LexisNexis® UPA CollectionsWomen in the U.S. Military

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Women in the U.S. Military: Correspondence of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps, 1942–1946

General Editor: Anne Firor Scott

World War II is one of the defining events in the history of the United States. The four years of war, with battles at places like Normandy, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima, leading to the defeat of the Nazis in Europe and Imperial Japan in Asia, changed the bal-ance of world power for the next 45 years. At home, the industrial buildup necessary to support the war effort finally ended the Great Depression and also laid the foundation for the longest period of economic growth in the history of the United States. On an indi-vidual level, the war was also a transformative event. Over fifteen million Americans served in the armed forces during the war; of these over 400,000 were killed. On the domestic front, over seven million new jobs were created and personal incomes rose substan-tially.

For the women of America, the war created new opportunities and challenges. Many women joined the labor force, as represented by the iconic character, “Rosie the Riveter.” For the first time, American women served in the U.S. Army with full military status. Women in the U.S. Military, Correspondence of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps, 1942–1946, a six-part microfilm collection filmed by LexisNexis from the records of the War Department at the National Archives, documents the women who joined and served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC, known as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps [WAAC] from May 1942 until July 1943) during World War II. The collection consists of the correspondence of Oveta Culp Hobby, WAC director from 1942 through 1945, as well of her successor Westray Battle Boyce, who led the WAC from 1945 through the remainder of the collection’s coverage in 1946. Every topic of importance to the WAC is covered in the correspondence, with an emphasis on issues such as recruiting, public support for the WAC, personnel matters like discipline and conduct, and race.

A large file in Part 1of the collection covers recruiting for the WAC and enlistment requests by individual women. Radio programming was one excellent way to recruit for the WAC. Green Valley, U.S.A., a radio program that aired on CBS in June 1943, documented the life of a fictional woman who joined the WAC after being initially opposed to it. Part 1 of the collection contains transcripts of several of the Green Valley broadcasts, giving researchers an excellent window into WAC recruiting practices and the general atmosphere in the United States during World War II.

The collection indicates that American women who did not join the WAC still supported it. In January 1944, a woman sent the WAC a song she had written about women soldiers that was supposed to be sung to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers. The lyrics read in part, “Forward Women Soldiers, / Help to win the war. / We will show our brothers, / We’re worth fighting for. / … Onward Women Soldiers / Of the Womens Army Corps. / Old Glo-o-ry triumphant / Now and evermore” (Part 1, Reel 1, Frame 0719).

The WAC also enjoyed the support of numerous women’s organiza-tion and other civic organizations, reflected in the correspondence

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Women in the U.S. Military: Correspondence of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps, 1942–1946

Part 1: General and Financial Correspondence (19 reels PIN 103245)

Part 2: Personnel (26 reels PIN 103246)

Part 3: Administration and Organization of the Army (29 reels PIN 103247)

Part 4: Tactical Units, Geographical Divisions, and Recruitment (25 reels PIN 103248)

Part 5: Education, Mobilization, and Conduct during Wartime (15 reels PIN 103367)

Part 6: Supplies and Equipment, Transportation, Medical Issues, and Miscellaneous Correspondence (16 reels PIN 103365)

Source Note: Record Group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staff, Entry 54, WAC Director’s Formerly Security Classified General Correspondence, 1942–1946, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Photographs from the National Archives, and The Women’s Army Corps by Mattie E. Treadwell, Center for Military History (Washington, D.C., 1954).

received by Director Hobby. Organizations highlighted in this section include American Association of University Women, American War Mothers, American Women’s Voluntary Services, Inc., Daughters of the American Revolution, Southern Negro Youth Congress, United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO), Women’s Military Services Club, Inc., and Women’s Overseas Service League.

Personnel matters are covered in Part 2 of the collection and include a series of records arranged in alphabetical order by last name of the WAC officer or enlisted person being discussed. These records provide researchers with invaluable information on codes of conduct under which WAC personnel were expected to operate. Documents include investigation reports and exhaustive witness tes-timony transcripts. Among the topics covered are alleged violations for abuse of alcohol, being absent without leave (AWOL), or sexual misconduct. A file of courts-martial contains additional material related to discipline.

Other topics covered in Women in the U.S. Military include race and discrimination, with a focus on African American and Japanese American women; education, particularly at army service and technical schools as well as staff colleges; supplies and equip-ment; assignment of WACs to Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe; the perception of WACs by male military personnel; and the evolution of the Women’s Army Corps after World War II from 1946 through 1948.