The WACs (Think Magazine, 1946)"The Women's Army Corps (WAC), first organized as an auxiliary May 14, 1942, became 'regular army' a little more than a year later...They were secretaries and stenographers for generals. They operated switchboards which kept communications alive throughout the European theater of operations...Their keen eyes and quick fingers made them expert as parachute riggers. They became weather experts [charting the aerial routes for the long-range bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force]."
140,000 women served as WACs - - although this article stated that there were only 100,000. The Cadet Nurse Corps (Think Magazine, 1946)"Youngest and largest of the the women's uniformed services, the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, has made nursing history in the brief span of it's existence...the corps includes more than 112,000 women between 17 and 35 who enrolled to help meet the emergency demand for nursing service and at the same time prepare themselves for a post-war profession." The Women of the U.S. Marine Corps (Think Magazine, 1946)"'Lady Leathernecks', as the trimly-clad members were affectionately dubbed, responded to their country's call some 19,000 strong, accomplishing more than 150 different jobs at more than fifty Marine bases and stations throughout the United States."
"Organized February 13, 1943 the Women's Reserve was directed by Lt. Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter (1895 – 1990). Women in the Marine Corps were authorized to hold the same jobs, ranks and pay as Marines."
The Women of the U.S. Coast Guard (Think Magazine, 1946)"From the icy sweeps of Alaska to the tropical Hawaiian Islands, trimly clad girls in the dark blue of the Coast Guard SPARS have served since their organization was founded in 1942 to fill the shore posts of men at sea." "Communications and radio work were an important phase of their duty. Another field in which SPARS were exceptionally active was aviation, with young women in navy blue working in control towers, instructing fledgling fliers via the Link trainer, and parachute riggers...SPARS were also required to familiarize themselves with weapons." "Ranking woman officer is Captain Dorthy C. Stratton (1899 - 2006), Director of the Women's Reserve, appointed on November 24, 1942).
The WASPs of W.W. II (Think Magazine, 1946)"The WASP program, for as such the Women Airforces Service Pilots became known, was begun in August, 1943. In addition to providing women fliers who could take over certain jobs and thereby release their brothers for front-line duty, the program was designed to see if women could serve as military pilots and, if so, to serve as a nucleus of an organization that could be rapidly expanded...The women who took part in the pilot program proved of great value to their country, flying almost every type of airplane used by the AAF, from the Thunderbolt fighter, to the C-54 transport, they flew enough miles to reach around the world 2,500 times at the Equator." The WASPs were fortunate enough to have pioneering aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran (1906 – 1980) serve at their helm. The U.S. Army Nurse Corps (Think Magazine, 1946)"The Army Nurse during World War II was at work in every quarter of the globe, serving on land, on the sea in hospital ships and in the air, evacuating the wounded by plane. Because of the rugged conditions under which she served, she was trained to use foxholes and to understand gas defense, to purify water in the field and to crawl , heavily equipped, under barbed wire."
By the time VJ-Day rolled around, the Army Nurse Corps was 55,000 strong.
(From Amazon: G.I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corps in World War II ) President Truman's VE-Day Proclamation (Think Magazine, 1946)Attached is a page from the "Diary of Participation in W.W. II" which was compiled by the editors of THINK MAGAZINE; this page contains the printable text of a portion of President Harry Truman's VE-Day Proclamation of May 8, 1945:
"The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God's help, have won from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The Western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men... Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East..." The Women of the U.S. Navy (Think Magazine, 1946)The attached is a short article from THINK MAGAZINE that sums up the contributions made by the 87,000 American women of the U.S. Navy during World War II. These women were organized into a body called WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service): "In 500 shore establishments of the United States Fleet, women in navy blue released enough men from non-combatant duty to man all of America's landing crafts in two important operations: the Normandy landings on D-Day and the invasion of Saipan." "Created July 30, 1942, the Corps completed more than three years of service while the nation was engaged in war. The director was Captain Mildred H. McAfee (1900 - 1994), former president of Wellseley College."
The Navy Nurse Corps (Think Magazine, 1946)The attached story of U.S. Navy Nurse Corps and the brave and remarkable women who gallantly served within it's ranks throughout the Second World War is told in this brief article. It documents the selfless service of Navy Nurses who stayed behind in the Philippines to face Japanese captivity rather than desert their patients. "That was typical of the steadfast manner in which Navy Nurses adhered to duty throughout the war, forsaking personal comfort and safety to bring the benefits of their skills to the sick and wounded".
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