Edith Nourse Rogers - WAC

WAC

Edith Rogers introduced a bill in October 1942 to make the WAACs a formal part of the United States Army Reserve. Fearing it would hinder other war legislation, George Marshall declined to support it and it failed. He changed his mind in 1943, and asked Congress to give the WAAC full military status. Experience showed that the two separate systems were too difficult to manage. Rogers and Oveta Culp Hobby, the first Director of the WAACs, drafted a new bill which was debated in the House for six months before passing. On July 1, 1943 Roosevelt signed "An Act to Establish the Women's Army Corps in the Army of the United States", which became Public Law 78-110. The "auxiliary" portion of the name was officially dropped, and on July 5, 1943, Hobby was commissioned as a full colonel, the highest rank allowed in the new Women's Army Corp.

The WACs received the same pay, allowances, and benefits as regular army units, though time spent as a WAC did not count toward time served and the allowance for dependents was heavily restricted. The WACs were now disciplined, promoted, and given the same legal protections as regular Army units, and the 150,000 ceiling was lifted. While the legislators made it very clear they expected the WACs to be noncombatants, the bill contained no specific restrictions. Existing Army regulations still prohibited them from combat training with weapons, tactical exercises, duty assignments requiring weapons, supervising men, and jobs requiring great physical strength, unless waived by the United States Secretary of War; but of the 628 Army specialties, women now qualified for 406. Additional Army regulations were adopted to cover pregnancy, marriage, and maternity care.

As part of the regular Army, WACs could not be permanently assigned as cooks, waitresses, janitors, or to any other civilian jobs. While most became clerks, secretaries, and drivers, they also became mechanics, weather observers, radio operators, medical technicians, intelligence analysts, chaplains, postal workers, and heavy equipment operators. The restriction against combat training and carrying weapons was waived in several cases, allowing women to serve as pay officers, military police, in code rooms, or as drivers in some overseas areas. On January 10, 1943 a 200-WAC unit was even trained as an antiaircraft gun crew, though they were not allowed to fire the 90 mm weapon. Several were also assigned to the Manhattan Project.

WACs also served overseas, and close to the front lines. During the invasion of Italy by the U.S. Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, a 60-woman platoon served in the advance headquarters, sometimes only a few miles from the front lines; and in the south Pacific WACs moved into Manila, Philippines only three days after occupation. By V-J Day, one fifth had served overseas.

On V-E Day, May 8, 1945, WACs reached their peak of 99,388 women in active duty, and a total of more than 140,000 WACs served during World War II. The majority served in the Army Service Force, but large numbers also served as "Air WACs" in the Army Air Force, largely because of the enthusiastic and early support of General Henry R. Arnold, and in the Army Medical Corps. Only 2,000 served in the combat-heavy Army Ground Force.

Despite the noncombatant status of her directorate, Oveta Hobby was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the second highest U.S. military decoration. The WACs were awarded a total of 62 Legions of Merit, 565 Bronze Stars, 3 Air Medals, and 16 Purple Hearts.

The initial bill called for the WACs to be discontinued 6 months after the President declared the war was at an end, but despite the resistance in the House and the smear campaign, the WACs performed capably and well. According to Dwight D. Eisenhower, "During the time I have had WACs under my command they have met every test and task assigned to them.... Their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable." Douglas MacArthur called them "my best soldiers". With the rush to send as many men home as quickly as possible after the cessation of hostilities, WACs were even more in demand.

Supported by Eisenhower, the "Act to Establish a Permanent Nurse Corps of the Army and Navy and to Establish a Women's Medical Specialists Corps in the Army", or the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, passed and became Public Law 8036, granting regular, permanent status to female nurses. Then in early 1946, Chief of Staff Eisenhower ordered legislation drafted to make the WACs a permanent part of the regular army, which was submitted to Congress in 1947 in the midst of a massive reorganization of the armed forces. The bill was unanimoussly approved by the Senate but the House Armed Forces Committee amended the bill to restrict women to reserve status, with only Representative Margaret Chase Smith dissenting.

After vehement objection by Eisenhower, who wrote "the women of America must share the responsibility for the security of their country in a future emergency as the women of England did in World War II"; the personal testimony of Secretary of Defense James Forrestal; and support from every major military commander including the Chief of Naval Operations Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and MacArthur, the Commander of the U.S. Army Forces, Far East, who wrote, "we cannot ask these women to remain on duty, nor can we ask qualified personnel to volunteer, if we cannot offer them permanent status"; supporting articles in The New York Times and Christian Science Monitor, and the support of Senator and future President Lyndon B. Johnson and Representative Edith Rogers, the amended bill passed in the House but was rejected in the Senate. A compromise restored the original wording but limited the total number of women allowed to serve for the first few years, which then passed unanimously in the Senate, and 206 to 133 in the House. On June 12, 1948 President Harry Truman signed the "Women's Armed Services Integration Act", making it Public Law 80-625.

On December 3, 1948, the Director of the WACs, Colonel Mary A. Hallaren, became the first commissioned female officer in the U.S. Army. The WACs still were not equal. They were limited in numbers, had no command authority over men, were restricted from combat training and duties, had additional restrictions on claiming dependents, and aside from their Director, no woman could be promoted above the rank of lieutenant colonel. WACs served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. On November 8, 1967 Congress lifted the restriction on promotions, allowing the first WAC generals. And then on October 29, 1978 the Women's Army Corps was discontinued as the women were assimilated into the rest of the army.