleanore C. Sullivan.
Many women served in Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH), and on MEDEVAC aircraft or hospital ships. One of the first mobile surgical hospitals to be set up in Korea was the 8055th MASH. The team of doctors and nurses in the 8055th sometimes treated hundreds of casualties in a day, and routinely performed life-saving surgeries.
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New WAC detachments were established in Japan and Okinawa to support the men fighting in Korea. A full WAC unit was not sent to Korea, but in 1952, a number of individual women filled administrative positions in Pusan and Seoul.
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Vietnam: Army Women Achieve Higher Ranks
WAC Director Colonel Elizabeth P. Hoisington (3rd from left) meets cadre members of the WAC Detachment, Long Binh, South Vietnam, 1967
Sergeant Major Betty Adams training the South Vietnamese Women’s Armed Forces Corps (WAFC)
Major Anne Marie Doering
The WAC continued to serve during the Vietnam War. The first WAC officer assigned to Vietnam in March 1962 was Major Anne Marie Doering. Two WAC advisors to the Vietnam Women's Army Forces Corps were next to arrive in January 1965—Lt. Col. Kathleen I. Wilkes and Master Sergeant Betty L. Adams. WAC officers were replaced annually.
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A WAC detachment with an average strength of 90 enlisted women was located at HQ, US Army, Vietnam, Long Binh, approximately 20 miles from Saigon. The detachment remained there from January 1967 until October 1972 when all US troops began to withdraw from Vietnam.
Many enlisted women and WAC officers also served at General Westmoreland's headquarters in Saigon throughout this same period.
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On 8 November 1967, Congress removed promotion restrictions on women officers, making it possible for women to achieve general officer rank. The first WAC officer to be promoted to Brigadier General was Elizabeth P. Hoisington on 11 June 1970; the second was Mildred C. Bailey, and the third was Mary E. Clarke. They were the seventh, eighth, and ninth (and last) Directors of the WAC, respectively.
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A major expansion of the WAC began in 1972 as a means of helping the Army maintain its required strength after the elimination of the draft on June 30, 1973. As a result of a strong recruiting campaign and the opening of all Military Occupational Specialties to women (except those involving combat duties), the WAC increased from 12,260 in 1972 to 52,900 in 1978.
WAC Innovations: Reserve Officer Training Corps
Beginning in 1972, women were permitted in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). By May 1981, approximately 40,000 women were enrolled in college and university ROTC programs. On July 1, 1974, all WAC officers were permanently detailed to other branches of the Army (except the combat arms), and the WAC officers' career branch was reduced to zero.
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In 1975, defensive weapons training became a mandatory course for enlisted women, warrant officers, and women officers. This policy also applied to women in the Reserve and National Guard. In the fall of 1977, women began taking the same basic training course as enlisted men, and a year later, they began training together in the same units. After a four-year trial period, joint training was discontinued in August 1982.
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The first women cadets entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1976, and women have graduated with every class since 1980. To fully utilize barracks space worldwide, separate WAC units were phased out by 1974. Enlisted women continue to be housed separately to ensure privacy in sleeping and bath facilities, but they are jointly administered by a commander and cadre group. The WAC Center and School closed in December 1975.
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A home for the Women’s Army Corps Museum was constructed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in 1977 with funds donated by WAC personnel and their friends. With the closing of Fort McClellan, a new museum will be built at Fort Lee, Virginia.
WAC Innovations: Reserve Officer Training Corps
​​Beginning in 1972, women were permitted in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). By May 1981 approximately 40,000 women were enrolled in college and university ROTC programs. On 1 July 1974 all WAC officers were permanently detailed to other branches of the Army (except the combat arms) and the WAC officers career branch was reduced to zero. Defensive weapons training for enlisted women, warrant officers and women officers became a mandatory course in July 1975. The policy also applied to women in the Reserve and National Guard. In the fall of 1977, women began taking the same basic training course as enlisted men and a year later they began training together in the same units. After four-year trial period, joint training was discontinued in August 1982. The first women cadets entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1976 and women have graduated with every class since June 1980. To fully utilize barracks space world-wide, separate WAC units were phased out in 1973 and 1974. Enlisted women continued to be housed separately to insure privacy in sleeping and bath facilities, but they are jointly administered by on commander and cadre group. The WAC Center and School closed in December 1976. A home for the Women's Army Corps Museum was constructed at Fort McClellan, Alabama in 1977 with funds donated by WAC personnel and their friends. With the closing of Ft McClellan, a new museum will be built at Ft. Lee, Virginia.
WAC Officer Orientation Candidate Training Course
Fort McClellan, Alabama, 1976
Integration: Army Women in the General Ranks
As a means of assimilating women more closely into the structure of the Army and eliminating any feeling of separateness, Congress disestablished the Women's Army Corps as a separate corps of the Army on October 29, 1978, by an Act of Congress. In 1979, the Army Secretary made enlistment qualifications the same for men and women.
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The 1980s was a period of change and transition for women in the U.S. Army, with new opportunities opening up for women in the military. The United States Military Academy at West Point saw its first women graduates in 1980. These women were later inducted into the U.S. Army Women's Hall of Fame in 2011.
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In the 1990s, women in the Army saw significant progress, particularly during the Gulf War, where large numbers of female soldiers were deployed to combat zones despite still being restricted from direct combat roles. This period also saw policy changes allowing women to fly combat missions and serve on Navy combat ships, marking a major step toward greater integration in combat-related roles, although limitations based on the "Risk Rule" still existed.
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Soldier’s Creed
​I am an American Soldier.
I am a warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.