„Free a Man to Fight”: Constructing the Woman

Transcription

„Free a Man to Fight”: Constructing the
Woman|Soldier in the Women’s Army Corps
during World War II
Inauguraldissertation der Philosphisch-historischen
Fakultät der Universität Bern
zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde vorgelegt von
Maria-Michaela Hampf
aus Bremen
(Deutschland)
Elektronische Version im Selbstverlag
Berlin 2005
Von der Philosophisch-historischen Fakultät auf Antrag von
Prof. Dr. Stig Förster (Hauptgutachter) und
Prof. Dr. Brigitte Studer (Zweitgutachterin) angenommen.
Bern, den 17.11. 2006
Der Dekan: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schulze
ii
M. Michaela Hampf: Free a Man to Fight: Constructing the Woman|Soldier
in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II
Table of contents
Abbreviations
1. INTRODUCTION
1
1.1 Military Institutions and Gender
1.1.1 The Gendered Division of Labor
1.1.2 Armed Civic Virtue
1.1.3 Citizenship, Arms & Gender
1.1.4 „Beautiful Souls” and Martial Citizens
1.1.5 Women’s Contributions to „People’s Wars”
1.1.6. „Total War” and the Mobilization of Women Auxiliaries
1.1.7 The Woman|Soldier: An Oxymoron?
1.2. Theoretical Concepts
1.2.1 Power and Agency
1.2.2 Power|Knowledge
1.2.3 Strategic Apparatus
1.2.4 Gender
1.2.5 Methodological approaches
1.3 Literature
1.3.1 German Publications on Gender Historical Perspectives on the Military
1.3.2 American Studies on Gender and the Military
1.3.3 Research on the WAAC and the WAC
1.4 Sources:
1.4.1 Archival Sources
1.4.2 Published Sources
1.5 Structure
4
4
8
9
14
19
28
36
37
37
39
42
43
50
53
54
60
66
68
68
70
72
2. ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY OF THE WAAC/WAC, 1942-1947
2.1 Utilization of Women in World War I and Planning during the Interwar Years
2.2 The WAAC and WAC Bills in Congress
2.3 Training
2.3.1 Basic Military Training
2.3.2 Specialist Training
2.4 Policies and Regulations
2.5 Women Soldiers at Work
2.6 Overseas Service
2.7 Demobilization and Integration
2.8 Combat: Drawing the Line
75
79
86
87
89
90
95
99
103
110
iii
Table of contents
3. CONSTRUCTING THE WOMEN|SOLDIER THROUGH RECRUITING
CAMPAIGNS, MEDIA COVERAGE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
3.1 „Petticoat Army“ or „Doughgirl Generalissimo“
3.2 „Release a Man to Fight“
3.2.1 Competition by Other Government Agencies
3.2.2 Quality or Quantity: The Enlistment Standards
3.2.3 The „toughest sales problem in the country”
3.3 „Self-Sacrifice” v. „Self-interest”: WAAC Recruiting
3.3.1 The Motifs of Motherhood, the Family, and Home
3.3.2 „I joined to serve my country...and I’m having the time of my life!“
3.4 The “Slander Campaign”
3.5 „Guilt” v. „Glamour”: WAC Recruiting
3.5.1 The All-States-Campaign
3.5.2 The Attitude of Army Men
3.5.3 „Fighting men and capable Wacs”
3.5.4 „Comforting Our Wounded Heroes”
3.6 Public Relations
3.7 „Petticoat Soldiers“: Ego-documents from the Field
3.7.1 Camp Newspapers
3.7.2 Songs
120
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126
128
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133
134
139
141
157
161
164
170
171
176
186
186
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4. DRESS CODES: UNIFORMS FOR THE WAAC
4.1 Military Uniforms
4.2 Symbolic Aspects: Planning and Design of the Uniform
4.2.1. The Pre-Planning Process
4.2.2. A „neat and military appearance”
4.2.3. Prêt-a-porter the Army Way
4.3. Material Aspects
4.3.1. New Jobs – New Work Clothing? „Women’s work” Put to the Practical Test
4.3.2 Procurement and Supply
4.3.3. Overseas Experience
4.4 Publicity Crisis
4.5 Technologies of the Self
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202
202
206
209
211
211
212
216
218
222
5. „SUBJECTED TO THE COLORED RACE”
5.1 African American Wacs
5.1.1 African Americans and the War Effort: Some Socio-Economic Aspects
5.1.2 The Mobilization of African American Men
5.1.3 Political Pressure for the Integration of African American Women
5.1.4 Recruiting of African American Women
5.1.5 Segregation in the WAC
227
227
229
231
233
237
iv
5.1.6 African American Wacs Overseas
5.1.7 Assignment and Mal-Assignment
5.1.8 Protest: Sit-Down Strike or Disobedience?
5.2 Japanese American Wacs
5.3 Puerto Rican Wacs
5.4 „First Class Citizenship”?
245
247
250
253
264
265
6. SEXUALITY
6.1 Normalizing Practices
6.1.1 The Regulation of Respectability: Double Standards for Men and
Women
6.1.2 Social Control: VD Policies for Wacs, Civilian Women and Servicemen
6.1.3 Respectability and the Legitimacy of the Corps: The Code of Conduct
and WAC Regulations
6.1.4 Regulating the Unrespectable: Pregnancy, Abortion, Maternity and
Marriage
6.1.5 Patrolling Respectable Femininity: Anti-Fraternization Policies
6.2 Deviant Practices
6.2.1 A „Hangover from Adolescence”: Richard von Krafft-Ebing,
Havelock Ellis and Sigmund Freud
6.2.2 The „True Pervert“, the „Criminal Sodomist“ and the „Intoxicated or
Curious“: Homosexuality in the Armed Forces
6.3 Exclusionary Practices
6.3.1 WAC Regulations and Procedures: In Search of „undesirable traits
and habits“
6.3.2 The „hierarchy of perversity”: Class, Race, Practice, Haircut
6.3.3 Homosociality and Lesbian Agency: The Fort Oglethorpe Investigation
269
278
7. CONCLUSION: THE WAC BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL
INTEGRATION AND DISCURSIVE EXCLUSION
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280
283
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286
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299
305
305
309
313
8. SOURCES AND LITERATURE
8.1 Archival Sources
8.2 Published Sources
8.3 Secondary Works
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363
v
1. Introduction
Abbreviations
AA
AAAC
AAF
ABCL
ACWIS
AEF
AGCT
AGF
AKA
AMG
ANC
ASF
ASR
ATS
AWOL
BPR
CBS
CCC
CNO
CWS
DST
ETO
G-1
G-2
G-3
G-4
IZFG
MAT
MISLS
MOS
MTOUSA
Antiaircraft Artillery
Antiaircraft Artillery Command
Army Air Forces
American Birth Control League
Advisory Council to the Women’s Interest Section of the War Department
American Expeditionary Forces in Europe
Army General Classification Test
Army Ground Forces
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Arbeitskreis für Militär und Gesellschaft in der Frühen Neuzeit
Army Nurse Corps
Army Service Forces (formerly SOS)
Adjusted Service Rating
Auxiliary Territorial Service
Absent without leave
Bureau of Public Relations
Columbia Broadcasting System
Civilian Conservation Corps
Chief of Naval Operations
Chemical Warfare Service
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
European Theater of Operations
Personnel division of the general staff of a division or a larger unit;
also, the assistant chief of staff for personnel
Military intelligence division of the general staff of a division or a
larger unit; also, the assistant chief of staff for military intelligence
Operations and training division of the general staff of a division or
a larger unit; also, the assistant chief of staff for operations and
training
Supply division of the general staff of a division or a larger unit;
also, the assistant chief of staff for supply
Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung;
TU Berlin
Mental alertness test
Military Intelligence Service Language School
Military Operational Specialty
Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army
vi
NAACP
NARA
NATO
NCNW
NCO
NPRC
NUL
NYA
OC CWS
OCS
OTI
RPB
SHAEF
SJA
SOS
SPARS
SWPA
TA; also TD
TO; also, T/O
UCMJ
USES
WAAC
WAC
WAFS
WASP
WAVES
WFTD
WMC
WRA
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Archives and Record Administration
North African Theater of Operations
National Council of Negro Women
Non-commissioned officer
National Personnel Records Center
National Urban League
National Youth Administration
Office of the Chief, Chemical Warfare Service
Officer Candidate School
Office of Technical Information
Recruiting Publicity Bureau
Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force
Station job assignment plan
Services of Supply (renamed ASF in 1943)
"Semper Paratus - Always Ready" (Women's auxiliary unit of the
Coast Guard)
Southwest Pacific Area
Table of allotment; table of distribution
Table of organization
Uniform Code of Military Justice
United States Employment Service
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
Women’s Army Corps
Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron
Women's Air Service Pilots
Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service
Women's Flying Training Detachment
War Manpower Commission
War Relocation Authority
vii
„Free a Man to Fight”: Constructing the
Woman|Soldier in the Women’s Army Corps during
World War II
1. Introduction
In 2003 and 2004, two young women from West Virginia who were serving in the
United States Army became national symbols. One came home to glory, having been
rescued by Special Forces from a Nasiriyah hospital in a dramatic operation that became
the subject of a book, a TV movie and enormous attention by the media. The other appeared in photographs aired on 60 Minutes that showed her with a cigarette in her
mouth, with one hand pointing to the genitals of a naked, hooded Iraqi prisoner, who
appears to be masturbating, and the other hand displaying the „thumb up” sign. Another
picture shows her holding a leash that is looped around the neck of a naked Iraqi man
lying on the concrete floor of a cellblock in the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Both
women, Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch and Army Reserve Private First Class
Lynndie England came from small towns in the hills of West Virginia. Both Lynch,
who joined the military after high school, and England, who joined at the age of 17 after
her junior year of high school „wanted some education and […] to serve their country”,
as Lory Manning of the Women’s Research and Education Institute in Washington DC
commented.1
Lynch’s 507th Maintenance Company convoy was ambushed near the city of Nasiriyah
during the U.S. march on Baghdad on 23 March 2003. Eleven soldiers died when Lynch
and others were taken prisoner. Lynch was taken to a local hospital. Eight days later,
U.S. Special Forces stormed the hospital, capturing the dramatic rescue with a night vision camera. Army officials initially reported that Lynch had fought desperately until
1
Cited in: Associated Press, „Two young West Virginia women symbolize war’s glory, shame,”
Boston Herald, Saturday, 8 May 2004.
1. Introduction
her ammunition ran out before being captured. Reports claimed that she had stab and
bullet wounds and was abused and interrogated while in the hospital. After the grainy
Pentagon video of the rescue operation that resembled „action movies like Sylvester
Stallone or Jackie Chan” had aired at the height of the conflict, Iraqi doctors and Private
Lynch herself were painting a different picture of the events.2 Lynch said she had not
fired a single bullet because her weapon had jammed, and she was injured when her
Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed. There had been no mistreatment in the hospitals – to the contrary, one of the Iraqi nurses would even sing to
her. The Iraqi doctor who had treated her added that Lynch was provided the best treatment they could offer at the time. She was assigned the only specialist bed and one of
only two nurses on the floor. He diagnosed several broken bones, but neither bullet nor
stab wounds.3 It also became clear that the hospital had been given up by the Iraqi mil itary the day before the rescue operation and that the U.S. Special Forces had known
this. England went to Iraq in May 2003 as an administrative specialist with the 372nd
Military Police Company, charged with guarding Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
Together with her partner, Specialist Charles Graner, whose child she was five moths
pregnant with at the time, she was charged with assaulting and mistreating the detainees. Six other members of her unit, the 372nd Military Police Company based in Cresaptown, Maryland, faced preliminary court-martial proceedings in connection with the
alleged abuse.
Both women – Lynch and England – became icons of the United States engagement in
Iraq. One was heralded for her „bravery“, and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart
and Prisoner of War Medal; the other was portrayed to represent absolute evil. Both fulfilled military roles that were relatively new and both these roles had little to do with
what the two women came to stand for. As 19-year old Lynch put it: „They used me as
a way to symbolize all this stuff.”4 What made them so exceptional in the published
2
Dr. Anmar Uday cited in BBC News. Kampfner, John. War Spin, Saving Private Lynch Story
‘flawed’. Broadcast on BBC Two 18 March 2003. Web page. URL :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/correspondent/3028585.stm. 30 July 2004.
3
Dr. Harith a-Houssona cited in BBC News. Kampfner, War Spin.
4
Cited in BBC News. Jessica Lynch condemns Pentagon. 07 November 2003. Web Page. URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/correspondent/3251731.stm. 30 July 2004. In an
interview with the Baltimore Sun, PFC England’s father, Kenneth England said: „Just like what
2
opinion was not the fact that they were taken prisoner and rescued or put in charge of
enemy prisoners and assaulted them – it was the fact that they were women.5 Neither the
role of the hero, nor the role of the perpetrator has been available to women in the military in most western societies. Early in 2004, the American public might or might not
have been prepared for pictures of servicewomen coming home in body bags. It was
certainly unprepared, as Melissa Embser-Herbert commented, for pictures of women „at
the aggressor’s end of […] sexual torture and humiliation. This is what’s at the heart of
the public response to the photos from Abu Ghraib. In short, the reversal of roles has
taken us completely by surprise.”6 The idea of the peaceful woman, responsible for
giving life, caring and nurturing complemented by the strong, potentially aggressive
man, whose responsibility it is to protect women and their offspring reiterates a simple,
but still powerful myth.
The „aggressor’s end”, war and the military in general, are still widely considered
men’s business. When women’s permanent presence in the US Army was established in
1942, the intrusion of women into the formerly all-male military institution created considerable cultural anxiety, even though Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) consisted of civilian auxiliaries who performed mainly clerical jobs. In 1943, the WAAC
was replaced by the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), whose members were part of the
Army and enjoyed military status like male soldiers. The focus of this study is the construction of the new category woman|soldier. How did the Army, the public and the
women themselves construct this wartime role for women? How did the media conceptualize the WAC? How did the women embody their new role, cope with the disciplinary system and the gender politics of the military organization? Or, more generally:
happened with that Lynch girl, this is getting blown out of proportion.” Woestendiek, John.
„W.Va. Reservist Caught Up in a Storm of Controversy.” Baltimore Sun 6 May 2004.
5
Harders, Cilja. „Neue Kriegerinnen: Lynndie England und Jessica Lynch.”Blätter für deutsche
und internationale Politik 49.9 (2004): 1101-11.
6
Embser-Herbert, Melissa S. „When Women Abuse Power, Too.”Washington Post 16 May 16,
2004: B01. Joanna Bourke pointed out that this „carnivalesque”, „pornographic” „festival of
violence” was also a „bonding ritual”: „Group identity as victors in an increasingly brutalised
Iraq is being cemented: this is an enactment of comradeship between men and women who are
set apart from civilian society back home by acts of violence.” Bourke, Joanna. „Torture as Pornography.” Guardian 7 May 2004.
3
1. Introduction
How, precisely, was the US Army that had just entered the Second World War a gendered institution?
1.1 Military Institutions and Gender
1.1.1 The Gendered Division of Labor in Military Institutions
Among the institutions of nation states, militaries occupy a unique place. They are institutions that control and regulate every aspect of their members’ lives. They wield coercive force in the name of the state. If the state is, as Max Weber described it, characterized by the fact that it „(successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of
physical force within a given territory," the exertion of violence to defend that territory
is delegated to the military.7 Militaries demand a higher degree of loyalty and commi tment than any other institution of the state - a commitment that may ultimately include
to kill or to be killed.
Gender is omnipresent within the military institution, in different, but interdependent
and overlapping processes, practices, images, ideologies, and distributions of power.
Few other institutions are so closely connected with a hegemonic masculinity in our
cultural imagination as the military.8 Within military culture, attributing derogative,
feminine attributes to competing masculinities negotiates different masculinities. Frank
J. Barrett shows, for example, how Navy aviators, who claim the hegemonic, elite masculinity of the fighter pilot, distance themselves from „supply pussies“ or „suppo weenies“, as they refer to male officers in noncombat positions.9 The construction of mil itary masculinity is centered on combat, its mythical core, and it depends on the exclusion of the „other“, the „overt homosexual”, the „feminine”, the „ethnic other”. On the
symbolic level, these cultural constructions have not been overcome by the integration
of women into the military. Madeline Morris, a consultant on sexual harassment to Sec-
7
Weber, Max. Politik als Beruf, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1977.
I will come back to the concept of ‚hegemonic masculinity’ and others in Chapter 1.2.
9
Barrett, Frank. „Die Konstruktion hegemonialer Männlichkeit in Organisationen: Das Beispiel
der US-Marine.” Soziale Konstruktionen: Militär und Geschlechterverhältnis. Eds. Christine Eifler and Ruth Seifert. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot, 1999. 71-93.
8
4
retary of the Army Togo West, argued that there is a „masculinist” culture and „macho
posturing” within the military which portrays women as „sexual targets or adversaries”
and condones and promotes animosity and violence toward women.10 The institutional
culture of the military, then, evidently does not support the official military policies
prohibiting discriminatory behavior. As Ruth Seifert points out, there are few institutions in which essentialist justifications for gender differences prevail as strongly as in
military institutions.11 Seifert and other sociologists argue that the findings of the soc iology of professions are applicable to the military profession: Far from reflecting any
natural differences between the genders, the gender-differentiated division of labor in a
profession produces those differences between men and women that appear natural only
ex post facto.12 It thus constantly reproduces the circular arg ument that the outcome (the
gendered division of labor) shows, what in fact had been its prerequisite.13 The military
as an institution and military discourses also contribute in manifold ways to the construction of femininity and masculinity in society14. Military institutions utilize „gender
10
Morris, Madeline. „By Force of Arms: Rape, War and Military Culture.”Duke Law Journal
45 (1996): 651.
11
Seifert, Ruth. „Identität, Militär und Geschlecht. Zur identitätspolitischen Bedeutung einer
kulturellen Konstruktion.” Heimat - Front. Militär, Gewalt und Geschlechterverhältnisse im
Zeitalter der Weltkriege. Eds. Karen Hagemann and Stefanie Schüler-Springorum. Frankfurt/Main: Berg, 2002. 53-66, 54.
12
Ibid, 55.
13
Wetterer, Angelika, and Arbeitsgruppe „Profession und Geschlecht“. Die Soziale Konstruktion von Geschlecht in Professionalisierungsprozessen. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus,
1995, 21. See also Eifler, Christine. „Bewaffnet und Geschminkt: Zur sozialen und kulturellen
Konstruktion des weiblichen Soldaten in Rußland und in den USA.”L'Homme 12.1 (2001): 7397. Seifert, Ruth. „Gender, Nation und Militär. Aspekte von Männlichkeitskonstruktion und
Gewaltsozialisation durch Militär und Wehrpflicht.”Allgemeine Wehrpflicht. Geschichte,
Probleme, Perspektiven. Eds. Eckhardt Opitz and Frank S. Rödiger. Bremen: Edition Temmen,
1994. 179-94. Seifert, Ruth. „'Militär und Geschlecht' in den deutschen Sozialwissenschaften.
Eine Skizzierung der aktuellen Forschungssituation.”L'Homme 12.1 (2001): 134-43. Seifert,
Ruth. „Militär, Nation und Geschlecht. Analyse einer kulturellen Konstruktion.”Krieg/War.
Eine philosophische Auseinandersetzung aus feministischer Sicht. Ed. Wiener Philosophinnen
Club. München 1997. 41-51. Seifert, Ruth, Militär-Kultur-Identität. Individualisierung, Geschlechterverhältnisse und die soziale Konstruktion des Soldaten. Bremen: Edition Temmen,
1996.
14
See for instance McLaren, Angus. The Trials of Masculinity: Policing Sexual Boundaries,
1870-1930. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997. Enloe, Cynthia. „Beyond Steve
Canyon and Rambo: Feminist Histories of Militarized Masculinity.”The Militarization of the
Western World: 1870 to the Present. Ed. John R. Gillis. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University
Press, 1989. 119-40. Peiss, Kathy Lee, Christina Simmons, and Robert A. Padgug. Passion and
Power: Sexuality in History. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1989. Hunter, Andrea
5
1. Introduction
technologies” (DeLauretis) in order to foster an ideology of heterosexual masculinity
that transgresses the boundary of the military and permeates civilian discourses.
Barton C. Hacker has shown how the roles women played in military organizations
have changed considerably. „[W]omen were a normal part of European armies at least
from the fourteenth until well into the nineteenth century.”15 Women performed military
support services that have been regarded as essential military functions from the 19th
century until today. „The lines between army and society were not so sharply drawn [in
the European renaissance] as they were later.”16 The military camp was a „vast moving
city with its own community life complete with shops, services and families, all defended by walls of iron – the weapons of its soldiers.”17 The camp and train consisted of
many more „mouths” – including sutlers, wives, horseboys, valets and prostitutes – than
it consisted of men. These women, some of whom were soldiers’ wives or widows,
traded in goods, which were not part of the supply system, or performed other tasks.
Hacker noted that while women’s activities in the army differed little from their work in
a peasant village – „finding, cooking, and serving food; making, washing, and mending
clothes; tending the sick, the infirm, and the wounded; sporting with men, helping other
women when they could, bearing and raising children” – they were „as much part of the
army as men” in early modern Europe.18
G. and James Earl Davis., „Hidden Voices of Black Men: The Meaning, Structure and Complexity of Manhood.”Journal of Black Studies. 25. 1 (1994): 20-40. Shuker-Haines, Timothy
Maxwell. „Home Is the Hunter: Representations of Returning World War II Veterans and the
Reconstruction of Masculinity, 1944-1951.”Ph.D. Thesis. University of Michigan, 1994. Mangan, J. A. „Men, Masculinity and Sexuality: Some Recent Literature.”Journal of the History of
Sexuality 3.2 (1992): 303-13. Shenk, Gerald Edwin. „`Work or Fight': Selective Service and
Manhood in the Progressive Era.”Ph.D. Thesis. University of California, San Diego, CA 1992.
Gibson, J. William. „Feminist Ideas About Masculinity.”American Quarterly 43.1 (1991): 12834. Curtis, Bruce. „The Wimp Factor.”American Heritage 40.7 (1989): 40-50. Jeffords, Susan.
„Women, Gender, and the War.” Critical Studies in Mass Communication 6.1 (1989): 83-90.
Klein, Uta. Militär und Geschlecht in Israel. Frankfurt/Main: Campus, 2001. Whitehead, Stephen and Frank J. Barrett. The Masculinities Reader. Cambridge, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
15
Hacker, Barton C. „Women and Military Institutions in Early Modern Europe: A Reconnaissance.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 6.4 (1981): 643-671, 643.
16
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 646.
17
Parker, Geoffrey, and Angela Parker, European Soldiers, 1550-1650. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1977, 34, cited in Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 647.
18
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 653-4.
6
By the nineteenth century, however, women appeared all but absent from military institutions as well as from the emerging military historiography. Military history was in
this formative stage shaped by the absence of gender as an analytical category, thus reinforcing a double „maleness” of the historical actors as well as the historians who
wrote about wars. When the establishment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was
debated in Congress, one representative called out „Think of the humiliation! What has
become of the manhood of America [...]”19 How, then, had war and the military so tho roughly become ‘men’s business’ that admitting women to an auxiliary corps constituted
a humiliation?
Jean Bethke Elshtain observed that „woman’s noncombatant status derives from no special virtue located within her; rather, male bodies are more readily militarized.”20 In
contrast to femininity, masculinity was less seen as „natural”, but rather as something to
be permanently established through culture. In the context of the enlightenment construction of a bipolar, hierarchical and ontological gender order, masculinity seemed
more unstable and therefore required constant affirmation through symbols, rituals, tests
and sanctions to a degree that the construct could then be ontologized and go unquestioned.21 Consequently, the functions women served in pre-modern times became i
n-
compatible with the increasing disciplining function of the army. The implementation of
19
United States, and Congress. Congressional Record. Washington, DC: GPO, 1873- Vol. 88,
No. 55, 17 March 1942.
20
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Women and War. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1995,
183. For a contemporary discussion, see Goldman, Nancy Loring. Female Soldiers--Combatants
or Noncombatants? Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1982, 269.
21
Hagemann, Karen, and Ralf Pröve, eds. Landsknechte, Soldatenfrauen und Nationalkrieger:
Militär, Krieg und Geschlechterordnung im historischen Wandel. Frankfurt/Main, New York:
Campus, 1998, 29. See also Hausen, Karin. „Die Polarisierung der ‚Geschlechtscharaktere’. Eine Spiegelung der Dissoziation von Erwerbs- und Familienleben.”Sozialgeschichte der Familie
in der Neuzeit Europas. Ed. W. Conze. Stuttgart: Klett 1977. 363-93. Claudia Honegger, Claudia. Die Ordnung der Geschlechter: Die Wissenschaften vom Menschen und das Weib, 17501850. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus Verlag, 1991. Frevert, Ute. Die Kasernierte Nation:
Militärdienst und Zivilgesellschaft in Deutschland. München: Beck, 2001. Frevert, Ute. „Männer (T)Räume. Die Allgemeine Wehrpflicht und ihre geschlechtergeschichtlichen Implikationen.”Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft 11 (2000): 111-24, and Gilmore,
David D. Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1990.
7
1. Introduction
a discourse of armed civic virtue in the French Republic is critical for understanding the
different gender-specific personae for men and women that cultural memory and narrative provide in times of war until today. The designation of women as noncombatants
and potential victims and men of a certain age as potential combatants in most Western
nation states is a distinctively modern phenomenon.22
1.1.2 Armed Civic Virtue
The discourse with which this gender order was accomplished was that of „armed civic
virtue”. It had emerged in antiquity and was later re-employed during the age of Enlightenment. During the 19th century, „armed civic virtue” was applied to the newly
emerging nation states. It helped not only to create the concept of the citizen of the nation-state, but can also be found at the roots of a gender-specific split of civic duties. Finally, it helped create a gender order that was constructed as ontological and became increasingly naturalized by obscuring its genealogy. The trope of „armed civic virtue” can
be traced from the warrior communities of the Greek poleis to Enlightenment discourses
and on to modern republican liberal democracies. Aristotle called for a „mature”, „masculine citizenship” in the citizen-warrior of the ideal polis.23 „The government should be
confined to those who carry arms.”24 The polis, according to Aristotle, depended on the
wisdom of the constitution as well as on the strength of the people who defended it by
force of arms. Hence, the ideal constitution should entrust the same men with governing
and defending the polis, not at the same time, but „but in the order prescribed by nature,
who has given to young men strength and to older men wisdom.”25
For enlightenment philosopher Thomas Hobbes masculinity and warfare were intimately linked to each other and to the claim to citizenship. „Upon this ground a man
22
Examples cited in Elshtain, Women and War, 181. See also Opitz, Claudia. „Von Frauen im
Krieg zum Krieg gegen Frauen. Gewalt und Geschlechterbeziehungen aus historischer Sicht.”
L'Homme 31 (1992): 31-44.
23
Aristotle. Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1962, Book 2, cited in Elshtain,
Women and War, 55.
24
Aristotle. Politics: Book II, Part VIII. Web Page. URL:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.2.two.html. 31 July 2005.
25
Aristotle. Politics: Book VII, Part IX. Web Page. URL:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.7.seven.html. 31 July 2005.
8
that is commanded as a soldier to fight against the enemy [...] may nevertheless in many
cases refuse, without injustice; as when he substituteth a sufficient soldier in his place:
for in this case he deserteth not the service of the Commonwealth. And there is allowance to be made for natural timorousness, not only to women (of whom no such dangerous duty is expected), but also to men of feminine courage.” To run from battle is
not necessarily unjust, but it is dishonorable and cowardly, i.e. „feminine“. The concept
of masculinity that Hobbes articulated here is not to be confused with some form of
„maleness” or with being male. Instead, it is contrasted with femininity by emphasizing
the martial quality of the soldier. In other words, Hobbes did not talk about men and
women, citizens and soldiers, but rather about citizen|soldiers and feminine others.
„And when the defence of the Commonwealth requireth at once the help of all that are
able to bear arms, every one is obliged; because otherwise the institution of the Commonwealth, which they have not the purpose or courage to preserve, was in vain.“26
1.1.3 Citizenship, Arms & Gender
The association of arms bearing with civic identity was also central to the work of Niccoló Machiavelli. Machiavelli’s understanding of virtù is a concept of political virtue
that is closely linked to contemporary notions of virility.27 Machiavelli’s ideal of an
army of citizens prepared to defend and die for the republica identified the ideal citizen
to the self-sufficient, armed warrior. The male citizen subjects himself to a rigorous discipline of mind and body to help achieve unity and civic autonomy for the body politic.
Civic and martial values are thus closely bound together in the public sphere. Women’s
place is in the private sphere, where they embody values that either serve or subvert
male war making. „Civic Virtue is armed and willful, the source of legitimacy, stability,
the basis of the respublica.”28
26
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan [1651]. Web Page. URL:
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-contents.html. 13 May 2004. See
also Jamieson, Ruth. „The Man of Hobbes: Masculinity and Wartime Necessity.” Journal of
Historical Sociology 9.1 (1996): 19-42.
27
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America, Vol. 2. New York: Vintage Books, 1945,
247.
28
Elshtain, Women and War, 59.
9
1. Introduction
Eighteenth-century thinkers revived the classical and enlightenment traditions of linking
citizenship to armed service.29 For Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writing more than two ce nturies later, civic identity is also associated with virility and (armed) service. To become
a citizen, according to Rousseau, a man has to invest „his will, his goods and his person” in the body politic.30 This rite de passage, the transition to a public person, disti nguishes the citizen from the bourgeois, who merely pursues his private interest. The
citizen must be prepared to offer his private body to fight for the public body. Celebrating Machiavelli’s virilized civic virtue in contrasting the ancient Greek republics
with the „decadent” Romans, Rousseau advises, „to let all kinds of womanish adornment be held in contempt. And if you cannot bring women themselves to renounce it, let
them at least be taught to disapprove of it, and view it with disdain in men.”31
Rousseau’s ideas of armed civic virtue were absorbed in the French Revolution, namely
by Maximilien de Robespierre who translated martial citizenship and martial motherhood into politics. To defend the republic against enemies within and without, according to this discourse of martial citizenship, the republican virtues must not be weakened
by clemency and sensibilities: „Armed republican civic virtue, constituted to protect,
define, and defend a way of life, translated into statist societies, is here unleashed as nationalism, and the dream of discipline is ‘made national’.”32 The new nation, in co ntrast
to the ancient cities, was not encased by walls, but by other, more symbolic boundaries
and barriers. Where the will to invest in the body politic was not sufficient, universal
conscription came to link military masculinity to the idea of the nation.33 The Army b e-
29
Kerber, Linda K. No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of Citizenship. New York: Hill & Wang, 1998, 239. About fighting women: Beard, Margaret Ritter.
Woman as a Force in History: A Study in Transitions and Realities. New York: Collier Books,
1962, 287-95.
30
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. On the Social Contract. Ed. Roger D. Masters. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1978, 163.
31
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The First and Second Discourses. New York: St.Martin’s Press,
1964, 55. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Government of Poland. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill,
1972, 17.
32
Elshtain, Women and War, 63. See also Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of
the Prison. New York: Vintage Books, 1979, 168-169.
33
See Finer, Samuel E. „State- and Nation-Building in Europe: The Role of the Military.” The
Formation of National States in Western Europe. Eds. Charles Tilly and Gabriel Ardant.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1975, 84-163.
10
came the „school of the fatherland”. Violence, which was a legitimate expression of
masculinity and at the same time a means to reinforce that masculinity, became centralized and nationalized. Military socialization came to serve as a rite of passage to male
adulthood and determined the inclusion or exclusion of different groups and their right
to citizenship.34 A national, ‘democratized’ rhetoric of patriotic citizenship, her oism and
sacrifice made use of symbols and rituals to generate the willingness of citizens to fight
and sacrifice themselves for their patria.35 As Karen Hagemann has shown, the emer ging idea of the „national character” was articulated in gender specific terms, while gender identity was framed in national terms.36
James Burgh, an eighteenth century English philosopher who was of great influence for
the American Revolution, wrote: „The possession of arms is the distinction between a
freeman and a slave. […] Nothing will make a nation so unconquerable as a militia, or
every man's being trained to arms. For every Briton having in him by birth the principal
part of a soldier, I mean the heart [...].“37 In the English colonies free men had the obl igation to join the posse comitatus when riots broke out, aid the sheriff in his law enforcement duties and serve in the militia. The following commentary by William Blackstone illustrates the long tradition of the connection of arms bearing and citizenship and
specifies those who were excluded and included:
„And by the statute 13 Hen. IV. c. 7. any two justices, together with the sheriff
or under-sheriff of the county, may come with the posse comitatus, if need be,
and suppress any such riot, assembly, or rout, arrest the rioters [...] In the interpretation of which statute it hath been holden, that all persons, noblemen and
others, except women, clergymen, persons decrepit, and infants under fifteen,
are bound to attend the justices in suppressing a riot, upon pain of fine and im-
34
See also Frevert, Ute. „Gesellschaft und Militär im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert: Sozial- kulturund geschlechtergeschichtliche Anmerkungen.” Militär und Gesellschaft im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Ed. Ute Frevert. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1997. 7-16.
35
See also Hagemann, Karen. „Mannlicher Muth und teutsche Ehre“: Nation, Militär und Geschlecht zur Zeit der antinapoleonischen Kriege Preussens. Paderborn: Schöningh, 2002, 23.
36
Hagemann, Karen. „A Valorous Volk Family: The Nation, the Military, and the Gender Order
in Prussia in the Time of the Anti-Napoleonic Wars, 1806-15.”Gendered Nations: Nationalisms
and Gender Order in the Long Nineteenth Century. Eds. Ida Blom, Karen Hagemann, and Catherine Hall. Oxford: Berg, 2000. 179-206, 185.
37
Burgh, James. Political Disquisitions Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses,
Vol. 2. London: E. and C. Dilley, 1774- 1775, 390.
11
1. Introduction
prisonment; and that any battery, wounding, or killing the rioters, that may happen in suppressing the riot, is justifiable.“38
In the eighteenth century, arms-bearing acquired the double significance of a personal
right and personal duty, „an empowerment of the citizen and a constraint on governmental power.“39 This is further illustrated by the requirement to serve on slave patrols
that many colonies imposed upon their white male residents, regardless of whether they
owned slaves or not. The „Act for Establishing and Regulating of Patrols“ of 1757 ordered white men between the ages of 18 and 45 to ride the roads at night to restrict the
movement of Blacks and ensure white hegemony in South Carolina and Georgia. Patrol
duty was mandatory and unless the men hired substitutes to patrol for them, absentees
were fined. As much of the duty fell to non-slaveholders, there were considerable tensions within the white population.40 Sally Hadden suggests that the patrols to control
slaves also provided a unifying ground for southern males of widely varying socioeconomic backgrounds.41 The fear of black masculinity and slave rebellion and the struggle
to repress black resistance, helped form a masculine identity, as the patrol duty knitted
together southern white males, including the poor and landless as well as wealthy landowners and slaveholders. Women, as well as slaves, were expected to be defended by
their husband and masters, respectively, and hence need no arms.42 A husband’s right to
his wife’s body, property and earning power was understood to have been claimed in
38
Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1979, Vol. 4:146—47. See also Kerber, No Constitutional Right, 239. Malcolm,
Joyce Lee. To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1994, 2-3. Murrin, John. „From Liberties to Rights: The Struggle in Colonial Massachusetts.” The Bill of Rights and the States: The Colonial and Revolutionary Origins of American Liberties. Eds. Patrick T. Conley and John P. Kaminski. Madison, WI:
House, 1992, 73.
39
Kerber, No Constitutional Right, 240.
40
Cecelski, David S. The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina..
Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
41
Hadden, Sally E. Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 2001. Finkelman, Paul, ed. Slavery, Race, and the American
Legal System 1700-1872: The Pamphlet Literature. New York: Garland, 1988. Fry, GladysMarie. Night Riders in Black Folk History. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press,
1975. Lockley, Timothy J. Lines in the Sand: Race and Class in Lowcountry Georgia, 17501860. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2001.
42
„[H]e who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose
property he is, and need no arms,“ c.i. Burgh, Political Disquisitions 2:341-49, 389-91, 399-407,
1774.
12
exchange to his protecting her, in the civic as well as in the personal sense.43 Or, as
Cynthia Enloe put it, in fusing the concepts of citizen, soldier and man, the figure of the
male warrior was legitimized, among other factors, through the necessity to protect
„womenandchildren”.44 Nine of the constitutions of the original thirteen states artic
u-
lated the „duty of the citizen to render military service and the power to compel him
against his consent to do so.”45 The republican concept of citizenship became tightly
linked to race, class and gender - manhood was sharply and ritually contrasted with effeminacy and dishonor.46 „It was white men who offered military service, white men
who sought honor, white men who dueled in its defense.”47 The Emancipation Procl amation of 1863 welcomed African Americans into the armed service of the United
States before they became citizens. Their service – even before the thirteenth amendment - set the terms for Reconstruction discourses.48
43
Enloe, Cynthia. „Womenandchildren: Making Feminist Sense of the Persian Gulf Crisis.”Village Voice 25 (1990): 29-32. See also Jeffords, Susan. The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1989.
45
46
According to Cynthia Enloe, „first class citizenship“ is a privileged status, accessible only to a
minority which fights, is wounded and dies in the name of the nation state. In the American tradition, death and injury during combat belong to the male domain. Enloe, Cynthia. „Die Konstruktion der amerikanischen Soldatin als ‚Staatsbürgerin erster Klasse’.” Soziale Konstruktionen – Militär und Geschlechterverhältnis. Christine Eifler and Ruth Seifert. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot, 1999. 248-64.
47
As Linda K. Kerber, 241. See also for a discussion of the citizen-soldier Cohen, Eliot A. Citizens and Soldiers: The Dilemmas of Military Service. Ithaca, NY, London: Cornell University
Press, 1985.
48
44
13
1. Introduction
1.1.4 „Beautiful Souls” and Martial Citizens
Women figured as other in the discourse of militarized citizenship, barred from political
activity or embodying alternative, non-martial values of the community. Machiavelli
saw women as occasions for war, as goads to action, as designated weepers and even
held them responsible for the damage done when men sought revenge of women’s
honor.49 Rousseau celebrated the ideal of Spartan motherhood as refracted through Pl utarch.50 The Spartan mother fulfils her civic duty, not as a citizen but as a mother-of-acitizen in sacrificing her sons who are killed in battle. In the utopian society imagined
by Rousseau, women were excluded a priori from playing any military or political role.
War and politics were the business of men, just as affection and domestic life were the
concern of women. Yet Rousseau did not consider women's omission from public life as
a hardship, but as an advantage. According to Rousseau, true contentment and moral civility were possible only in the domestic sphere, while the public sphere was inevitably
a space of vice, exploitation, and wretchedness.51 Women’s role in serving the nation
lay in their function as mothers who instilled in their sons the love of the fatherland and
taught them civic virtues. Without being citizens themselves, women’s responsibilities
were being mothers of citizens-to-be and mothers-to-be of citizens.
Mary Wollstonecraft, despite being an out-spoken critic of Rousseau’s opposition to
women’s rights, shared much of Rousseau’s vision of civic motherhood, but insisted
that women must be active citizens and equally educated if they are to install civic virtue and pride in their children. „Let woman share the rights, and she will emulate the
virtues of man; for she must grow more perfect when emancipated, or justify the
authority that chains such a weak being to her duty.”52 The declaration of the Rights of
49
Machiavelli, Niccoló. Discourses. London: Routledge & Paul, 1950. For a discussion of Machiavelli’s „How States Are Ruined on Account of Women” see Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Public
Man, Private Woman: Women in Social and Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982. Pitkin, Hanna F. Fortune is a Woman: Gender and Politics in the Thought
of Niccolò Machiavelli. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1984.
50
Plutarch, Moralia, Vol. III. Leipzig: Dieterich, 1942.
51
Trouille, Mary Seidman. Sexual Politics in the Enlightenment: Women Writers Read Rousseau. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1997, 29.
52
Wollstonecraft, Mary et al. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. London: Walter Scott,
1891, 281.
14
Man, „a generic concept shorn of historic specificity,” as Hannah Arendt stressed,
marked the foundation of a new body politic: man as natural being converges with or,
rather, absorbs man as civic being.53
Georg F.W. Hegel envisioned the state as the „actuality of an ethical idea, ” which allows the self of the male citizen to become complete as a state-identified being, rather
than absorbed in the individualistic freedom of bourgeois civil society.54 Hegel e xpressed the ideal of the nation state as a war-state, a „Kriegsstaat”. According to Hegel,
men and women had an active but very different part in the story.55 Jean Bethke
Elshtain has adopted the enlightenment term „Beautiful Souls” to show how women in
the western world were collectively cast as non-combatants, as collective other of the
male citizen, who was constructed as, eagerly or reluctantly, violent.56 The „Beautiful
Soul, „a necessary condition for, though not an integral part of, the world of free citizens […] serves as a repository of innocent convictions and self-definitions.”57 One of
the bourgeois social divisions that were sealed by this construction was the division
between public life in the arena of the state and the sanctuary of the private world of the
family. As Natalie Zemon Davis put it, the late 18th century was the time when „absolute distinctions between men and women in regard to violence” came to prevail.58
53
Arendt, Hannah. On Revolution. New York: Penguin Books, 1977, 108-9, quoted in Elshtain,
Women and War, 72.
54
Kreisky, Eva. Die Französische Revolution und die Folgen für das politische Denken: „Deutscher Idealismus“, 10.6.2004. Web Page. URL:
http://evakreisky.at/onlinetexte/onlinereihe_6tes_kap_deutscher_idealismus.php. 30 July 2005.
55
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. „Thinking about Women and International Violence.”Women, Gender,
and World Politics: Perspectives, Policies, and Prospects. Eds. Peter R. Beckman and Francine
D'Amico. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, 1994, 113.
56
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, Phänomenologie des Geistes. Eds. Hans-Friedrich Wessels
and Heinrich Clairmont. Hamburg: Meiner, 1988, 433, 439-40, 520. Hegel is not the inventor of
the term, because the notion goes back to Saftesbury, the pietist tradition and the reinterpretation of Greek classics in Germany. See Norton, Robert Edward. The Beautiful Soul: Aesthetic
Morality in the Eighteenth Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995, 55-99. In the
Greek terminology, however, καλοκαγατηεια was reserved for men. According to German
classicist Christoph Martin Wieland and his „Plan einer Akademie zu Bildung des Verstandes
und des Herzens junger Leute”, women had no part in it. From the German tradition, the concept found its way into Rousseau’s thinking, but was elaborated upon in Goethe’s and Schiller’s
works and finally found its way to Hegel. Norton, The Beautiful Soul, 246-282.
57
58
Davis, Natalie Zemon. „Men, Women and Violence: Some Reflections on Equality.”Smith
Alumnae Quarterly (1977):12-15, 15.
15
1. Introduction
„Pictured as frugal, self-sacrificing, at times delicate, the female Beautiful Soul in times
of war has been positioned as [...] a keeper of the flame of nonwarlike values – and has
thus been set up as a being, and a whole way of life, men both cherish and seek to flee,
both need and despise.”59 Women could thus be considered part of the (female) nation,
which was defined in cultural terms, but at the same time denied access to the area of
state politics.
During the 19th century, up to 50% of the professional soldiers in the US Army were
immigrants, predominantly from Ireland, Germany, England and Poland.60 The Nat uralization Act of 17 July 1862 expedited the naturalization of male aliens who had been
fighting with and discharged honorably from the U.S. military.61 Service members were
exempted from the then current requirements of first submitting a declaration of intent
and would not be required to have been a resident for a certain period of time, in most
cases five years. In 1894 an Act was passed to extend the naturalization privileges to
those who had served in the Navy or the Marine Corps. These two acts were consolidated in WWI by yet another Act on 9 May 1918.62
Defending the draft during World War I, Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglas
White stated the „reciprocal obligation” between citizens and their government: „[T]he
highest duty of the citizen is to bear arms at the call of the nation.”63 The discourse of
armed civic virtue was also picked up by those who favored universal military training
and conscription as a homogenizing agent for „hyphenated Americans”, Italian-
59
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Women and War, 144.
Cunliffe, Marcus. Soldiers & Civilians: The Martial Spirit in America, 1775-1865. New
York: Free Press, 1973, 113-124 and Förster, Stig. „Ein Alternatives Modell? Landstreitkräfte
und Gesellschaft in den USA, 1775-1865.”Frevert, Militär und Gesellschaft, 108.
61
12 Stat. 597, section 21. „Any alien, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who has enlisted, or may enlist in the armies of the United States, either the regular or the volunteer forces,
and has been, or may be hereafter, honorably discharged, shall be admitted to become a citizen
of the United States, upon his petition, without any previous declaration of intention to become
such; and he shall not be required to prove more than one year's residence.”
62
40 Stat. 542. See also Szucs, Loretto Dennis. They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 1998.
63
Selective Draft Law Cases, 245 U.S. 366, 368, 378-80, 390 (1918), Zit nach Kerber, No Constitutional Right, 246.
60
16
Americans, Polish-Americans or other such „imperfectly assimilated immigrants.”64
When President Woodrow Wilson introduced universal service in 1917, this was to help
mold a new nation, a „united United States” out of a „loosely united federation with
strong local and regional identities”.65 Along with the anti-German xenophobic tide he
had declared two years earlier, „[H]aving poured the poison of disloyalty into the very
arteries of our national life […] such creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must
be crushed out.”66 Nevertheless, not only male immigrants embraced the oppo rtunity to
earn citizenship rights. Most of the national women’s organizations stood firmly behind
the war effort.67 Working with organizations such as the American Defense Society, the
National Patriotic Relief Society or the National Security League, women threw themselves into wartime social-service activities and embraced their newfound social identities, often invoking the moral imperative of their nurturing, mothering tradition.68
The civic republican tradition constructed and limited citizenship and defined who was
within the body politic, who was outside and who was necessary and integral for it,
though not strictly a part of it. The narrative of armed civic virtue also provided women
with an empowering social location. Elshtain has pointed out that American women of
the Civil War, by framing themselves as „civic republican mothers”, were not merely
victims, but agents in sacrificing the bodies of sons and husbands and cherishing „public freedom” above „private devotion”.69
64
66
Quoted from Wilson’s third annual message to Congress, cited in Kennedy, David M. Over
Here: The First World War and American Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980,
24. See also Greiner, Bernd. „Die Beschäftigung mit der fernen Vergangenheit ist nutzlos”: Der
‚Totale Krieg’ im Spiegel amerikanischer Militärzeitschriften.” An der Schwelle zum totalen
Krieg: Die militärische Debatte über den Krieg der Zukunft, 1919-1939. Ed. Stig Förster. Paderborn, Schöningh, 2003. 443-465.
67
The National American Suffrage Association for instance repudiated pacifism and pledged
„to formulate a definite line of action and present to the President and the Government a plan
which would be followed by it’s more than 2,000,000 members” in the event of war. Harper,
Ida Husted. History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 5. New York: J. J. Little & Ives, 1922, 578-79.
68
69
Elshtain, Women and War, 93. The experience of empowerment has also been expressed by
Eleanor Roosevelt, later a staunch supporter of women’s mobilization and the Women’s Army
Corps. For her, the Great War offered an opportunity to reinvent herself and her duties. War
work provided her with a sense of loyalty, empowerment and freed her from the social restraints
she had faced before. „The war was my emancipation and education,” she wrote. Roosevelt, El65
17
1. Introduction
Against the backdrop of cultural narratives that locate women in pacific or auxiliary
roles in relation to war, and that link female bodies to life giving, rather than life taking,
Elshtain positioned the „Ferocious Few” as necessary exceptions to the „Noncombatant
Many”. Popular discourses have constructed female violence as personal aberrations. In
contrast, male war-fighting was seen as a collective, structured activity that could be
moralized and idealized. Violence by women, who were not fully realized as politically
constituted subjects, could not be accounted for politically. These acts were rather
thought of as insular riots or acts of revenge that would not become part of the society’s
self-definition through narratives of war. The „Ferocious Few”, female fighters such as
Joan of Arc or Deborah Samson, alias Robert Shirtliffe, have been framed throughout
the history of the modern West as private transgressions rather than as transformative
efforts.70
Linda Grant De Pauw distinguished four categories of women’s roles in relation to war
and armed struggle: Firstly, victim and instigator, the classic roles conventional military
history cast women in, secondly, combat support roles, civilian camp followers who
performed „women’s work” to support the troops. The third category is, according to
De Pauw, women in the role of „virago”, who display characteristics commonly associated with men but without challenging the hegemonic gender construction. Women who
choose to take up arms to defend their children and homes or those who command
troops by virtue of their office as head of state fall into this category, as well as the
mythical „amazons”. „Androgynous warriors”, the fourth category, is made up of
women who choose to „become a man among men”, sometimes involving crossdressing or the change of other gender markers. Women soldiers in today’s integrated
eanor. This is my Story. New York, London: Harper & Bros., 1937, 260. Lash, Joseph P. and
Eleanor Roosevelt. Love, Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt and Her Friends. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982, 67. Lash, Joseph P. Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship, Based
on Eleanor Roosevelt’s Private Papers. New York: American Library, 1971, 310.
70
Elshtain, Women and War, 171-4. See also Hacker, Hanna. „Der Soldat ist meistens keine
Frau. Geschlechterkonstruktionen im militärischen Feld.”Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie 20 (1995): 45-63. Hacker, Hanna. Gewalt ist: keine Frau. Der Akteurin oder eine
Geschichte der Transgressionen. Königstein/Taunus: Ulrike Helmer Verlag, 1998.
18
armies sometimes assume this supposedly un-gendered role to cope with notions of incompatibility of being female and being a professional soldier.71
1.1.5 Women’s Contributions to People’s Wars
The American War of Independence and the French wars after 1792 were the first „people’s wars” (Volkskriege) that were fought by citizens, not by mercenary armies, raised
by princes.72 As Carl von Clausewitz noted, „War had again su ddenly become an affair
of the people, and that of a people numbering thirty millions, every one of whom regarded himself as a citizen of the state.“73 Large numbers of people were mob ilized into
mass armies, had to be disciplined and their morale kept high. While men were expected
to fight for their fatherland, women, children and elderly people were expected to contribute in other ways.
The following brief examples of women’s manifold roles in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the Civil War (1861-1865) show that women were present on
the battlefields from the very beginning of the nation. When the Revolutionary War disrupted life for many women, many of them followed their husbands to war.74 Those
women who stayed at home to run the business and manage their homes alone were
forced to make decisions that had been left to their husbands before the war. As British
troops marched through the former colonies, many families fled to relatives, adding extra burdens to households. In many areas women were forced to quarter troops. Proxim-
71
De Pauw, Linda Grant. Battle Cries and Lullabies: Women in War from Prehistory to the Present. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998). For gender roles in today’s US Army
see also Herbert, Melissa S.Camouflage Isn't Only for Combat: Gender, Sexuality, and Women
in the Military. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
72
Förster, Ein Alternatives Modell?
73
Clausewitz, Carl von. On War. Washington, DC: Infantry Journal Press, 1950, 582. See also
Rodriguez, Cecilia A. and Patricia Shields, „Woman ‘On War’: Marie von Clausewitz’s Essential Contribution to Military Philosoph. Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military
11.3-4 (1993): 5-10.
74
For women in intelligence during the American Revolutionary War see: Claghorn, Charles
Eugene. Women Patriots of the American Revolution: A Biographical Dictionary. Boston, MA:
Scarecrow Press, 1992. Currie, Catherine. Anna Smith Strong and the Setauket Spy Ring. Port
Jefferson Station, NY: C.W. Currie, 1992. Randall, Willard Sterne. „Mrs. Benedict
Arnold.”MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 4.2 (1992): 80-89.
19
1. Introduction
ity to troops and to war also brought about the danger of rape. The Connecticut towns of
Fairfield and New Haven, for instance, were raided in 1779. Women were systematically raped and brutalized in Staten Island and in New Jersey when these areas were occupied by British troops in the fall and winter of 1776. In Newark they also went „about
the town by night, entering houses and openly inquiring for women.“75
A few women chose to dress as men and fight against the British. One of these women
was Deborah Samson of Plympton, Massachusetts who disguised herself as a young
man and presented herself to the American army in 1778. She enlisted for the whole
term of the war as Robert Shirtliffe and served in the company of Captain Nathan
Thayer of Medway, Massachusetts. For three years she served as a common soldier and
was wounded twice. Her identity went undetected until she was hospitalized with a
brain fever, quite common on 18th century battlefields, and quietly, but honorably discharged from the Army on October 23, 1783. In 1784 she married the farmer Benjamin
Gannett and had three children.76 In 1805 the Massachusetts legislature awarded her a
pension as a disabled veteran in acknowledgment for her services to the country in a
75
Norton, Mary Beth. Liberty's Daughters. Boston, MA: Scott Foresman & Co., 1980), 203.
Parke, John: „The Poison of Your Precepts.”The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on
Events from 1776 to 1800. Ed. Carol Sue Humphrey. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003,
29.
76
Dever, John Patrick, and Maria Dever. Women and the Military: Over 100 Notable Contributors, Historic to Contemporary. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 1995, 101-102. See also
her autobiography Mann, Herman, and American Imprint Collection (Library of Congress). The
Female Review, or, Memoirs of an American Young Lady Whose Life and Character Are Peculiarly Distinguished, Being a Continental Soldier, for Nearly Three Years, in the Late American War: During Which Time She Performed the Duties of Every Department, into Which She
Was Called, With Punctual Exactness, Fidelity and Honor, and Preserved Her Chastity Inviolate, by the Most Artful Concealment of Her Sex: With an Appendix, Containing Characteristic
Traits, by Different Hands, Her Taste for Economy, Principles of Domestic Education, &c.
Dedham, MA: Printed by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, for the author, 1797.
20
military capacity as a Revolutionary Soldier.77 When Deborah Sampson died at 76 on
April 29, 1827, Congress gave her husband a widow's pension.78
Another legendary figure of the Revolutionary War era that has become a household
heroine is Molly Pitcher. She is associated with the Battle of Monmouth (1778) and has
been identified with Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, who lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
and was the wife of John Hays, an artilleryman of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment. The
central theme of the Molly Pitcher story is of a woman whose husband was wounded or
killed while serving at an artillery piece at the Battle of Monmouth. She took his position and his ramming staff and kept firing until relieved by an artilleryman. Some variations of the story include a cameo appearance by General George Washington who
gives her either a gold coin or a promotion to sergeant or captain. Despite the many
powerful narratives, the historic identities of these fighting women is by no means certain – Molly Pitcher could have been a generic name for any woman of the Army or entirely a fabrication, as Linda Grant de Pauw has come to think.79
Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley was awarded a pension by the State of Pennsylvania in
1822 „for services rendered“ during the war. This was more than the usual widow's pension, which was awarded to soldiers' wives who marched with the army. De Pauw and
others suggest that she was one of at least two women who fought in the Battle of
Monmouth, one at an artillery position and the other in the infantry line. When
McCauley died, however, there was no mention of the Battle of Monmouth in her
obituary, nor is there any other evidence linking either of the women to McCauley.80
When the USS Constitution met and defeated HMS Guerriere, the first in a succession
77
Ellet, E. F., Carrie Chapman Catt, and National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection (Library of Congress). The Women of the American Revolution. New York: Baker and
Scribner, 1848. See also Hanaford, Phebe A., Carrie Chapman Catt, and National American
Woman Suffrage Association Collection. Daughters of America, or, Women of the Century.
Augusta, ME: True & Co., 1883. Friedl, Vicki L. Women in the United States Military, 19011995: A Research Guide and Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996,
11.
78
Dever, Women and the Military, 102-103.
79
De Pauw, Battle Cries and Lullabies, 127. Kent, Jacqueline C. Molly Pitcher. Minneapolis,
MN: Lake Street Publishers, 2003.
80
De Pauw, Battle Cries and Lullabies, 4.
21
1. Introduction
of naval victories in the War of 1812, a woman named Lucy Brewer had been serving
onboard the vessel for three years as George Baker. According to her autobiographical
account, she had seen many bloody battles as a member of the Constitution’s Marine
guard and fighting the British as a marksman.81 Another, less fictional heroine was
Margaret Corbin, who had taken over a gun position of her husband in the Battle of Fort
Washington in Manhattan in November 1776. In July of 1779 the Continental Congress
as well as the state of Pennsylvania awarded her pensions for her heroism – and a suit of
clothes. In 1926 the Daughters of the American Revolution had the remains of a woman
in an unmarked grave, which they identified as Corbin’s, transferred and reinterned at
Westpoint.82
Interesting about these legends is not only the fact that there have been women in combat on America’s battlefields or the fact that their lives are shrouded in mystery and legend, but also the production of these tales and the elements out of which military heroines have been produced. The soldierly qualities such as bravery that were attributed to
them, have come to be associated with men.
As the armies grew more and more professional, soldiering also changed considerably.
„By the late eighteenth century, the soldier has become something that can be
made; out of a formless clay, […] the machine required can be constructed; […]
mastering it, making it pliable, ready at all times; […] in short, one has ‘got rid
of the peasant’ and given him ‘the air of a soldier’.”83
Discipline not only made possible „the meticulous control of the operations of the
body” by imposing upon them „a relation of docility-utility“, it also entered all bodies
into a „machinery“ or „mechanics“ of power.84 Armies now began to assume more co ntrol over support services for which they had once contracted, but military supply re-
81
West, Lucy Brewer. The Sexual Adventures of a Female Marine: Miss Lucy Brewer, a Native
of Plymouth County, Mass. Harriman, TN: Pioneer Press, 1966.
82
De Pauw, Battle Cries and Lullabies, 130. Adams, Arthur G. The Hudson River Guidebook.
New York: Fordham University Press, 1996, 325.
83
Foucault, Discipline, 135. See also Waldinger, Reneé, Philip Dawson, and Isser Woloch, eds.
The French Revolution and the Meaning of Citizenship. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993,
162.
84
Ibid., 137-8.
22
mained in the hands of noncombatants still following the armies.85 To increase eff iciency and flexibility of the troops the size of the train was reduced and army and civilian life became more separate. „There were the military barracks: the army, that vagabond mass, has to be held in place; looting and violence must be prevented; [...] desertion must be stopped, expenditure controlled.“86 Attempts to regulate housing and ma rriage policies followed, but were of limited success until the early nineteenth century.87
Sutlers came under increasing military control, which brought with it a „semiofficial
status that had its compensations.”88 Women continued to move with the ba ggage train
and some joined the battle in the American and French Revolutions as well as in other
wars of the time.89 After the Thirty Years’ War, armies began to regulate marriages of
the soldiers and attempted to limit the number of wives who might follow the troops on
campaign. Women’s relationship to the army was increasingly formalized; some could
now draw rations while at the same time their duties were more clearly spelled out.90
The pre-industrial era of the people’s war culminated during the Napoleonic Wars. The
nonmilitary support services were gradually replaced by more professional and bureaucratic supply services. In 1840 the French army barred army wives from serving as vivandières, who were now provided uniforms and assigned regular duties. Soldiers’
wives were increasingly provided (and restricted to) married quarters. In general,
women with the armies faced an increasingly ill reputation. By the 1860s, camp follow-
85
On military discipline and the more strictly hierarchical organization that brought with it a
separation of civilian and military spheres see Bröckling, Ulrich. Disziplin. Soziologie und
Geschichte militärischer Gehorsamsproduktion. München: Fink, 1997, 31. Kreisky, Eva. Fragmente zum Verständnis des Geschlechts des Krieges. Vortrag, Wien 9.12.2003. Web Page.
URL: http://evakreisky.at/onlinetexte/geschlecht_des_krieges.pdf, 2. 30 July 2005.
86
Foucault, Discipline, 141-2.
87
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 660. See further: Opitz, Von Frauen. Pröve, Ralf.
Stehendes Heer und städtische Gesellschaft im 18. Jahrhundert: Göttingen und seine Militärbevölkerung, 1713-1756. München: R. Oldenbourg, 1995. Wilson, Peter H.”German Women
and War, 1500-1800.” War in History 3 (1996): 127-160.
88
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 655.
89
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 658. Clinton, Catherine and Nina Silber, eds. Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, 93-113.
Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1985, 477, 539.
90
When after a long struggle a national army was established by act of Congress on March 16,
1802, Congress limited the number of women allowed to a particular corps to four per company
and directed the Subsistence Department to furnish each of them one ration. Hacker, Women
and Military Institutions, 664.
23
1. Introduction
ers were commonly equated with prostitutes and cost the few remaining army women
what legitimacy they had left.91 Even nuns who were trained as nurses to staff field ho spitals faced this kind of discrimination.
There were still large numbers of camp followers in the American Civil War, which involved women on both sides on an unprecedented scale.92 Although most women served
as nurses or Sanitary Commission workers and volunteers, a surprising number of
women, both black and white, served as spies, saboteurs, and scouts or disguised themselves as men to fight in battle.93 Although it is impossible to verify the exact number of
women who served with both armies, some estimates indicate as many as four hundred,
not counting thousands of women who served in the field of health care and medicine.94
More than eighty women were wounded or killed on various battlefields during the
Civil War.95
One of the women who disguised as men and fought in the Civil War was Loreta Velazquez alias Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, a Confederate Officer. Born in Cuba the
daughter of a diplomat was well educated and affluent. When her husband left for the
war, she donned a Confederate uniform herself, recruited a troop of soldiers, and, under
the name of Lt. Harry T. Buford, became their commander.96 After being wounded and
unmasked, Velazquez enlisted as an infantryman and soon secured a commission in the
91
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions, 665-70. Frank Mort pointed out that in England,
too, „[t]he medico-moral strategy was consolidated in the period after the initial reforms of the
1830s and 1840s. Environmental medicine, working in conjunction with religious principles of
moral education, formed a dominant response to the problems posed by the working class in the
period between 1850 and 1870.”He cautions, however, that „[I]t is tempting, but completely illegitimate, to slide from analysis of the production of official solutions to their implementation.”
Mort, Frank. Dangerous Sexualities: Medico-Moral Politics in England since 1830. London:
Routledge, 2000, 51.
92
Hall, Richard. Patriots in Disguise: Women Warriors of the Civil War. New York: Paragon
House, 1993.
93
Clinton and Silber, Divided Houses, 94, 115, 117.
94
Wilson, Barbara A. Women Were There.1996-2003. Web Page.
URL://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets2.html. 12 April 2003.
95
Ibid. See also Blanton, DeAnne. Women Soldiers of the Civil War. 1993.Web Page. URL:
http://www.outlawwomen.com/WomenSoldiersoftheCivilWar.htm12 April 2003.
96
Wright, Mike. What They Didn't Teach You about the Civil War. Novato, CA: Presidio Press,
1996, 190.
24
cavalry. Her published memories have become controversial and are much disputed.97
Her biography may well be a work of fiction, although several newspaper articles support her story and the Records of the Confederate Secretary of War contain a reference
to a request for an officer's commission from a soldier named H.T. Buford.98
Cathay Williams, who was born into slavery near Independence, Missouri in 1842, was
fighting for the Union Army. Before she was liberated, she worked for a wealthy planter
named William Johnson in Jefferson City, Missouri. After her master had died, she
worked as a servant for Union soldiers. On November 15, 1866, after the war and her
job with the Army had ended, Cathay Williams turned into William Cathay and joined
the 38th Infantry, Company A, in St. Louis. She was discharged from the Army at Ft.
Bayard, New Mexico on 14 October, 1868.99
Even more than stories of women passing as male soldiers, many accounts of women
spies belong to the realm of folklore and rest on hearsay, myth, and unsubstantiated „biographies“ more than on primary documentation.100 Pauline Cushman, a New Orleans
actress, is said to have spied for the Union when she was discovered and sentenced to
execution, but was ultimately saved by the arrival of the Union troops.101 Sarah Emma
Edmonds served in the Union army during the Civil War. Her case is one of the most
thoroughly researched cases of a woman soldier enlisted in the Union military. As part
of the Union Army between 1861 and 1863 Edmonds experienced combat, caring for
97
Velazquez, Loreta Janeta. The Woman in Battle: A Narrative of the Exploits, Adventures, and
Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez. New York: Arno Press, 1972.
98
Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New
York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. See also Holm, Jeanne. Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1992, 6.
99
See also Blanton, DeAnne. „An Analysis of Cathay Williams' Medical Condition and Efforts
To Gain Pension And Disability Allowances.”MINERVA: Quarterly Report on Women and the
Military, 10.3 & 4 (1992): 1-12. For a complete collection of letters from a Civil War woman
soldier from the time of her enlistment until her death in 1863 see Cook, Lauren M., ed. An Uncommon Soldier: The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Private Lyons
Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Pasadena, MD: The Minerva Center,
1994.
100
See Bellafaire, Judith. Review of Elisabeth D. Leonard, All the Daring of the Soldier. 2001.
Web Page. URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=15664985629067. 30 November 2003.
101
Sizer, Lyde Cullen. „Acting Her Part: Narratives of Union Women Spies.”Clinton and Silber,
Divided Houses, 114-133, 114-118.
25
1. Introduction
the wounded after the Union defeat at the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, in
northern Virginia. She also worked as a male nurse in the regimental hospital and at a
general military hospital in Georgetown (Washington, DC). In 1862 she became a Union spy, impersonating „a male slave, an Irish peddlar [sic] woman, a female fugitive
slave, and a Kentucky male civilian”.102
Rose O’Neal Greenhow was a Confederate spy and a key member of an espionage organization targeting Union politicians in Washington, DC. Her death during the war
helped establish her reputation as one Confederate celebrity. Beginning with the election of Abraham Lincoln, she was passing on information about federal military and naval operations to Southern secessionists. During the first half of 1861, she was recruited
into a Confederate espionage ring, which used a 26-symbol code for communication.
After weeks of surveillance by suspicious federal agents, government agent Allan Pinkerton arrested her on her doorstep and imprisoned her and her youngest daughter, Rose,
in their home. After a second prison term in the Old Capital Prison, she was exiled to
the Confederate states. Here she was assigned a tour through Britain and France to
lobby for the Confederate cause. Greenhow died in 1864 when the ship that was to take
her home after a year in Europe ran aground under pursuit by a Union gunboat. She was
buried with full military honors in Wilmington, North Carolina.103
In the field of health care women made significant and lasting contributions during the
Civil War. Women in the North organized the Women’s Central Association for Relief,
an organization that coordinated support for the Union Army. Mainly due to the
women’s pressure the Union Army established the Sanitary Commission to devise and
enforce sanitary regulations in the army.104 Northern women now had an official cha nnel through which they organized patient care, collected and distributed medical equip-
102
Harper, Judith E. Women during the Civil War: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge,
2003, 127.
103
Harper, Women, 177. Judith Harper gives ample evidence for the existence of women spies
on both sides during the Civil War. Harper, 40-41, 94-95. See also Leonard, All the Daring.
104
Attie, Jeanie. Patriotic Toil: Northern Women and the American Civil War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998, 50-86.
26
ment and supplies and defined and enforced standards of hygiene.105 Transport ships
were converted into hospital ships and staffed by women volunteers working with
scarce provisions under the most difficult circumstances. Before female doctors were
commissioned, surgeons like Mary Walker had to give up their medical practices to join
the troops in the field. Often referred to as the „most famous of American cross dressers” Dr. Mary Walker, who had received an M.D. degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855, served as an assistant surgeon. Walker became a nurse, was taken prisoner
by Confederate troops in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond for four months until she
was exchanged, with two dozen other Union doctors, for 17 Confederate surgeons. In
1864 she was commissioned as a lieutenant in the medical corps and thus became the
first woman doctor in the Army. President Andrew Johnson awarded her the nation’s
highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Her practice of appearing in masculine attire during and after the war made her an easy target for attacks on her reputation.
The medal was withdrawn in 1916 when, Walker, now a Suffragette of 83 years, vehemently protested the War and „Kaiser Wilson”. Finally, the medal was restored by a
special act of Congress in 1976.106
Nursing became more professional and more respectable during the Civil War. Before,
Victorian mores and the disreputable notion that the term „camp follower” had acquired
had prevented many volunteer women from serving as nurses.107 At the outbreak of the
war, women were banned from field hospitals and most nursing duties were assigned to
men. Increasing numbers of casualties, the lack of medical professionalization and the
overburdening of the existing hospital facilities, however, spurred women into offering
their voluntary services and broke down the gendered barriers to nursing. Dorothea
105
Maxwell, William Quentin and Allan Nevins. Lincoln's Fifth Wheel: The Political History of
the United States Sanitary Commission. New York: Longmans, Green, 1956, 50-69.
106
Bullough, Vern L. and Bonnie Bullough. Cross Dressing, Sex, and Gender. Philadelphia, PA:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993, 166. A full-length biography of Mary Walker was
written by Snyder, Charles McCool. Dr. Mary Walker. New York: Arno Press, 1974. See also
Poynter, Lidya. „Dr. Mary Walker: Pioneer Woman Physician.”Medical Woman's Journal 53
(1946): 10. Edwards, Linden F. „Dr. Mary Edwards (1832-1919): Charlatan or Martyr?“ The
Ohio State Medical Journal 54 (1958): 1296-98.
107
Berlin, Jean V. Ed. A Confederate Nurse: The Diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. Rose, Anne C. Victorian America and the
Civil War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
27
1. Introduction
Lynde Dix, who helped recruit some 6000 volunteer nurses who were trained and
served with the Union Army, led the first steps toward an organized Nurse Corps.108
Although not a nurse herself, she was widely known for her efforts to improve the care
of the mentally ill. After she had led a march on Washington in 1861, she was made Superintendent of Nurses assigned to the Army by the Secretary of War and recruited 3000
women who volunteered to serve in field hospitals.109 Despite these official respons ibilities, none of the voluntary nurses were granted military appointments.110
Other women acted entirely on their own. Clara Barton, for instance, who later founded
the American Red Cross, collected and distributed food, clothing and medical supplies
to the battlefronts.111 Ministering to the wounded and dying on the battlefield, she e
s-
tablished Arlington National Cemetery after the war and is said to have personally
marked some twelve thousand graves.112 She also served as the first president of the
American Red Cross for over twenty years.
1.1.6 Total War and the Mobilization of Women Auxiliaries
With the advent of industrialization in the nineteenth century, the people’s war became
industrialized and increasingly totalized – the period between 1861 and 1945 has accordingly been characterized as the „Age of Total War”.113 The concept of „total war” is
108
Lasch-Quinn, Elisabeth. „Dorothea Dix and Mental Health Reform.”Against the Tide:
Women Reformers in American Society. Eds. Paul A. Cimbala and Randall M. Miller. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1997, 55-68, 57.
109
Schlaifer, Charles, and Lucy Freeman. Heart's Work: Civil War Heroine and Champion of
the Mentally Ill, Dorothea Lynde Dix. New York: Paragon House, 1991. Dix, Dorothea Lynde.
On Behalf of the Insane Poor: Selected Reports. New York: Arno Press, 1971.
110
Gollaher, David. Voice for the Mad: The Life of Dorothea Dix. New York: The Free Press,
1995, 395-422.
111
Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. New York, Toronto,
ON: Free Press, 1994. Massey, Mary Elizabeth. Women in the Civil War. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1994. Leonard, Elizabeth D. Yankee Women: Gender Battles in the
Civil War. New York: W. W. Norton, 1994. Clinton and Silber, Divided Houses.
112
Burton, David Henry. Clara Barton: In the Service of Humanity. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1995, 25-64.
113
Boemeke, Manfred F., Roger Chickering, and Stig Förster, Anticipating Total War: The
German and American Experiences, 1871-1914. Washington, DC, Cambridge, New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1999.
28
of vital importance for the question of how gender is deployed in structuring the military as well as civilian society during 20th century wartime. „Total war” is, among other
factors, characterized by its intensity and extension of the battle zone. Although the
concept describes an ideal type (Idealtypus) that was never fully implicated, it nevertheless serves as a heuristic tool to describe several tendencies in military history between the late 18th and the mid 20th century. The boundaries between the battlefront and
the home front have become systematically eroded. „Total war, in this rendering, assumes the commitment of massive armed forces to battle, the thoroughgoing mobilization of industrial economies in the war effort, and hence the disciplined organization of
civilians no less than warriors.114 Or more aptly, as Roger Chickering pointed out, it is
not the intensity, but the extensity that marks total war – differences between soldiers
and civilians have ceased to be functional as entire populations participate in war.115
Continuing the earlier development of mobilization of mass armies and including evergreater parts of society into the war effort, „total war” relies on the participation of virtually entire societies as active participants and as victims. All of the members of an enemy society are considered legitimate targets of military violence. The concept, as Stig
Förster and others have shown in a series of conferences and publications, includes several elements:116 Total goals of war ( totale Kriegsziele). The most radical goals during
Chickering, Roger, and Stig Förster. The Shadows of Total War: Europe, East Asia, and the
United States, 1919-1939.Washington, DC, Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2003. Chickering, Roger, Stig Förster, and Bernd Greiner. A World at Total War: Global
Conflict and the Politics of Destruction, 1937-1947. Washington, DC, Cambridge, New York,
Cambridge University Press, 2005. Förster, Stig. An der Schwelle zum Totalen Krieg: Die militärische Debatte über den Krieg der Zukunft, 1919-1939. Paderborn: Schöningh, 2002. Förster,
Stig and Jörg Nagler, On the Road to Total War: The American Civil War and the German Wars
of Unification, 1861-1871. Washington, DC Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University
Press, 1997.
114
Chickering, Roger, and Stig Förster. „Are We There Yet? World War II and the Theory of
Total War.”Chickering and Förster, A Worl at Total War. 1-18, 2. Further on definitions and on
the inflationary use of the concept see Chickering, Roger. „Total War. The Use and Abuse of a
Concept.”ed. Manfred Boemeke. Anticipating Total War. The German and American Experiences. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, 13-28.
115
Chickering, Roger. „Militärgeschichte als Totalgeschichte im Zeitalter des totaler Kriegs.”
Was ist Militärgeschichte? Eds. Thomas Kühne and Benjamin Ziemann. Paderborn: Schöningh,
2000. 301-12, 307.
116
Förster and Nagler, On the Road. Boemeke, Chickering and Förster, Anticipating Total War.
Chickering, Roger and Stig Förster. Great War, Total War: Combat and Mobilization on the
Western Front, 1914-1918. Washington, DC, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Chickering, Förster, and Greiner, A world.
29
1. Introduction
the age of total war were certainly the German genocide of European Jews and the
„Generalplan Ost” during WWII. Allied goals were not limited either, but included the
unconditional surrender of the German Reich, as articulated by Churchill and Roosevelt
at Casablanca.117 Limited goals could not sustain the universal mobilization that mo dern
war required and on both sides, the enemy (which included not only a political regime
but also the entire people) was now considered an existential threat. The means of warfighting were also radicalized and totalized. This includes the neglect of The Hague and
Geneva Conventions, not only with respect to prisoners of war. The submarine warfare,
mass killings of so-called partisans or tactics such as „strategic bombardment” and
„torched earth” (verbrannte Erde) are also examples of totalized means of warfare.118
To supply, transport and feed the millions of fighting troops on all fronts, as well as the
families on the vast home fronts, industrial means and logistics were needed and contributed to the radicalization of the methods of warfare. At the same time a paradox became aggravated, that had already been apparent at the time of the people’s wars: Total
control over the economy and the war-effort became impossible to attain the more the
boundaries between the military and civilian society became blurred. Total mobilization
required a broad consensus of society and control over financial and economic systems,
which a military leadership in a modern state could not accomplish, not even by such
means as conscription, propaganda and censorship. The unattainable military goal of
total control over mobilization underscores the need for propaganda to break resistance
and help to ‘sell’ mobilization for the war effort in all of society.119
The home front, and with it, women, became an integral part of mobilization and the
war-effort.120 The following quote by Eleanor Roosevelt illustrates what was expected
of women as homemakers, who were „fighting” on the home front: „The woman who
meets war difficulties with a smile, who does her best with rationing and other curtail-
117
Förster, An der Schwelle, 20.
Ibid, 20-21.
119
Förster, Stig.“Das Zeitalter des Totalen Krieges, 1861-1945. Konzeptionelle Überlegungen
für einen Historischen Strukturvergleich.”Mittelweg 36 8.6 (1999): 12-29, 16. Boemeke, Chickering, and Förster, Anticipating Total War.Förster, An der Schwelle, 17, 24-5.
120
In Europe and Australia this was true in a double sense: War industries, agricultural programs and conservation measures on the home-front supplied and supported the battle-front
while at the same time being subject to bomb raids and enemy invasion itself.
118
30
ments, who writes her man overseas the kind of letters he must have to carry him
through successfully, is making a great contribution to this difficult period.“121 Ho wever, not only as civilians were women doing „their share”. All nations that participated
in the war relied on women performing a host of noncombat duties as auxiliaries to the
armed services. Although women’s self-mobilization and voluntary contributions were
overwhelming for the most part, this was insufficient for the economies that geared up
towards a total war footing. Typically, women’s auxiliary units were to replace men in
non-combatant roles. All of these women initially occupied a precarious position as civilians with military organization and discipline but without military benefits. In the total wars of the twentieth century, militaries relied on women’s skills and womanpower
but were reluctant to integrate them into their ranks. This changed in most countries
during WWII, although in many cases the women were not awarded military or veteran’s status until decades after their service.
With industrialization, mass education and urbanization at the turn of the century, more
and more businesses and industries had hired and trained women as clerks, typists, factory workers, telephone operators, and technicians. After the invention of the typewriter
and telephone these and other tasks in the offices had become almost completely feminized by the time the United States entered the Great War.122 The demands for ma npower and with it the migration of women into the skilled and semiskilled labor force
increased in the public and private sectors as well as in the military. Shortages were
most acute in the so-called „women’s jobs”, particularly in the clerical skills.
The Army in World War I was more hesitant to employ women in auxiliary functions
than the Navy, which enrolled almost 12,000 women into the Naval Reserve as clerical
workers in the rank of yeoman-F.123 The War Department could not even by some of the
highest-ranking commanders and chiefs of branches be convinced to enlist women in
121
Roosevelt, Eleanor. „American Women in the War.”The Reader's Digest 44.1 (1944): 42-44.
For civilian women workers during the WWI era see Greenwald, Maurine Weiner. Women,
War, and Work: The Impact of World War I on Women Workers in the United States. Ithaca,
NY, London: Cornell University Press, 1990.
123
I will come back to the „Yeomanettes” shortly. [United States Navy] Online Library of Selected Images of Yeomen (F) and WAVES. Web Page. URL:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-tpic/females/wave-ww2.htm. 3 March 2003.
122
31
1. Introduction
any capacity except as nurses and, reluctantly, civilian office workers. These women
were only to be employed in „essential work for which men could not be obtained”,
provided the women were of „mature age and high moral character.”124 When other
commanders in Europe kept requesting women personnel to release combat-capable enlisted men for duty at the front, they were rather sent limited-duty, unskilled enlisted
men. After considerable debate on the status of these volunteers, the War Department
stated that it was not convinced of the „desirability or feasibility of making this most
radical departure in the conduct of our military affairs.”125 Still, roughly 5,000 Amer ican women - civilian volunteers recruited by numerous American welfare organizations
- worked for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). From a military point of view,
the greatest problems were overlapping functions and lack of coordinated supervision.
From the perspective of the volunteers, their lack of military status, benefits and protection in case of injury, imprisonment or death were most severe.126
A number of women’s groups, several Army agencies, educational organizations and
the YWCA lobbied for women’s corps to equal that of the British Women’s Auxiliary
Army Corps (WAAC). In the summer of 1939, the new Chief of Staff, General George
C. Marshall, directed his staff to devise a plan that called for the establishment of a
women’s component modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a Depression Era project created by President Roosevelt.127 These women would not be part of
the Army but would work with it as „hostesses, cooks, waitresses, canteen clerks, chauffeurs, and strolling minstrels.”128 Despite increasing interest by women’s organizations
and individuals who were ready to commit themselves to such a corps, nothing happened in the War Department for eighteen months. In March 1942 the WAAC bill fi-
124
Holm, Women in the Military, 13.
C.i. Treadwell, Mattie E. The Women's Army Corps. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of
Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1954, 7.
126
Zeiger, Susan. In Uncle Sam's Service: Women Workers with the American Expeditionary
Force, 1917-1919. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999, 137-174.
127
Breuer, William B. War and American Women: Heroism, Deeds, and Controversy. Westport, CT, London: Praeger, 1997, 15-16. See Stieglitz, Olaf. „100 Percent American Boys“:
Disziplinierungsdiskurse und Ideologie im Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942. Stuttgart:
F. Steiner Verlag, 1999.
128
Breuer, War and American Women, 16.
125
32
nally passed the House and passed the Senate on 14 May 1942.129 The next day it was
signed by President Roosevelt and became Public Law 77-554, An Act to Establish a
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for Service with the Army of the United States.130 The
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established to work with the Army, „for
the purpose of making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special
training of the women of the nation.“131 On July 1, 1943, Congress converted the Au xiliary Corps into the Women's Army Corps, (WAC) which provided women ranks, titles
and pay comparable to that of their male counterparts. In total, 140,000 women served
in the Women’s Corps during WWII.132
The US Navy enlisted women Naval Reserve as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This time, the Navy had to secure legislative authorization
through Congress. President Roosevelt signed the Navy Women’s Reserve Act into law
on 30 July 1942.133 Mildred McAfee, then president of Wellesley College, and other
prominent female educators and professionals were commissioned as officers.134 Within
a year, 27,000 women were wearing the WAVES uniform. WAVES served in a far
wider range of occupations than had the Yeomen (F) of World War I. Again, most did
secretarial and clerical jobs, although a fair number worked in nontraditional assign-
129
United States, and Congress. Congressional Record, 17 March 1942.
Public Law 77-554, (subsequently quoted as PL). „An Act to establish a Women's Army
Auxiliary Corps for service with the Army of the United States“. 77th Cong. 2nd sess., 14 May
1942. National Archives and Record Administration (henceforth cited as NARA). Record
Group 165, Entry 55, Box 211.Two months later the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary
Emergency Service), the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve and the Coast Guard Women’s
Reserve were established, all of which were temporary and without full military status. In accordance with Treadwell and others I use the capitalized acronyms WAAC resp. WAC to denote the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women’s Army Corps while Waac and Wac,
resp. stand for the members of these corps. WAAC Regulations. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
192.
131
PL 77-554. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
132
PL 78-110. „An Act to Establish a Women’s Army Corps for Service in the Army of the
United States.”78th Cong. 1st sess. 01 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211. Litoff,
Judy B. and David C. Smith, eds. American Women in a World at War: Contemporary Accounts from World War II. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1997, 35.
133
Public Law 689, H.R. 6807, 30 July 1942. United States. Statutes at Large Containing the
Laws and Concurrent Resolutions Enacted During the Second Session of the Seventy-Seventh
Congress of the United States of America 1942 and Treaties, International Agreements Other
than Treaties, and Proclamations. Vol. 56, pt.1. Washington: GPO, 1943, 730-31.
134
Friedl, Women, 57.
130
33
1. Introduction
ments, ranging for instance from working with carrier pigeons to working as machinist's
mates and metal smiths in the aviation community. WAVES were also serving in the
Judge Advocate General Corps, in medical professions, as well as in communications,
intelligence and science. Toward the end of the war, WAVES made up about 2.5 percent of the Navy's total strength, over 8,000 female officers and 86,000 enlisted
WAVES on duty or in training.135 The women's auxiliary unit of the Coast Guard, the
SPARS (named after the Coast Guard motto: „Semper Paratus - Always Ready“), enlisted about 10,000 women.136 About twice as many women enlisted as women m arines
and worked in 225, mostly clerical, military specialties.
Women pilots were members of two organizations, which merged in August 1943 into
one command called the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) under the command
of Jacqueline Cochran.137 The first women pilots’ organization was the WAFS
(Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron), founded by Nancy Harkness Love in the
summer of 1942 within the Air Transport Command. Its roughly two dozen members
were not part of the Army Air Forces, but civilian contractors. These commercially licensed women pilots, each of whom had at least logged 500 hours of flying time before,
ferried aircraft from factories to airfields. Although initially recruited to ferry only light
135
Friedl, Women, 57-58. On WWII WAVES see also Hancock, Joy Bright. Lady in the Navy:
A Personal Reminiscence. Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1972. Godson, Susan H.
Serving Proudly: A History of Women in the U.S. Navy. Annapolis, MD, Washington, DC: Naval Institute Press, 2001. Harris, Evelyn D. „Sending in the WAVES, SPARS and Women Marines.”Henderson Hall News. 6 March (1992): 10,14. WAVES National. Navy Women, 19081988: A Pictorial History, 2 vols. Camarillo, CA: WAVES National, 1990. Wingo, Josette
Dermody. Mother was a Gunner's Mate: World War II in the Waves. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1994.
136
On 23 November, 1942, Public Law 773 amended the Auxiliary and Reserve Act of 1941
and created the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve.
137
Granger, Byrd H. On Final Approach: The Women Air Force Service Pilots of W. W. II.
Scottsdale, AZ: Falconer Pub. Co., 1991. Granger, a former WASP herself is the official historian for the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) verterans’ organization. See also the following two pictorial histories: Williams, Vera S. WASPs: Women Airforce Service Pilots of
World War II. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1994. Noggle, Anne. For God, Country,
and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II. College Station, TX:
Texas A&M University Press, 1990. Friedl, Women, 12. Scharr, Adela Riek. Sisters in the Sky.
Gerald, MO: The Patrice Press, 1986. Jacqueline Cochran has written two autobiographical
books: Cochran, Jacqueline, and Maryann Bucknum Brinley. Jackie Cochran: An Autobiography. Toronto, ON, New York: Bantam Books, 1987. Cochran, Jacqueline, and Floyd B. Odlum.
The Stars at Noon. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1954.
34
aircraft and trainers, they later delivered fighters, bombers, and transports as well. The
second organization of women pilots was the larger Women's Air Service Pilots
(WASPs). Aviator Jacqueline Cochran had been the director of the Women's Flying
Training Detachment (WFTD) and had just returned from Great Britain where she had
supervised twenty-five women pilots ferrying aircraft for the British Air Transport
Auxiliary. The first of Cochran's WFTD began training in Houston, TX and in early
1943 moved to Avenger Field at Sweetwater, Texas. Avenger Field, the only all-female
base in the United States, was fondly called Cochran’s Convent.138 WASPs logged over
60 million miles and ferried planes of seventy-seven different types, including B-17 and
B-29 „Superfortress”. After graduating from Avenger Field, their assignments all over
the country included testing repaired aircraft, training male pilots and towing targets at
gunnery schools – „aerial dishwashery”, as the women called it, „any flying job that
needed doing.”139
Despite the fact that WASPs were civilian contractors without rank or benefits and had
to pay for their room and board, they lived in military housing and followed military orders. In 1944 a bill to award the WASPs military status was defeated in Congress. Rita
V. Gomez argues that Jacqueline Cochran and General Henry Arnold played a greater
role in preventing the WASP from becoming militarized than most historians accord
them.140 Given the surplus of male pilots late in 1944 as well as massive lobb
ying by
them, the AAF determined there was no longer a need for the WASPs and on December
20 discontinued the program.141 Until they were disbanded, 38 women pilots had lost
their lives.142
138
Breuer, War and American Women, 24. Darr, Ann. „The Long Flight Home.”U.S. News &
World Report 123.19 (1997): 66-70.
139
Ibid., 68.
140
Gomez, Rita Victoria Alexandria. „Daedalus' Daughters: The Army Air Forces and Its
Women Pilots.”Ph.D. Thesis. George Washington University, 2003, xvii.
141
In 1977, almost thirty-five years after their deactivation, the WASPs were given veterans'
benefits.
142
Cochran and Odlum, The Stars. Keil, Sally van Wagenen. Those Wonderful Women in Their
Flying Machines: The Unknown Heroines of World War II. New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers, 1979. Noggle, For God, Country, and the Thrill of It.
35
1. Introduction
1.1.7 The Woman|Soldier: An Oxymoron?
For centuries, the categories „soldier” and „woman” had been thought to be mutually
exclusive and their respective boundaries had been fiercely guarded. What category,
then, did the women soldiers belong to, who were sworn into the Women’s Army Corps
(WAC) in 1943? Could they be reconciled in order to make room for the
‘woman|soldier ’? Was it a new category born out of wartime needs and intended only
for the duration of the war? Women had been enlisted as Auxiliaries by the US armed
forces in World War I as well as in 1942 after the United States had entered World War
II. In 1943, however, military planners thought that it would no longer suffice to utilize
women as civilian auxiliaries and instead recruited women for service in, no longer
with, the Army of the United States. But were the members of the WAC really soldiers?
Were they „Wacks”, as a derogatory term that was eventually appropriated by the Wacs
themselves had it?143 Women soldiers? Is this category not an oxymoron?
This study argues that although the Women’s Army Corps was formally part of the U.S.
Army, the women were assigned positions outside what was discursively and through
symbolic practices designated its masculine core. The line of demarcation that had long
been drawn between soldiers-as-men and women-as-non-soldiers, was now being redrawn inside the military institution to separate potential combatants and noncombatant
auxiliaries. In order to preserve a core of military masculinity and to separate the soldiers from the „soldierettes” discursively, as the Wacs were nicknamed, the women
were ignored, belittled or sexualized. However, this happened in a dynamic and unstable discursive landscape. As the war progressed, military needs and soldiers’ attitudes
changed. Wacs located and embodied new subjectivities. Wacs were indeed the first
regular women soldiers. Despite the apparently inherent contradictions, the hitherto
mutually exclusive categories of ‘woman’ and ‘soldier’ converged to a certain degree.
Women soldiers were needed and the category became feasible over the period between
1941 and 1945. The construction of the woman|soldier was happening on several levels.
It was at the same time a societal negotiation of values, a process of integrating a par-
143
Stewart, Jennifer Nichol. „Wacky Times: An Analysis of the WAC in World War II and its
Effect on Women.”International Social Science Review 75.1-2 (2000): 26- 37.
36
ticular group into a formerly all male organization and a process of subjectivation and
subjection to military discipline of the individual members of the Corps. The new category emerged in a space structured by relations of power and knowledge. Following
Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, I suggest examining the category „woman|soldier”
as an effect of a specific formation of power|knowledge.
1.2. Theoretical Concepts
1.2.1 Power and Agency
When dealing with a military institution it is doubly important to distinguish power
from domination of one individual or group of individuals over others. For Foucault,
„power means relations, a more-or-less organized, hierarchical, co-ordinated cluster of
relations.”144 These clusters form a network-like structure of relations, which are to be
distinguished from other relations such as relations of violence. A relationship of power
consists of actions that do not act directly and immediately on others, but instead act
upon their actions: „an action upon an action, on possible or actual future or present actions.”145 Hence, in contrast to the concept of domination (in the sense of Max W eber),
„the individual […] is not the vis-à-vis of power; it is […] one of its prime effects.”146
If we look at the U.S. Army’s hierarchical structure, the members of the Women’s
Army Auxiliary Corps would be located close to the bottom of the military food chain.
Looking at the attention the WAAC received by the media, however, would produce
quite a different picture. Few units had so prominent advocates as the First Lady or the
Chief of Staff, who repeatedly stepped in to testify in Congress or to convince the public about the merits of the Corps. This apparent contradiction suggests that power is not
distributed in a linear, top-down fashion, but, as Foucault pointed out:
144
Foucault, Michel. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977.
Ed. Colin Gordon. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980, 198.
Foucault, Michel. Power. Ed. James D. Faubion. New York: New Press, 2000, 337.
145
Foucault, Power, 340.
146
Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 98.
37
1. Introduction
„[P]ower must be analyzed as something which circulates […]. It is never localized here or there, never in anybody’s hands, never appropriated as a commodity
or piece of wealth. Power is employed and exercised through a net-like organization. And not only do individuals circulate between its threads; they are always in the position of simultaneously undergoing and exercising this power. In
other words, individuals are the vehicles of power, not its point of application.”147
„In general terms, I would say that the interdiction, the refusal, the prohibition,
far from being essential forms of power, are only its limits, power in its frustrated or extreme forms. The relations of power are, above all, productive.” 148
Power is not something that an individual or a group of individuals can possess, it is
something, which exists only as it is exercised. Although Foucault concedes that it is
exercised within a field of limited possibilities and „underpinned by permanent structures”, he insists that „each individual has at his disposal a certain power, and for that
very reason can also act as the vehicle for transmitting a wider power.”149
Therefore, the question is not ‘Who possesses power?’ ‘How is power distributed in the
State apparatus?’ nor, in the case of this study, ‘How do certain military institutions exercise power over women soldiers?’ Instead, I will focus on the productive aspects of
power, in Foucault’s words, „the different modes by which, in our culture, human beings are made subjects” and turn themselves into subjects.150 The construction of the
woman|soldier is not a willful act by any Army authority. Neither is it an act of choice
by the women themselves to take on a particular identity. Foucault makes clear that
even if there is an intention behind an act within a relation of power, it can be „completely invested in its real and effective practices.” It is in these practices that he suggests to „grasp subjection in its material instance as a constitution of subjects.”151
„[P]ower relations can materially penetrate the body in depth, without depending even
147
Foucault, Michel. „Technologies of the self.” Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with
Michel Foucault.Eds. L. Martin, H. Gutman, and P. Hutton. London: Travistock, 1988, 118.
149
150
Foucault, Power, S. 326-7. Ramazano_lu, Caroline. Up against Foucault: Explorations of
Some Tensions between Foucault and Feminism. London, New York: Routledge, 1993, 24.
151
148
38
on the mediation of the subject’s own representations. If power takes hold on the body,
this isn’t through its first having to be interiorized in people’s consciousness. […] Between every point of a social body, between a man and a woman, between the members
of a family, between a master and his pupil, between every one who knows and every
one who does not, there exist relations of power.”152
In addition to looking at the WAC from an institutional perspective, this study will also
concern itself with a subject perspective of individual Wacs. It is from here that we can
„conduct an ascending analysis of power, starting, that is, from its infinitesimal mechanisms, which each have their own history, their own trajectory, their own techniques
and tactics, and then see how these mechanisms of power have been – and continue to
be – invested, colonized, utilized, involuted, transformed, displaced, extended etc., by
ever more general mechanisms […].”153 By analyzing how power works „at its e
x-
tremities”, at „those points where it becomes capillary” we can understand why in a
specific formation the actions of a single woman can have a significant impact on larger
structures, such as WAC Regulations or Uniform design.154
1.2.2 Power|Knowledge
How, exactly, does power operate? Power produces and transmits effects of truth, which
in turn reproduce this power. „[I]n any society, there are manifold relations of power
which permeate, characterize and constitute the social body, and these relations of
power cannot themselves be established, consolidated nor implemented without the
production, accumulation, circulation and functioning of a discourse. There can be no
possible exercise of power without a certain economy of discourses of truth, which operates through and based on this association. We are subjected to the production of truth
through power and we cannot exercise power except through the production of truth.”155
152
Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 186-7.
154
155
153
39
1. Introduction
Along with an institutional as well as a subject perspective, this study will concern itself
with these ‘truths’, these „apparatuses of knowledge”.156 According to Foucault,
„knowledge functions as a form of power and disseminates the effects of power. There
is an administration of knowledge, a politics of knowledge [and] relations of power
which pass via knowledge.”157 Countless statements organized in a variety of discourses
surrounded the Women’s Army Corps. There were discourses on whether the United
States should enter the war, military discourses on how to provide the armed forces with
the manpower needed, a discourse on the proper role of women, to name just a few.
Statements such as „a woman’s place is at home” or „telephone switchboards are best
staffed by women” are by no means outside of power relations. Instead, as Foucault
points out, discourses are produced, regulated, distributed, circulated, and operated by a
„régime of truth”.158 Apart from these discursive formations the mselves, what needs to
be studied for the period in question is the American society’s „administration of
knowledge”159 is its „’general politics’ of truth: that is, the types of discourses which it
accepts and makes function as true; the mechanisms and instances which enable one to
distinguish true and false statements, the means by which each is sanctioned; the techniques and procedures accorded value in the acquisition of truth; the status of those who
are charged with saying what counts as true.”160
When the Army studied the „suitability of military occupations for WAAC auxiliaries”,
the régime of truth had to administer several „knowledges”. The situation was urgent –
the Services of Supply’s operations and training section (G-3) had estimated a need for
1,500,000 Waacs. The Adjutant General's committee concluded that 406 of the 628
military occupations listed by the Army were suitable for women and 222 unsuitable.
There was much debate about the criteria. That a job was deemed unsuitable if it involved combat was determined by the legislation. Most classification experts agreed
156
Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 102. On the question of „how […] to analyse relations of
power” see Foucault, Michel. „The Subject and Power.” Power, 326-48, 344. Foucault, Michel
et al. The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality. With Two Lectures by and an interview
with Michel Foucault. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991, 53.
157
158
159
160
40
that it should be considered unsuitable if it required „considerable physical strength”, or
if the working conditions or environment were „improper for women.”161 Jobs requiring
long training time were also eliminated because women’s service was considered only
temporal. Despite the disagreement as to how the Waacs could be best protected from
the harsh conditions of Army life, committee members seemed to agree on the fact that
women needed protection. All jobs that were classified as supervisory were automatically declared unsuitable for women for the same reason that women officers were not
allowed to command enlisted men.
Four occupations, classification specialist, personnel consultant, personnel technician
and psychological assistant, were highly controversial. The military members of the
committee considered these jobs as „definitely unsuitable”. If Waacs, being noncombatants themselves, were involved in interviewing and classifying men for „potential combat duty,” they would meet ”profound psychological resistance […] and unquestionably
unfavorable public reaction.”162 The psychologists, however, did not feel that the „ps ychological effect would be strong enough to rule out these occupations.”163 The ratio nale behind this dispute was less to determine how best to protect Waacs, but rather to
protect military masculinity from women gaining control over it. The question was
whether civilian psychologists, the United States Employment Service (USES), Army
personnel experts or the British were in a position to advise the Army and produce the
truth about the employability of the woman soldier. In admitting women to the profession of protectors, the knowledge of various experts had to be managed so that the truth
about how women were best protected could emerge.
161
Report on Suitability of Military Occupations for WAAC Auxiliaries, 25 November 1942.
NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189. Examples include: Antiaircraft Machine Gunner (Army
SS. No. 606): unsuitable because of „Army environment & working conditions” (=combat);
Antiaircraft Fire Control Electrician (634): suitable; Antiaircraft Searchlight Electrician (635):
suitable; Antiaircraft Warning Plotting Board Installer Repairman (637): suitable; Intelligence
Observer (636) and Intelligence Noncommissioned Officer (631): unsuitable because of „Army
environment & working conditions” (=supervisory function).
162
Memorandum Geo R. Evans, Chief, Classification and Enlisted Replacement Branch to
Colonel T.B. Catron, su: Report on Military Occupations Suitable for WAAC Auxiliaries, 25
November 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
163
Ibid.
41
1. Introduction
1.2.3 Strategic Apparatus
While power|knowledge is organized in discursive formations, discourses alone cannot
account for its polymorphous effects. Filling a gap of his earlier analysis of epistemes
through the analysis of discourse, Foucault later turned to a genealogical method, which
additionally takes into account practices and other non-discursive factors. The episteme,
which can be thought of as a specifically discursive apparatus, is replaced by the dispositive.164 A dispos itive is a heterogeneous ensemble of discursive and non-discursive
elements that functions as a structure and medium of power, its means and at the same
time, its effect. In Foucault’s words, it consists of „[d]iscourses, institutions, buildings,
regulatory decisions, laws, administrative measures, scientific statements and philosophical propositions, in short: the said as well as the unsaid. The apparatus (dispositif) itself is the web that can be established between these elements.”165
These interconnected elements of the dispositive form structures, which in turn provide,
in the form of norms and rules, solutions to societal problems. Foucault speaks of
„strategic necessities” that are not identical with personal, individual or collective interests or strategies. Rather, the dispositive can be thought of as a strategy without a strategist. In other words, an apparatus of power is at the same time intentional and nonsubjective. Mobilizing a population for war was such a strategic necessity, which involved various, at times conflicting, interests and strategies and produced very different
164
Dreyfus, Hubert L., and Paul Rabinow. Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1982, 121. The French term dispositif is
translated as „deployment“ by Robert Hurley in Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality,
Volume 1. New York: Vintage Books, 1980. Lemert and Gillan translate it as „affective mechanism“: Lemert, Charles C. and Garth Gillan. Michel Foucault: Social Theory as Transgression.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, 77. I follow Colin Gordon who translates the term
as „apparatus“. Foucault, Power/Knowledge. Barry Cooper calls it a „device, disposition of devices, etc. See Cooper, Barry. Michel Foucault: An Introduction to the Study of His Thought.
New York: E. Mellen Press, 1981, 71. Foucault gives an account of his use of the term in „The
Confession of the Flesh,“ Power/Knowledge, 194-228, 194-196.
165
„Un ensemble résolument hétérogène, comportant des discours, des institutions, des aménagements architecturaux, des décisions réglementaires, des lois, des mesures administratives, des
énoncés scientifiques, des propositions philosophiques, morales, philanthropiques, bref: du dit,
aussi bien que du non-dit. Le dispositif lui-même, c’est le réseau qu’on peut établir entre ces
éléments.” Foucault, Michel. „Le Jeu de Michel Foucault.” Dits et Écrits 1954-1988, Vol. 3,
1976-1979. Eds. Daniel Defert and François Ewald. Paris: Galimard, 1994, 299.
42
effects. Additionally, the effects produced re-enter the mechanism and change the
structure of the strategic apparatus itself, a double process Foucault called „functional
over-determination” and ”strategic replenishment”.166
The construction of the woman|soldier is at every moment facilitated by several, or all,
of the elements of the apparatus, which interact with each other in manifold ways. Discourses surround and permeate the ‘construction sites’: gender discourses, patriotic discourses or discourses on sexuality, to name just a few. Institutions play a role, the Army
itself as an institution and organization of the nation state, or the institution of marriage
in the American society of the 1940s. Foucault himself gave an example of how buildings interact with discourses, practices or other elements of the dispositive: He described Jacques Ange Gabriel’s Ecole Militaire as an architectural apparatus in which
„[…] control over sexuality becomes inscribed in architecture. In the Military Schools,
the very walls speak the struggle against homosexuality and masturbation.”167 Examples
of other elements of the apparatus and how they relate to the construction of the
woman|soldier in the Women’s Army Corps are more obvious: Laws provided Congressional authorization for the WAAC; regulatory decisions and administrative measures
governed virtually every aspect of its operation and of the women’s lives; scientific
statements, from medical expertise to military science were solicited when implementing them and philosophical propositions addressed the larger questions of the nation at
war.
1.2.4 Gender
The subjects that are being produced in the Women’s Army Corps are, among other
things, gendered subjects. If we remember the two meanings of the word „subject” for a
166
„Le dispositif se constitue proprement comme tel, et reste dispositif dans la mesure où il est
le lieu d’un double processus: processus de surdétermination fonctionelle, d’une part, puisque
chaque effet, positif et négatif, voulu ou non voulu, vient entrer en résonance, ou en contradiction, avec les autres, et appelle à une reprise, à un réajustement, des éléments hétérogènes qui
surgissent ça et là. Processus de perpétuel remplissement stratégique, d’autre part.”Foucault, Le
jeu de Michel Foucault, 298. Grossberg, Lawrence. Bringing It All Back Home: Essays on
Cultural Studies. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997, 95.
167
43
1. Introduction
moment, being subject to someone else by control and dependence, and being tied to
one’s own identity by a conscience or self-knowledge, both meanings suggest a form of
power that subjugates and makes subject to.168 Gender is a relational category, as are
race and class. Each of these categories is relational in itself as well as with respect to
other categories. None of them can be treated or experienced in isolation. Rather, they
are articulated in and through relation to each other. How men and women experience
gender has always to do with other genders, not only in terms of sexual difference, but
also in relation to other axes of difference such as race and class. 169 The relations b etween them can be closer or less close, they are reciprocal and, at times, contradictory.
Concepts of class or race can be articulated in terms of gender so that by coding certain
terms with references to gender meanings can be established and naturalized. Hence, the
gendered subjects produced in the WAC must also be thought of as multiple. As Teresa
de Lauretis has put it, „a subject en-gendered in the experiencing of race and class, as
well as sexual, relations; a subject, therefore, not unified but rather multiple, and not so
much divided as contradicted.”170 Femininities are not simply social and cultural e
x-
pressions of femaleness. Hence, there are not one, but many masculinities and femininities.171 Frank Barrett’s study on competing masculinities among male officers of the
U.S. Navy shows how each concept of masculinity is produced through various discourses of difference and normality and differentiated from other concepts of masculinity (e.g. homosexual) and femininity. Since none of these categories is static, masculinity has to be produced and maintained by drill, a „culture of tests“, permanent surveillance and a differentiated system of awards.172
168
Foucault, The Subject and Power, 212.
Braidotti, Rosi. Nomadic Subjects: Embodiment and Sexual Difference in Contemporary
Feminist Theory. New York, Columbia University Press, 1994.
170
De Lauretis, Teresa. Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1987, IX-X, 2.
171
On the multiplicities of masculinities and femininities see Hooper, Charlotte. Manly States:
Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics. New York: Columbia University
Press, 2001, 4, 42, 54-56. Holland, Samantha. Alternative Femininities Body, Age, and Identity:
Dress, Body, Culture. New York: Berg, 2004. For various „masculinities without men” see Judith Halberstam, who argues that female masculinity offers a glimpse of how modern masculinity is constructed. Halberstam, Judith. Female Masculinity. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1998.
172
Barrett, Die Konstruktion.
169
44
Michel Foucault has shown how sexuality served to create a fictitious unity to a host of
„anatomical elements, biological functions, conducts, sensations and pleasures.”173
Sexuality then became „a causal principle, an omnipresent meaning, a secret to be discovered everywhere: sex was thus able to function as a universal signifier and a universal signified.”174 This privileging of sexuality can certainly be observed in many a
Western feminist account of sexuality. Nevertheless, as Anne McClintock demonstrates
for colonial settings, an „elaborate analogy between race and gender became […] an organizing trope for other social forms.”175 Her work is an example of an analysis that
does not privilege one category over others, but accounts for relations of
power|knowledge in imperial modernity in terms of interrelated social categories. The
crucial part that gender plays in organizing hierarchical social relations is often not
made explicit.
All of these aspects of gender are linked by a specific involvement with bodies, bodies
as both agents and objects of the gender system. The body remains a point of reference,
not a biological base, but, as Robert Connell puts it, „reproductive arena”.176 Hence, this
connection is a social one, a matter of organization of social relations, and a historical
process involving the body.177 According to Joan Scott’s proposition, „[g]ender is a
constitutive element of social relationships, a primary way of signifying relationships of
power that is based on perceived differences of the sexes”.178 Scott concluded, „man
173
Foucault, History of Sexuality, 22.
Foucault, History of Sexuality, 23.
175
McClintock, Anne. Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest.
New York: Routledge, 1995, 7.
176
Connell, Robert W. The Men and the Boys. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2000, 2527.
177
Connell, The Men and the Boys, 27.
178
Scott, Joan Wallach. Gender and the Politics of History. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1988, 42. Scott named four interrelated aspects to gender as a constitutive element of social relationships: Gender firstly provides symbols that are culturally available and evoke multiple and often contradictory representations. Secondly, normative concepts set forth interpretations of the meanings of symbols and attempt to limit and contain their metaphoric possibilities.
They take the form of religious, scientific and other doctrines and make ample use of binary oppositions. Social institutions, thirdly, participate in contesting and suppressing alternative
meanings to these binaries. Normative positions emerge as a product of social consensus, rather
than conflict. Often, they are made to appear as timeless and natural as opposed to culturally
constructed. Lastly, the subjective identity plays a role, whether it is described in terms of en174
45
1. Introduction
and woman are at once empty and overflowing categories. Empty, because they have no
ultimate and transcendent meaning. Overflowing because even when they appear to be
fixed, they still contain within them alternative, denied, or suppressed definitions.”179
Similarly, in Teresa de Lauretis’ words, the gender system is a „symbolic system or
system of meanings that correlates sex to cultural contents according to social values
and hierarchies.”180 Gender is the product of various social technologies, institutional
discourses, epistemologies and practices.181
However, gender is not only the product of practices (and epistemes), it can also be
looked at as a set of practices itself.182 For De Lauretis, „technologies of gender” are
practices of representation and self-representation. Another highly influential model is
Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, to which we will come back shortly.
„Women”, „soldiers” or „women soldiers” are not just groups of people, but also
„communities of practice”.183 Gender practices are configured and processed through
sometimes contradictory, ambiguous or dis|continuous concepts of masculinity and
femininity. Differently gendered subjects have different investments, as Wendy Hollway put it, in power structures.184 This cathexis, to use the Freudian term borrowed by
Robert W. Connell, is one site of gender practice and the active construction of gender.185 Connell’s work provides a valuable crosscheck for feminist studies on the cat e-
culturation, technologies of the self or performativity These four aspects are interrelated, but do
not necessarily operate simultaneously.
179
Scott, Gender, 49.
180
De Lauretis, Technologies of Gender, 5.
181
De Lauretis, however, has gone further than Foucault in considering the different investments of differently gendered subjects in these discourses and practices. With Althusser’s theory of ideological interpellation she looks at gender as (self)representation and concludes that
the female-gendered subject is at once inside and outside the ideology of gender. De Lauretis,
Technologies of Gender, 9.
182
183
Jean Lave. „Situating Learning in Communities of Practice.”Perspectives on Socially Shared
Cognition. Eds. Lauren B. Resnick, John M. Levine, and Stephanie D. Teasley. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association, 1991. 63-82. Scollon, Ronald. Mediated Discourse:
The Nexus of Practice. London, New York: Routledge, 2001, 142-158.
184
Hollway, Wendy and Tony Jefferson. „Narrative, Discourse and the Unconscious: The Case
of Tommy.”Lines of Narrative: Psychosocial Perspectives. Eds. Molly Andrews et al. London:
Routledge, 2000. 136-149.
185
46
gory of gender in summarizing the key conclusions of social constructionist research on
masculinity.186 In addition to the multiplicity of masculinities and femininities, within
history, societies, institutions and persons, he pointed out the elements of hierarchy and
hegemony between different masculinities and femininities. Hegemony of dominant
over subordinated and marginalized forms may be quiet and implicit, or vehement or
violent.187 If we take the relational character of social categories seriously, it is critical
to look at the differences between women in relation to various power structures. Genders then come into existence as people act. They are actively produced, using the resources and strategies available in a given social setting.188
For Judith Butler, the gendered subject is produced through discourse as „performative
reiteration”, that is, the subject’s constant attempt to embody hegemonic norms.189 Following Foucault’s notion of the „discursive apparatus“ as a strategy without a strategist
and Nietzsche’s dictum of the doer being merely a fiction added to the deed190, Butler
argues that „gender is not a noun, but neither is it a set of free-floating attributes. [...]
There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very „expressions“ that are said to be its results.“191 Butler,
following Jacques Derrida’s reformulation of J. L Austin’s speech act theory and employing Derrida’s concepts of „iterability” and „(re)citationality”, suggests that „this
production actually always happens through a certain kind of repetition and recitation.
[...] Performativity is the discursive mode by which ontological effects are installed.“192
The subject is interpellated into the symbolic order, which is constituted by hegemonic
norms that circulate in a society and precede the subject. The subject is then compelled
to re-cite and re-iterate the norms in order to remain viable and intelligible. These performative re-iterations constitute the continuous process of signification that material-
186
Connell, The Men and the Boys, 10-14.
188
189
Salih, Sara. Judith Butler. London, New York: Routledge, 2002, 82.
190
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic. Indianapolis, IN:
Hackett Pub. Co., 1998, 25.
191
Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge, 1999, 33.
192
Osborne, Peter, and Lynne Segal. „Gender as Performance: An Interview with Judith Butler.”Radical Philosophy 67 (1994): 32-39.
187
47
1. Introduction
izes a set of effects on the body, the sedimented effect of discourses.193 The norm
‘women’s place is really in the home’, for instance, was underlying almost every speech
the WAAC Director gave to the public. In order to present the WAAC in such a way
that it was compatible with the values and sensibilities of middle class, small town
America, where most of the volunteers would come from, she constantly varied the
theme that the WAAC was merely an extension of women’s „natural” sphere: „The
gaps our women will fill are in those noncombatant jobs where women's hands and
women's hearts fit naturally. Waacs will do the same type of work, which women do in
civilian life.“194 By no means were these speech acts limited to the Director. Waacs
themselves were constantly reassuring themselves, their families and communities that
they were performing the „old women's mission”, to „hold the home front steadfast, and
send men to battle warmed and fed and comforted; to stand by and do dull routine work
while the men are gone.“195
Performativity is not to be confused with performance. Despite Butler’s example of
drag performances, which she contends has been ill chosen because it has often been
interpreted as a voluntarist performance, she emphasized that it is the notion of resignification that is crucial for the concept of performativity.196 Performativity „consists
of a reiteration of norms which precede, constrain, and exceed the performer and in that
sense cannot be taken as the performer’s ‚will’ or choice.“197 The power of di scourse to
enact what it names is constituted by the „historicity of discourse and, in particular, the
historicity of norms“.198 In these constant practices of re-iteration, re-citation and resignification lies, according to Butler, the possibility for agency, resistance and change.
„[T]o be constituted by language is to be produced within a given network of
power|discourse which is open to resignification, redeployment, subversive citation
193
Butler, Judith. Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of „Sex”. New York: Routledge, 1993.
194
Bellafaire, Judith A. The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1993.
195
Letter of a WAAC recruit from a training center in Georgia, c.i. Bellafaire, Judith. The
Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service. 1993. Web Page. URL :
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/wac/wac.htm. 30 July 2005.
196
Osborne and Segal, „Gender as Performance.
197
Butler, Bodies that Matter, 234.
198
48
from within, interruption and inadvertent convergences with other such networks.
‚Agency’ is to be found precisely at such junctures where the discourse is renewed.“199
The sociologists Candace West, Don Zimmerman and Sarah Fenstermaker understand
gender as an „accomplishment“, a „situated doing“ that is locally managed in reference
to normative conceptions of femininity and masculinity.200 The individual doing of ge nder, as of class, race and other categorical differences, is assessed interactionally and institutionally. This „accountability“ shapes and drives the construction of masculinity
and femininity however they are defined in a situation.201 Melissa Herbert, employing
West’s and Zimmerman’s ethnomethodological approach, argues that women in the
military know they will be held accountable, both as women and as soldiers, a double
accountability that presents women with a conundrum.202 Herbert points out a different
form of agency: In „doing gender” through every-day actions or strategies, women soldiers face choices that are „interactional in that they are shaped, not simply by socialization or internalization of gender norms,” but that are also being made „with a conscious eye to their consequences.”203
For the purpose of a cultural history of a military institution it will be of particular importance to look at how gender, always in a historically and context-specific conjunction with other categories, (1) shaped the symbolic and ritual representation, as well as
the culturally and socially coined perception of the WAC and the Army; (2) how gender
defined the scope to act and opportunities to participate within the Army as well as in
relation to it; (3) how it established hierarchical relations of power between the military
and civilian society as well as between women and men and between different groups of
women and men, respectively; and (4) how individual and collective identities and sub-
199
West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. „Doing Gender.”Gender & Society 1(1987): 12551. Fenstermaker, Sarah. The Gender Factory: The Apportionment of Work in American
Households. New York: Plenum, 1985. On hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity
see Connell, Robert W. Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Cambridge:
Polity Press, 1987, 183.
201
West and Fenstermaker 1987, 137; West, Candace and Sarah Fenstermaker. „Doing Difference.” Gender and Society 9(1995): 8-37, 21.
202
Herbert, Camouflage, 13-4.
203
Ibid., 14.
200
49
1. Introduction
ject positions have been shaped by gender and in turn the subjective view on war and
the military institution.204
1.2.5 Methodological approaches
In order to explore the construction of the new category woman|soldier that took place
in the WAC during World War II I will employ three perspectives, which inform the
different aspects looked at in each chapter.
(1) The subject perspective: For the women involved, becoming a woman|soldier was a
process of subjectivation that was not limited to the act of enlisting in the WAC, but
also involved finding one’s place in an entirely new life of military discipline within an
environment that was often less than welcoming. Through the subject perspective I will
attempt to locate the women’s different subject positions in a matrix of categories such
as gender, sexuality, class, race, age and ethnicity. Such localization has to be as dynamic as the categories involved. Since none of them is static or universal, each speech
act, each gesture or relation can serve to position the subject in relation to others.
(2) The institutional perspective: For the Army as an institution and an organization,
integrating women presented an entirely new set of challenges. For the first time women
were serving within the ranks of an organization that had constructed itself as a male
one. While high-ranking officers supported the mobilization of women for reasons of
expedience, the millions of soldiers of which the Army was comprised often had different agendas. Women were the „girls back home” the soldiers fought for, they were civilians, sometimes auxiliaries, sweethearts or prostitutes, but never „sisters in arms”.
For the Army as a governmental institution, different problems arose: Issues of logistics
(how to house, feed and clothe the women) – administrative problems (how to devise
regulations for the WAAC, when it was not formally part of the Army) – or disciplinary
problems (Waacs could not be reprimanded, only discharged under WAAC regulations).
204
Hagemann and Pröve, Landsknechte, 31.
50
(3) The discursive perspective: The rapid mobilization that involved the entire population of the United States took place in a space structured by various discourses on gender roles, the role of the military and the nature of military-civil relations. World War
Two was fought on the home front and in the media, as well as on the Asian and European battlefronts. How was this discursive formation structured? How were discourses
of gender used, produced and reproduced in order to mobilize an unprecedented number
of women for war? How were they changed by millions of women in nontraditional occupations? A discourse-oriented approach does have many advantages over a purely
hermeneutical approach.205 Among them are its almost empirical denseness and its i
r-
reverence to authors and|or alleged importance. It is helpful for a historical analysis if
one wishes to abstract from personalities or wants to get away from processes of ”understanding” historical problems by techniques that may simplistically be called techniques of „psychological empathy”.206 On the other hand, discourse anal
ysis fails to
take into account practices (other than speech acts) and other material factors - despite
the fact that discourses cannot be separated from cultural and historical materiality.
Hence I attempt in this study to re-materialize discourse analysis by using the category
of dispositif, a category that consciously includes material aspects and re-align them in a
functional network.
This study will not be a history of organizational integration i.e. of the process of including and integrating a group that was formerly excluded, then achieved token status
and finally under-representation. It will neither be a history of a few ‘great women’ who
managed to survive in an institution hostile to them and thus functioned as trailblazers
for many more women to come after them, nor contribute to a meta-narrative of progress in science and reason by ‘revealing’ that the oppression of women is unjust, illogic and irrational.
205
Hermeneutics is defined in this context as a specific way of representation and as the attempt
to subject the complex, diverse and contradictory materials of actual social and subjective experience to a fundamental process of revision and totalization by which, through the application of
interpretion, they can be rendered representable and meaningful in language other than their
own. McGuirk, Bernard. Redirections in Critical Theory: Truth, Self, Action, History. London,
New York, NY: Routledge, 1994, 119.
206
Gadamer, Hans-Georg. „The Universality of the Hermeneutical Problem.”The Hermeneutic
Tradition: From Ast to Ricoeur. Eds. Gayle L. Ormiston, Alan D. Schrift. Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press, 1990, 147-197.
51
1. Introduction
Instead, the methodological toolbox with which this study operates, combines tools for
discourse analysis with tools borrowed from social history, gender studies, institutional
history and cultural history. By this I hope to avoid several traps: In analyzing egodocuments, such as letters, diaries and autobiographies, I will look at how the Wacs’
experienced their military service themselves. By this, however, I do not mean to imply
that these documents are „innocent” texts that „reflect” a person’s development to a
certain subjective position.207 Rather, this process of self-observation also serves as a
„technology of the self”: The very act of writing is a practice of subjectivation.
Author(s) of diaries, letters or notebooks often have other readers than themselves in
mind, whether it is written with the intent to publish them as part of an autobiographical
text or ‘merely’ to shape an other person’s view about the author.208
An institutional historiography, to name a different example, has to deal with the fact
that the sources, governmental records in this case, usually have been produced by the
institutions themselves. Hence, historiography that exclusively relies on this class of
sources has a tendency to reproduce an „institutional blindness” or reflect a legalistic
and often tilted view that is concerned primarily with the survival of the institution. Finally, a purely discourse-oriented approach would run the risk of neglecting the material
factors and praxeological aspects of „doing gender” and constructing the
woman|soldier.
207
Schulze, Winfried. Ego-Dokumente. Annäherung an den Menschen in der Geschichte, Bd. 2.
Berlin: Akademie, 1996; Dinges, Martin. „Militär, Krieg und Geschlechterordnung: Bilanz und
Perspektiven.”in: Hagemann and Pröve, Landsknechte, 345-64. Dinges, Martin. „Soldatenkörper in der Frühen Neuzeit - Erfahrungen mit einem unzureichend geschützten, formierten und
verletzten Körper in Selbstzeugnissen.”Körper-Geschichten. Ed. Richard van Dülmen. Frankfurt/Main: Fischer, 1996. 71-98. Ulrich, Bernd. Die Augenzeugen. Deutsche Feldpostbriefe in
Kriegs- und Nachkriegszeit 1914-1933. Essen: Klartext, 1997.
208
Porter, Roy. Rewriting the Self: Histories from the Renaissance to the Present. London, New
York: Routledge, 1997, 21-22. Nead, Lynda. „Mapping the Self: Gender, Space and Modernity
in Mid-Victorian London.” in: Porter, Rewriting the Self, 167-185. Regarding the Foucauldian
„technologies of the self” see Neubauer, John. Cultural History after Foucault. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1999, 43-44.
52
As Karen Hagemann has emphasized, it is crucial to systematically differentiating between the different levels of analysis.209 The method pursued here will attempt to an alytically differentiate between the different levels, but at the same time emphasize their
being steeped in formations of power|knowledge. The model of the dispositif, I argue,
offers analytical discrimination, while its network-like structure with the model of the
dispositif provides the nodal points to grasp the interrelated elements and categories.
1.3 Literature
Barton C. Hacker’s influential article, Women and Military Institutions in Early Modern
Europe: A Reconnaissance was one of the first pieces of scholarship that analyzed
military institutions from a gendered perspective.210 Hacker showed the vital role
women played in European armies’ camps and trains from the fourteenth until well into
the nineteenth century. He also accounts for the absence of women from military history. When the discipline of military history emerged during the latter part of the nineteenth century, the militarization of the support systems had been completed and women
performing noncombatant tasks with Western armies had vanished. Consequently, female camp followers had by the time of WWI disappeared from memory or were recalled only as prostitutes. While military nursing grew increasingly professional, the
limited utilization of women’s auxiliary corps in the twentieth century could appear as
completely novel. Until very recently, major publications on the history of war and on
military history contained few references toward gender or women. If they did, gender
references constituted interesting side notes but almost never a category of historical
analysis in its own right. Index entries on gender invariably concerned women – men
did not seem to have a gender.211 Until recently, military historians have dealt with the
209
Hagemann names the following levels of analysis: Firstly images, norms and representations,
secondly collective economic, cultural and social practices and thirdly, the subjects’ individual
experiences and perceptions. She stressed that these levels constantly interact with and depend
on each other. Categories such as experience, I would add, are also problematic and difficult to
grasp. Hagemann, Karen. „Venus und Mars: Reflektionen zu einer Geschlechtergeschichte von
Militär und Krieg.” in: Hagemann and Pröve, Landsknechte, 13-48, 32.
210
Hacker, Women and Military Institutions.
211
Joshua Goldstein has counted gender-related index entries in several political science and
history works on war and names numerous examples of studies in which the category is entirely
53
1. Introduction
concepts „race” and „class“, but rarely integrated the category of gender in their narratives. The analysis of the important interface between gender and the military has long
remained a lacuna, contributing to ideological notions of women|soldiers as invisible,
othered or victims.
1.3.1 German Publications on Gender Historical Perspectives on the Military
Since this study emerged from a German language research community, I will give an
overview over the literature in this field. The existence of several excellent summaries
allows me to be very brief.212 The stereotypical dictum ‘men make war, women make
peace’, which had been purported by the women’s peace movement as well as by traditional military history in Germany, resulted in a double absence of women or the category gender from military history for the better part of the twentieth century.213 German
military history emerged from the older „history of war” that was purely applicatory.
Historians like Hans Delbrück, who had attempted to introduce the historical method of
Ranke and Droysen, failed in the universities as well as in the military.214 Only in the
absent. Goldstein, Joshua S. War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice
Versa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, 34-35.
212
Hagemann, Venus und Mars. Hagemann, Karen. „Militär, Krieg und Geschlechterverhältnisse. Untersuchungen, Überlegungen und Fragen zur Militärgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit.”Klio in Uniform? Probleme und Perspektiven einer modernen Militärgeschichte der
Frühen Neuzeit. Ed. Ralf Pröve. Köln: Böhlau, 1997. 35-88. Hämmerle, Christa. „Von den
Geschlechtern der Kriege und des Militärs. Forschungseinblicke und Bemerkungen zu einer
neuen Debatte.” in: Kühne and Ziemann, Was ist Militärgeschichte?. 229-62.
213
The saying „Men make war, women make peace” however is not limited to the Germanspeaking realm. It goes back to William Ladd (1778-1841), one of the leaders of the American
Peace Society. DeBenedetti, Charles. The Peace Reform in American History. Bloomington,
IN: Indiana University Press, 1980, 45. See also Cooper, Helen M., Adrienne Auslander Munich, and Susan Merrill Squier. Eds. Arms and the Woman: War, Gender, and Literary Representation. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989, 20. Of 233 Germanspeaking full-length studies on military history published after 1970, only a single one contains
a specific reference to gender or women. Stüssi-Lauterburg, Jürg, and Rosy Gysler-Schöni.
Helvetias Töchter: Frauen in der Schweizer Militärgeschichte von der Entstehung der Eidgenossenschaft bis zur Gründung des Frauenhilfsdienstes, 1291-1939. Frauenfeld: Huber, 1989.
214
The application of the historical method to the theory of war goes back to Carl von Clausewitz whose approach differed considerably from that of his contemporaries. As Stig Förster argues, the Clausewitzian approach was imported only in the late sixties by the British „War-andSociety school“. Förster, Stig. „’Vom Kriege’: Überlegungen zu einer modernen Militärgeschichte.” Was ist Militärgeschichte? Eds. Thomas Kühne and Benjamin Ziemann. Paderborn: Schöningh, 2000. 273, 276. Strachan, Hew. European Armies and the Conduct of War.
54
1950s did military history begin to make use of the methodological concepts that were
then predominant at universities, institutional history and political history.215 When in
the 1970s, social history began influencing military history, as well as German historiography in general, it was rarely applied to the men and women who were doing the
fighting.216 This perspective was imported from abroad, particularly from Britain, where
soldiers’ lives in the trenches of the First World War came into focus in the late
1970s.217 With the „home front”, women’s lives in wartime were paid attention for the
first time. The German „history of everyday life” was situating itself in opposition to
social history as it was taught at universities, as well as to the history of ideas and institutions. It was also, but not exclusively, pursued by a genuine movement that was
widely carried out by non-professional, regional historians (Geschichtswerkstätten).218
London, Boston, MA: Allen & Unwin, 1983, 6. Also on the history of German military historiography Wette, Wolfram. „Militärgeschichte zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik.”in: Kühne and
Ziemann, Was ist Militärgeschichte?, 49-72; Deist, Wilhelm. „Hans Delbrück. Militärhistoriker
und Publizist.” Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen 57 (1998): 371-384.
215
Military history was conducted at two institutions of the Bundeswehr, the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt (MGFA) and the Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut. See Wette, Militärgeschichte. Wohlfeil, Rainer. „Militärgeschichte. Zu Geschichte und Problemen einer Disziplin
der Geschichtswissenschaft (1952-1967).” Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen 52 (1993): 323344. For Wohlfeil’s influential definition of military history as „history of the armed force as an
institutional factor of social life within the state” see Wohlfeil, Rainer. „Wehr-, Kriegs- oder
Militärgeschichte?“ Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen 1 (1967): 21-29.
216
The most prominent examples of these social and economic histories of World War I are
Feldman, Gerald D. Army, Industry, and Labor in Germany, 1914-1918. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966. Kocka, Jürgen. Klassengesellschaft im Krieg. Deutsche Sozialgeschichte 1914-1918. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1973.
217
Ellis, John. Eye-Deep in Hell: Trench Warfare in World War I. New York: Pantheon Books,
1976. Leed, Eric J. No Man's Land: Combat & Identity in World War I. Cambridge, New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1979. Ashworth, Tony. Trench Warfare, 1914-1918: The Live and
Let Live System. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1980. Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern
Memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.
218
Begalke, Sonja, Hans-Georg Bergann, and Stephanie Billib. Vernichtungskrieg an der
Heimatfront. Analysen und Dokumente aus Hannover. Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, 1998. Mechler, Wolf-Dieter. Kriegsalltag an der „Heimatfront“. Das Sondergericht
Hannover im Einsatz gegen „Rundfunkverbrecher“, „Schwarzschlachter“, „Volksschädlinge“
und andere „Straftäter“, 1939 bis 1945. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1997. Prieur, Jutta.
Heimatfront Wesel 1939-1945. Frauen und Männer erinnern sich an den Krieg in ihrer Stadt.
Wesel: Selbstverlag des Stadtarchivs Wesel, 1994. Roerkohl, Anne. Hungerblockade und
Heimatfront. Die kommunale Lebensmittelversorgung in Westfalen während des Ersten Weltkrieges. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 1991. Werkstattgruppe der Frauen für Frieden/Heilbronn. Heimatfront: Wir überlebten, Frauen berichten. Stuttgart: H.-D. Heinz, 1985. Schulze, Winfried.
Deutsche Geschichtswissenschaft nach 1945. München: Oldenbourg, 1989. See also the excellent and concise assessment by Alf Lüdtke. Lüdtke, Alf. Alltagsgeschichte. Zur Rekonstruktion
55
1. Introduction
For military historiography’s new foci on everyday practices, social class and experience, analyses of soldiers’ letters (Feldpostbriefe) were central. Still, most of these
studies were concerned „the ordinary man”, whose gender was not an issue.219 With few
exceptions, women’s roles in military institutions were also neglected.220 Since 1990
however, a growing field of social and cultural historians of war and the military is
making use of the methodologies of neighboring disciplines like sociology and cultural
anthropology.221 Cultural historical approaches to overcome the division between pra ctices and discourse (or structures and actors) have begun to spur a refined concept of
experience and a more integrated historiography of war.222
historischer Erfahrungen und Lebensweisen. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus, 1989. Lüdtke, Alf, Alltagsgeschichte: The History of Everyday Life. Reconstructing Historical Experiences and Ways of Life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. For methodological
problems with the sources see Ulrich, Bernd. „’Militärgeschichte von Unten’. Anmerkungen zu
ihren Ursprüngen, Quellen und Perspektiven im 20. Jahrhundert.”Geschichte und Gesellschaft
22 (1996): 473-503. Ulrich, Die Augenzeugen.
219
Wette, Wolfram. „Militärgeschichte von unten. Die Perspektive des „kleinen Mannes.” Der
Krieg des kleinen Mannes: Eine Militärgeschichte von unten. Ed. Wolfram Wette. München:
Piper, 1992. 9-47. Vogel, Detlef, and Wolfram Wette. Andere Helme -- Andere Menschen?
Heimaterfahrung und Frontalltag im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Ein Internationaler Vergleich. Essen:
Klartext, 1995. See also Hämmerle’s critical overview Hämmerle, Von den Geschlechtern, 25657. Hämmerle, Christa. „’...wirf ihnen alles hin und schau dass Du fort kommst.’ Die Feldpost
eines Paares in der Geschlechter(un)ordnung des Ersten Weltkrieges.” Historische Anthropologie. Kultur – Gesellschaft - Alltag. 6.3 (1998):431-458, 431-37.
220
Exceptions include Hurni, Johanna et al. Frauen in den Streitkräften [Papers of the International Symposium in Wolfsberg, October 15 to 17, 1990.] Brugg: Verl. Effinger Hof, 1992.
Blitzmädchen: Die Geschichte der Helferinnen der deutschen Wehrmacht im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Koblenz, Bonn: Wehr und Wissen, 1979. Seidler, Franz Wilhelm. Frauen zu den Waffen?
Marketenderinnen, Helferinnen, Soldatinnen. Koblenz, Bonn: Wehr und Wissen, 1978.
221
Daniel, Ute. „’Kultur’ und ‚Gesellschaft’. Überlegungen zum Gegenstandsberich der Sozialgeschichte.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft 19 (1993): 69-99. Sarasin, Philipp. „Subjekte, Diskurse, Körper. Überlegungen zu einer diskursanalytischen Kulturgeschichte.”Kulturgeschichte
heute. Eds. Eds. Wolfgang Hartwig and Hans Ulrich Wehler. Göttingen: 131-64. GilcherHoltey, Ingrid. „Kulturelle und symbolische Praktiken. Das Unternehmen Pierre Bourdieu.”
Kulturgeschichte heute. Eds. Wolfgang Hartwig and Hans Ulrich Wehler. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996. 111-130.
222
The Sonderforschungsbereich „Kriegserfahrungen – Krieg und Gesellschaft in der Neuzeit”
is a case point. See further Frevert, Ute. „Gesellschaft und Militär im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert:
Sozial-, kulturund geschlechtergeschichtliche Annäherungen.” Militär und Gesellschaft im 19.
und 20. Jahrhundert. Ed. Ute Frevert. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1997. 7-16. Latzel, Klaus. „Vom
Kriegserlebnis zur Kriegserfahrung. Theoretische und methodische Überlegungen zur erfahrungsgeschichtlichen Untersuchung von Feldpostbriefen.” Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen.
56 (1997): 1-30. Kosellek, Reinhart. „Der Einfluß der beiden Weltkriege auf das soziale Bewusstsein.” In: Wette, Der Krieg des kleinen Mannes, 324-343.
56
After warfare and later the military as a social context, the soldier as a gendered being
came into the focus of a new military history, a „differentiated history of soldiers killing
and being killed, patriotic and resistant, volunteering an drafted inside and outside the
barracks.”223 The soldiers’ masculinities are intricately connected with cultural concepts
of femininity as well as with war and violence and their experiences are embedded in a
context of hegemonic cultures of memory.224
A conference on war, military and gender convened by the Zentrum für interdisziplinäre
Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung of the TU Berlin (IZFG) in conjunction with the
Arbeitskreis für Militär und Gesellschaft in der Frühen Neuzeit (AMG) in November
1997 brought together historians of heretofore isolated fields, gender history and military history.225 While women had been largely absent from traditional military history,
feminist women’s historians were also reluctant to deal with the military.226 Historical
studies emerging from peace and conflict studies reproduced the double absence of
women as historical actors in armed conflicts as well as scholars of military institutions.
The transition from women’s history to historical gender studies, which originated in
the Anglo-American sphere, occurred in Germany only with a considerable delay.227 It
223
Burghartz, Susanna and Christa Hämmerle. „Soldaten”. L’Homme. 12.1 (2001): 7-10.
In this issue Sandra Maß reads the male body in the older context of the relation of the social
body and women’s bodies. For a more contemporary perspective see Christine Eifler’s comparison the integration of women soldiers in Russia and the US where she analyzes the different
symbolic practices that serve to culturally negotiate women’s positions in the armed forces.
Maß, Sandra. „Das Trauma des weißen Mannes. Afrikanische Kolonialsoldaten in propagandistischen Texten, 1914-1923.” L’Homme. 12.1 (2001): 11-33: Eifler, Bewaffnet.
225
See reports by Hämmerle, Christa. „Militärgeschichte als Geschlechtergeschichte? Von den
Chancen einer Annäherung.” Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft 9 (1998):
124-135. Planert, Ute. „Militärgeschichte als Geschlechtergeschichte. Ein Colloquium an der
TU Berlin.” L’Homme 9.2 (1998): 313-316. All conference papers can be found in Hagemann
and Pröve, Landsknechte, with the exception of Schulte, Regina. Die verkehrte Welt des
Krieges. Studien zu Geschlecht, Religion und Tod. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus, 1998.
226
See also the critical assessments by Opitz, Von Frauen, 32 and Hagemann, Militär, Krieg und
Geschlechterverhältnisse, 37. For the social sciences see Seifert, Militär und Geschlecht.
227
Offen, Karen M. et al. Writing Women's History: International Perspectives. Bloomington,
IN: Indiana UniversityPress, 1991. Hausen, Karin, and Heide Wunder. Frauengeschichte-Geschlechtergeschichte. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus, 1992. Cole, Helena, Jane Caplan,
Hanna Schissler. The History of Women in Germany from Medieval Times to the Present: Bibliography of English-Language Publications. Washington, DC: German Historical Institute.
1990. One of the earlist and most influential studies focusing on women’s experiences during
war time: Daniel, Ute. Arbeiterfrauen in der Kriegsgesellschaft. Beruf, Familie und Politik im
Ersten Weltkrieg. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989. See also Daniel, Ute. The War
224
57
1. Introduction
was not before the 1990 that European scholarship picked up Barton Hacker’s questions
and firmly established gender as an analytical category of military history.228 Gender
oriented and cultural perspectives in military histories of the early modern period and
the 19th century have also illuminated how the interdependent epistemological complexes nation and military produce meaning.229 Military institutions were ideally suited
to analyze various concepts of masculinities in connection with nation and violence and
it was from here that several „men studies” emerged.230
From Within: German Working-Class Women in the First World War. Oxford, New York:
Berg, 1997. Higonnet, Margaret Randolph et al., eds. Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two
World Wars. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987.
228
For an overview up to 1992 see Opitz, Von Frauen. A more recent overview by Christa
Hämmerle shows that the field gender oriented, cultural perspectives on the military and war
has grown remarkably: Hämmerle, Von den Geschlechtern der Kriege. See also Hagemann,
Militär, Krieg und Geschlechterverhältnisse, Burschel, Peter. Söldner im Nordwestdeutschland
des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts. Sozialgeschichtliche Studien. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994; Pröve, Stehendes Heer; Wilson, German Women. Burschel, Pröve and Wilson
emphasize social and economic reasons for the attempt to exclude women from support functions over military reasons that have been stressed by Hacker.
229
François, Etienne, Hannes Siegrist, and Jakob Vogel. Nation und Emotion. Deutschland und
Frankreich im Vergleich, 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1995.
Frevert, Militär und Gesellschaft. Hagemann, Mannlicher Muth. Hagemann, A Valorous „Volk”
Family. Hagemann and Pröve, Landsknechte. Hagemann, Karen, and Stefanie SchülerSpringorum. Eds. Heimat-Front: Militär und Geschlechterverhältnisse im Zeitalter der Weltkriege. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus, 2002. Geyer, Michael. „Eine Kriegsgeschichte, die
vom Tod spricht.” Physische Gewalt. Studien zur Geschichte der Neuzeit. Eds. Thomas Lindenberger, Thomas and Alf Lüdtke. Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1995. 136-161. The history of
universal conscription particularly illustrates the interdependence of nation and military: Opitz,
Eckardt, and Frank S. Rödiger. Allgemeine Wehrpflicht. Geschichte, Probleme, Perspektiven.
Bremen: Edition Temmen, 1994; Ulrich, Bernd, Jakob Vogel, and Benjamin Ziemann. Untertan
in Uniform. Militär und Militarismus im Kaiserreich 1871-1914: Quellen und Dokumente.
Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2001. Vogel, Jakob. Nationen im Gleichschritt.
Der Kult der „Nation in Waffen“ in Deutschland und Frankreich, 1871-1914. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997. Frevert, Ute. „Soldaten, Staatsbürger. Überlegungen zur historischen Konstruktion von Männlichkeit.”Männergeschichte, Geschlechtergeschichte.
Männlichkeit im Wandel der Moderne. Ed. Thomas Kühne, Frankfurt/Main: Campus, 1996. 6987. Förster, Stig. „Militär und staatsbürgerliche Partizipation. Die Allgemeine Wehrpflicht im
deutschen Kaiserreich, 1871-1914.”Die Wehrpflicht. Entstehung, Erscheinungsformen und
politisch-militärische Wirkung. Ed. Roland G. Foerster. München: Oldenbourg, 1994, 55-70. On
the 19th century: Dülffer, Jost. Kriegsbereitschaft und Friedensordnung in Deutschland 18001814. Münster: Lit, 1994. Frevert, Militär und Gesellschaft. Langewiesche, Dieter. „Militärgeschichte heute.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft 22.4 (1996).
230
Hagemann and Pröve, Landsknechte, 16. Kühne, Thomas. „Kameradschaft - „Das Beste im
Leben des Mannes.”Die deutschen Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkriegs in erfahrungs- und
geschlechtergeschichtlicher Perspektive.”Geschichte und Gesellschaft 22 (1996): 504-29.
Kühne, Thomas. „Der Soldat”, in: Frevert, Ute, and Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, eds. Der Mensch des
58
Sexualized violence during war is an aspect of the relations between gender, nation,
military and war that cannot be discussed in this study, despite its ubiquity and centrality for the construction of gender. While the theme of women as victims of rape and
other forms of sexualized violence has been discussed since the early days of women’s
studies, other aspects such as sexual violence against men or the structural and systematic quality of sexual violence against women have been studied only recently.231 Rape
20. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt/Main, New York: Campus, 1999, 344-71. Kühne, Thomas. „Imaginierte Weiblichkeit und Kriegskameradschaft.”Heimat - Front. Militär, Gewalt und
Geschlechterverhältnisse im Zeitalter der Weltkriege. Karen Hagemann and Stefanie SchülerSpringorum. Frankfurt/Main: Berg, 2002. 237-57. Frevert, Männer (T)Räume. Frevert, Ute. Die
kasernierte Nation. Roper, Michael, and John Tosh. „Introduction: Historians and the Politics of
Masculinity.”Manful Assertions: Masculinities in Britain since 1800. Eds. Michael Roper and
John Tosh. London, New York: Routledge, 1991. 1-24. Dudink, Stefan, Karen Hagemann, and
John Tosh. Masculinities in Politics and War: Gendering Modern History. Manchester, New
York: Manchester University Press , 2004. Tosh, John. „Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender.” Masculinities in Politics and War: Gendering Modern History. Ed. Stefan
Dudink, Karen Hagemann, and John Tosh. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004. 4158. Horne, John. „Masculinity in Politics and War in the Age of Nation-States and World Wars,
1850-1950.”Masculinities in Politics and War: Gendering Modern History. Eds. Stefan Dudink,
Karen Hagemann, and John Tosh. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004. 22-40. Ziemann, Benjamin. Front und Heimat. Ländliche Kriegserfahrungen im südlichen Bayern 19141923. Essen: Klartext, 1997. Kühne, Thomas. „’...Aus diesem Krieg werden nicht nur harte
Männer heimkehren.’ Kriegskameradschaft und Männlichkeit im 20. Jahrhundert.”
Männergeschichte, Geschlechtergeschichte: Männlichkeit im Wandel der Moderne. Ed. Thomas
Kühne. Frankfurt/Main., New York: Campus, 1996. 174-92. Seifert, Ruth. „Militär und Ordnung der Geschlechter. Vier Thesen zur Konstruktion von Männlichkeit im Militär.”Ordnung
zwischen Gewaltproduktion und Friedensstiftung. Ed. Klaus D. Wolf. Baden-Baden: Nomos,
1993. 213-30.
231
See the excellent overview by Mühlhäuser, Regina, and Ingwer Schwensen. „Sexuelle Gewalt in Kriegen. Auswahlbibliographie.”Mittelweg 36 10.5 (2001): 21-32. Hey, Barbara, Cécile
Huber, and Karin Maria Schmidlechner. Krieg, Geschlecht und Gewalt. Graz: Leykam, 1999.
On military wives’ and women’s alleged ‘loose morals’: Opitz, Claudia. „Von Frauen im Krieg
zum Krieg gegen Frauen. Gewalt und Geschlechterbeziehungen aus historischer
Sicht.”L'Homme 31 (1992): 31-44, 39. On WWII: Reif, Sieglinde. „Das „Recht des
Siegers.”Vergewaltigungen in München 1945.”Zwischen den Fronten. Münchner Frauen in
Krieg und Frieden, 1900-1950. Eds. Sybille Krafft and Christina Böck. München: Buchendorfer, 1995. 360-71. Beck, Birgit. „Vergewaltigungen von Frauen als Kriegsstrategien im Zweiten
Weltkrieg.”Gewalt im Krieg. Ausübung, Erfahrung und Verweigerung von Gewalt in Kriegen
des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. Ed. Andreas Gestrich. Münster: Jahrbuch für historische
Friedensforschung, 1996. 34-50. Beck, Birgit. Wehrmacht und sexuelle Gewalt. Sexualverbrechen vor deutschen Militärgerichten 1993-1945. Paderborn: Schöningh, 2004. On WW I:
Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. Christine Eifler. „Nachkrieg und Weibliche Verletzbarkeit. Zur Rolle Von Kriegen
Für Die Konstruktion Von Geschlecht.” Soziale Konstruktionen - Militär und
59
1. Introduction
in war serves a strategic function. Enemy women’s bodies are de-individualized and
symbolically identified with the enemy nation (Volkskörper), so that the rape of women
is seen as act of humiliation of men by men.232 The women thus suffer from a ‘double
objectification’.233
1.3.2 American Studies on Gender and the Military
Since the second half of the 1980s, the field of women’s military studies in the United
States is considerably broader and has been growing rapidly since Barton Hacker’s influential article. Additionally, in the US and Great Britain debates about women and the
military have also had political implications for the all-volunteer armies, while in Germany until 2001 these issues were largely academic or hypothetical.234 Consequently,
American scholars are generally very aware of current public policy debates over the
role of women in the military for which their work often provides the historical context.
Meanwhile, the field has broadened and matured. While D’Ann Campbell in her 1987
literature report could cover virtually all material published in English on the subject of
women in uniform during the World War II era on five pages. Vicki Friedl’s compre-
Geschlechterverhältnis. Eds. Christine Eifler and Ruth Seifert. Münster: Westfälisches
Dampfboot, 1999. 155-86.
232
Ruth Seifert has argued convincingly that women as civilians and females are principally, not
just in deplorable but isolated cases „on the front”; Seifert, Gender, Nation und Militär. Seifert,
Ruth. „Die Zweite Front. Zur Logik der sexuellen Gewalt in Kriegen.”S+F Vierteljahresschrift
für Sicherheit und Frieden 11 (1993): 66-71. See also Eifler, Nachkrieg und weibliche Verletzbarkeit. Opitz, Von Frauen, 40. Mühlhäuser, Regina. „Vergewaltigungen in Deutschland 1945.
Nationaler Opferdiskurs und Individuelles Erinnern betroffener Frauen.”Nachkrieg in Deutschland. Ed. Klaus Naumann. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 2001. 384-408.
233
Seifert, Ruth. „Der weibliche Körper als Symbol und Zeichen. Geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt und die kulturelle Konstruktion des Krieges“ in: Gestrich, Gewalt im Krieg, 13-33. YuvalDavis, Nira: „Militär, Krieg und Geschlechterverhältnisse.”Soziale Konstruktionen - Militär und
Geschlechterverhältnis. Eds. Christine Eifler and Ruth Seifert. Münster: Westfälisches
Dampfboot, 1999. 18-43. Seifert, Gender, Nation und Militär.
234
For an overview see Budge, Alice, and Pam Didur. „Women and War: A Selected Bibliography.”Mosaic 23.3 (1990): 151-73. Pierson, Ruth Roach. „Beautiful Soul or Just Warrior: Gender and War.”Gender & History 1 (1989): 77-86. On January 11, 2000 the Court of Justice of
the European Communities ruled that Germany’s blanket exclusion of women from the armed
services contravened the principle of gender equality in the workplace (Directive 76/207/EEC).
See Case C-285/98, Tanja Kreil v Bundesrepublik Deutschland [2000] ECRI-0069]. Beginning
in 2001,the Bundeswehr opened virtually all positions to women.
60
hensive book-length bibliographie raisonnée that came out in 1996, summed up the impressive body of research and literature on the role of women within the US military
that had grown considerably and had begun to question a host of essentialist assumptions and challenged the historical as well as historiographical invisibility of military
women.235
Not coincidentally, Linda Grant De Pauw began Battle Cries and Lullabies, her global
history of women in war with the question ‘What is a woman?’236 Women as soldiers,
victims, warriors, wives and mothers, as sex workers, nurses, pilots, spies, supporters
have been the focus of her study. Jeanne Holm’s, Women in the Military: An Unfinished
Revolution and Jean Bethke Elshtain’s Women and War deal with the historic contributions women have made to American military forces.237 Cynthia Enloe has shown that
not only as soldiers are women subject to militarization.238 The military’s gender regime
has been studied by looking at military families as well as by analyzing sexual harassment in historical perspective.239
A study that attempts to look at how gender is constructed, rather than taking gender
categories as fixed and predetermined cannot fail to encompass the category of sexuality
235
Friedl, Women.
De Pauw, Battle Cries and Lullabies.
237
Holm, Women in the Military. Elshtain, Women and War. Campbell, D'Ann. Women at War
With America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1984 provides an overview over all American women in uniform during WWII. For an overview see also Willenz, June A. Women Veterans: America's Forgotten Heroines. New York:
Continuum, 1983. Hartmann, Susan. „Women in the Military Service.”Clio Was a Woman. Eds.
Mabel E. Deutrich and Virginia Cardwell Purdy. Washington, DC: Howard University Press,
1980. 195-205.
238
Enloe, Cynthia. Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000. See also Enloe, Beyond Steve Canyon. Enloe,
Die Konstruktion. Enloe, Cynthia. „The Gendered Gulf.”Collateral Damage: The 'New World
Order' at Home and Abroad. Ed. Cynthia Peters. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1992. 93-110.
Enloe, Cynthia. „Beyond 'Rambo': Women and the Varieties of Militarized Masculinity.”Women and the Military System. Ed. Eva Isacsson. New York: Harvester, 1988. 71-93.
239
Weinstein, Laurie, and Christie C. White, eds. Wives and Warriors: Women and the Military
in the United States and Canada. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1997. Stein, Laura W. Sexual
Harassment in America: A Documentary History. Primary Documents in American History and
Contemporary Issues. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. Sadler, Georgia Clark. „Women
in Combat: The U.S. Military and the Impact of the Persian Gulf War.”in: Weinstein and White,
Wives & Warriors, 79-98.
236
61
1. Introduction
as well. The point is not, however, to describe certain practices, but to analyze where
some of the building blocks of a person’s gender are taken from. Historiography of
sexuality, particularly of women’s, has rarely dealt with the military.240 There are, ho wever, extremely valuable studies without which a gender history of a military institution
could not be written. John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman surveyed women’s sexuality from colonial to contemporary times.241 George Chauncey’s and John D’Emilio’s
works on gay male sexuality are also extremely valuable for research on the military,
because they have analyzed the changing societal and medical conceptions of homosexuality, which the Army implemented and later adapted to women.242 In their groundbreaking history of sexuality, which they understand as a history of social relations,
Kathy Peiss, Christina Simmons and Robert Padgug have traced the emergence of modern sexuality from the late 18th to the late 20th century.243 The emergence of a modern
lesbian identity and the formation of lesbian communities have been analyzed, among
other scholars, by Elizabeth Lapovsky and Madeline Davis. Their class-conscious his-
240
On the absence of lesbians see Cook, Blanche Wiesen. „Historical Denial of Lesbianism.”Radical History Review 20 (1979): 60-65.
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. „Women Alone Stir My Imagination.”Signs 4 (1979): 718-39. Rich,
Adrienne. „Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence.”Signs 5 (1980): 631-60. Herbert, Camouflage is an account of the US military gender regime and the hostile environment it
presents for women of any sexual orientation.
241
D'Emilio, John, and Estelle B. Freedman. Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. See also McLaren, Angus. Twentieth-Century Sexuality:
A History. Oxford, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1999. For a critical discussion of „the interplay of
racial and sexual ideology“ in the work of D'Emilio and Freedman see Ducille, Ann. „Othered
Matters: Reconceptualizing Dominance and Difference in the History of Sexuality in America,“
Journal of the History of Sexuality 1.1 (1990): 102-127, 103.
242
Hidden from History is an overview of same gender sexuality from antiquity until the post
WWII era. Vicinus, Martha, George Chauncey, and Martin B. Duberman. Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. New York: New American Library, 1989.
Chauncey, George. „From Sexual Inversion to Homosexuality: The Changing Medical Conceptualization of Female Deviance.”in: Peiss and Simmons, Passion and Power: 87-117.
D'Emilio, John. Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority
in the United States, 1940-1970. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1983. Lillian
Faderman has analyzed lesbian love in 20th century America and earlier centuries: Faderman,
Lillian. Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women From the
Renaissance to the Present. New York: Morrow, 1981. Faderman, Lillian. Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America. Between Men--Between
Women. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.
243
Peiss, Simmons, and Padgug, Passion and Power. See also Kennedy, Kathleen, and Sharon
R. Ullman, eds. Sexual Borderlands: Constructing an American Sexual Past. Columbus, OH:
Ohio State University Press, 2003.
62
tory of a lesbian community in Buffalo, NY provides an interesting backdrop and comparison to women’s homoerotic and homosocial experiences in the WAC.244
Finally, studies on gay and lesbian soldiers are few and far between, but do exist.
Among the growing body of oral histories, Alan Bérubé’s Coming Out Under Fire is
the first to name. Bérubé has conducted an astonishing number of interviews and produced a study that does not always conform to the most rigid of scholarly standards, but
is unsurpassed in its broadness and an invaluable resource for further studies.245 A
growing body of literature analyzes lesbians’ experience in the post WWII and contemporary armed forces as part of a larger framework of the victimization of women’s
sexuality.246
By way of comparison, it is also worth looking at studies on other countries’ women’s
auxiliaries and women’s services.247 All nations that participated in the Second World
244
Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky, and Madeline D. Davis. Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold:
The History of a Lesbian Community. New York: Routledge, 1993. See also Newton, Esther.
„The Mythic Mannish Lesbian: Radclyffe Hall and the New Woman.”Hidden From History:
Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. Eds. Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus, and George
Chauncey. Vol. New York: New American Library, 1989. 281-93. Penn, Donna. „The Meanings of Lesbianism in Post-War America.” Gender & History 3.2 (1991): 190-203. Rupp, Leila
J. „Imagine My Surprise: Women's Relationships in the 20th Century.”in: Duberman, Vicinus,
and Chauncey, Hidden From History, 395-410. Rupp, Leila J. A Desired Past: A Short History
of Same-Sex Love in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
245
Bérubé, Allan. Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War
Two. New York: Free Press, 1990. Other oral histories and documentaries include: Adair,
Nancy, and Casey Adair. Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives. San Francisco : New
Glide Publications, 1978. Bullough, Vern L. Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian
Rights in Historical Context. Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies. New York: Harrington Park
Press, 2002. Before Stonewall--the Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community. Dir. Greta
Schiller and Robert Rosenberg. Prod. Robert Rosenberg, et al. 1986. Marcus, Eric. Making
History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990. An Oral History. New
York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. Phelps, Johnnie, and Miriam Ben-Shalom. „Lesbian Soldiers Tell Their Stories.”Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military 8.3 (1990): 3853. The latter account is seriously flawed. See chapter 6.1.
246
Rimmerman, Craig A. Gay Rights, Military Wrongs: Political Perspectives on Lesbians and
Gays in the Military. New York: Garland Pub., 1996. Scott, Wilbur J., and Sandra Carson
Stanley. Gays and Lesbians in the Military: Issues, Concerns, and Contrasts. Social Problems
and Social Issues. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1994.
247
On women’s WWII experience in the (Canadian) military as a state institution see Pierson,
Ruth Roach. They're Still Women After All: The Second World War and Canadian Womanhood. The Canadian Social History Series. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart, 1986. See
63
1. Introduction
War utilized women in non-combat positions. The one notable exception is the Soviet
Union, where women fought in various combat roles including the Air Force. The work
of Kazimiera J. Cottam and Reina Pennington is of particular interest in this context.248
also Pierson, Ruth Roach. „Did Your Mother Wear Army Boots? Feminist Theory and Women's
Relation to War, Peace and Revolution.”Images of Women in Peace and War. Eds. Sharon
Macdonald, Pat Holden, and Shirley Ardener. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan
Education, 1987. For Europe, Canada, Australia: Weitz, Margaret Collins. Sisters in the Resistance: How Women Fought to Free France, 1940-1945. New York: J. Wiley, 1995. Bowley,
Patricia, and Kris Wright. „Canadian Enlisted Women: Gender Issues in the Canadian Armed
Forces Before and After 1945.”Minerva 15.1 (1997): 9-26. Bruce, Jean. Back the Attack! Canadian Women During the Second World War, at Home and Abroad. Toronto, ON: Macmillan of
Canada, 1985. Bucher, Greta. „Women in World War II.”World War II in Europe, Africa, and
the Americas, With General Sources: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Eds. Loyd E. Lee
and Robin D. S. Higham. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. 367-82. Gossage, Carolyn.
Greatcoats and Glamour Boots: Canadian Women at War (1939-1945). Toronto, ON: Dundurn
Press, 1991. Latta, Ruth. The Memory of All That: Canadian Women Remember World War II.
Burnstown, ON: General Store Pub. House, 1992. Popham, Hugh. F.A.N.Y.: The Story of the
Women's Transport Service, 1907-1984. London: Leo Cooper, 1984. Render, Shirley. No Place
for a Lady: The Story of Canadian Women Pilots, 1928-1992. Winnipeg, MB: Portage & Main
Press, 1992. Schwartz, Paula. „Redefining Resistance: Women's Activism in Wartime
France.”in: Higonnet et al., Behind the Lines, 141-53. Stone, Tessa. „Creating a (Gendered?)
Military Identity: The Women's Auxiliary Airforce in Great Britain in the Second World
War.”Women's History Review 8.4 (1999): 605-20. Terry, Roy. Women in Khaki: The Story of
the British Woman Soldier. London: Columbus Books, 1988. Thomson, Joyce A. The WAAAF
in Wartime Australia. Carlton, Vic., Portland, OR: Melbourne University Press, 1991.
248
Cottam, Kazimiera J. In the Sky Above the Front: a Collection of Memoirs of Soviet Airwomen Participants in the Great Patriotic War. Manhattan, KS: MA/AH Pub, 1984. Cottam,
Kazimiera J. „Soviet Women in Combat in World War II: The Ground/Air Defense
Forces.”Women in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Tova Yedlin. New York: Praeger,
1980. 115-27. Cottam, Kazimiera J. „Soviet Women in Combat in World War II: The Ground
Forces and the Navy.”International Journal of Women's Studies 3.4 (1980): 345-57. Cottam,
Kazimiera J. „Soviet Women Soldiers in World War II: Three Biographical Sketches.”Minerva
18.3-4 (2001): 16-37. Cottam, Kazimiera J. „Soviet Womenin Combat in World War II: The
Rear Services, Resistance Behind Enemy Lines, and Military Political Workers.”International
Journal of Women's Studies 5.4 (1982): 363-78. Cottam, Kazimiera J. Women in Air War: The
Eastern Front of World War II. New York, Ottawa, ON: Legas, 1997. Cottam, Kazimiera J.
Women in War and Resistance: Selected Biographies of Soviet Women Soldiers. Nepean, ON:
New Military Publishing, 1998. Cottam, Kazimiera J., and Galina Markova. Soviet Airwomen
in Combat in World War II. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace Historian, 1983. Cottam, Kazimiera J., Nikolai Vissarionovich Masolov, and Nikolai Vissarionovich Masolov. Defending Leningrad: Women behind Enemy Lines. Nepean, ON: New Military Pub, 1998. Erickson, John. „Soviet Women at War.”World Congress for Soviet and East European Studies:
World War II and the Soviet People. John Gordon Garrard, et al. New York: St. Martin's Press,
1993. 50-76. Goldman, Nancy Loring. „Russia: Revolution and War.”Female Soldiers-Combatants or Noncombatants? Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Nancy L. Goldman.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982. 61-84. Mathers, Jennifer G. „Women in the Russian
Armed Forces: A Marriage of Convenience?“ Minerva 18.3-4 (2000): 129-41. Noggle, Anne. A
Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Uni-
64
versity Press, 1994. Pennington, Reina. Amazons to Fighter Pilots: A Biographical Dictionary
of Military Women. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Pennington, Reina. „„Do Not
Speak of the Services You Rendered“: Women Veterans of Aviation in the Soviet Union.”Journal of Slavic Military Studies 9.1 (1996): 120-51. Pennington, Reina. „Offensive
Women: Women in Combat in the Red Army.”Time to Kill: The Soldier's Experience of War in
the West, 1939-1945. Eds. Paul Addison and Angus Calder. London: Pimlico Press, 1997. 24962. Pennington, Reina. „Women and Military Aviation in the Second World War: A Comparative Study of the USA and USSR, 1941-1945.”Ph.D. Thesis. University of South Carolina,
2000. Pennington, Reina, and John Erickson. Wings, Women, and War: Soviet Airwomen in
World War II Combat. Modern War Studies. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2001.
Smirnova-Medvedeva, Zoya Matveyevna, and Kazimiera Janina Cottam. On the Road to
Stalingrad: Memoirs of a Woman Machine Gunner. Nepean, ON: New Military Pub, 1997.
Erickson, John. „Night Witches, Snipers and Laundresses.”History Today 40 (1990): 29-35.
Herspring, Dale. „Women in the Russian Military: A Reluctant Marriage.”Minerva 15.2 (1997):
42-59. Julnes-Dehner, Noel. „Under Fire: Soviet Women Combat Veterans.”Minerva 15.2
(1997): 1-12. Myles, Bruce. Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat.
Novato, CA: Presidio, 1981. Ruthchild, Rochelle Goldberg. Women in Russia and the Soviet
Union: An Annotated Bibliography. New York, Toronto, ON: G. K. Hall, 1993. Rzhevskaia,
Elena. „Roads and Days: The Memoirs of a Red Army Translator.”Journal of Slavic Military
Studies 14.1 (2001): 53-106. Sartorti, Rosalinde. „On the Making of Heroes, Heroines, and
Saints.”Culture and Entertainment in Wartime Russia. Ed. Richard Stites. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995. 182-86. Smith, Gregory Malloy. „The Impact of World War II on
Women, Family Life, and Mores in Moscow, 1941-1945.”Ph.D. Thesis. Stanford University,
1989. Zaloga, Steven J., Zaloga, Steven J. „Soviet Air Defense Radar in the Second World
War.”Journal of Soviet Military Studies 2.3 (1988): 104-16. Zhigulenko, Evgenia. „Those Magnificent Women in Their Flying Machines.”Soviet Life.May (1990): 12-15.
65
1. Introduction
1.3.3 Research on the WAAC and the WAC:
The classic and most comprehensive study on the WAAC and the WAC is Mattie E.
Treadwell’s The Women’s Army Corps, published in 1954. Because this is an official
history, its purpose was more to defend women’s military service and create a blueprint
for further utilization of women in the Army than to analyze gendered and racialized
constructions of the woman|soldier . The author served as assistant to the Director WAC
and in other assignments and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Although Treadwell’s book is an incredible resource, it is restricted to telling the „official version”.
Treadwell’s explicit goal was to tell the success story of the integration of women in the
WAAC and the WAC and to provide a blueprint for the future utilization of women in
the military.249
Another comprehensive history of military women is Jeanne Holm’s Women in the
Military: An Unfinished Revolution.250 Holm, who was at the time the highest-ranking
woman ever to serve in the U.S. military, covers the history of women in the armed
forces from the nineteenth century to the battles of the combat exclusion policies during
the second Gulf War. Her book is extremely valuable in providing the context in which
the WAC and other women’s services were created and expanded women’s roles. Another volume that Jeanne Holm and Judith Bellafaire have edited covers the women’s
services and nurse corps of the Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast
249
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps. The second volume on the WAC published by the
U.S. Army Center of Military History is Morden, Bettie J. The Women's Army Corps, 19451978. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1990. It covers the thirty-three years of
WAC history between V-J Day and the disbandment of the WAC 1978. Morden enlisted in the
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942 and served throughout World War II. Colonel Morden
retired in 1972 and was two years later recalled on active duty to write the WAC history. For a
short history of the WAC see Bellafaire, The Women's Army Corps. Apart from these general
accounts there are also several Army publications on specific commands or units. Kovach,
Karen. Breaking Codes, Breaking Barriers: The WACs of the Signal Security Agency, World
War II. Fort Belvoir, VA: History Office, Office of the Chief of Staff, US Army Intelligence
and Security Command, 2001. Risch, Erna. A Wardrobe for the Women of the Army. Springfield, VA: Historical Section, General Administrative Services Division, Office of the Quartermaster General, 1945. Risch, Erna. Quartermaster Support of the Army: A History of the Corps,
1775-1939. Washington, DC: GPO, 1962.
250
Holm, Women in the Military.
66
Guard in World War II. This richly illustrated book is also very useful in providing
context and comparison between the women’s services.251
The most important work for this study is Leisa D. Meyer’s Creating G.I. Jane: Sexuality and Power in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.252 Meyer analyzed the
WAC’s often contradictory policies, practices and discourses on the women’s sexual
agency from a point of view that integrates the categories race, sexuality and class in her
account of gendered power relations in the Army. The book is meticulously researched
and Meyer has uncovered documents that neither the official Army histories nor the
ego-documents on or by gay and lesbian servicemembers had taken into account.
Specifically dealing with African American and Japanese Wacs, respectively, are
Brenda Moore’s two studies To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race and Serving Our
Country: Japanese American Women in the Military during World War II. Martha Putney’s When the Nation was in Need is also a very useful, non-autobiographical work on
African American Wacs.253
251
Holm, Jeanne, ed. In Defense of a Nation: Servicewomen in WWII. Arlington, VA: Vandamere Press, 1998. See also Alsmeyer, Marie Bennett. „Those Unseen, Unheard Arkansas
Women: WAC, WAVES, and Women Marines of World War II.”Minerva 12.2 (1994): 15-33.
252
Meyer, Leisa D. „Creating GI Jane: The Women's Army Corps During World War II.”Ph.D.
Thesis. University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1993 was submitted as doctoral dissertation to the U.
of Wisconsin, Madison in 1993. Meyer, Leisa D. Creating GI Jane: Sexuality and Power in the
Women's Army Corps. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. Meyer, Leisa D. „Creating
GI Jane: The Regulation of Sexuality and Sexual Behavior in the Women's Army Corps During
World War II.”Feminist Studies 18.3 (1992): 581-601. „The Lesbian Threat Within the WWII
WAC.”Women & War in the Twentieth Century: Enlisted With or Without Consent. Ed. Nicole
Ann Dombrowski. New York: Garland, 1999. 186-211. Humphrey, Mary Ann. My Country,
My Right to Serve: Experiences of Gay Men and Women in the Military, World War II to the
Present. New York: HarperCollins, 1990.
253
Moore, Brenda L. Serving Our Country: Japanese American Women in the Military During
World War II. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Moore, Brenda L. To Serve
My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African American WACS Stationed
Overseas During World War II. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Putney, Martha
S. When the Nation Was in Need: Blacks in the Women's Army Corps During World War II.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992. Newman, Debra L. „The Propaganda and the Truth:
Black Women and World War II.”Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military 4.4
(1986): 72-92.
67
1. Introduction
This study builds on the groundwork Leisa Meyer has laid with her critical study focusing on sexuality and power in the WAC, but at the same time integrates the theoretical and methodological perspectives and findings of international, non-US scholars on
gender and the military. By employing a cultural studies approach and including the experiences of African American, Japanese Americans and Puerto Ricans Wacs I emphasize the interconnectedness of the „mediated categories” race, gender, sexuality and
class. In contrast to a purely discourse-oriented approach, this study also stresses the
praxeological aspects of the WAC’s history. The symbolic interactions of Wacs, the
military organization, civilian society, politics, the media and the public occur not only
through language, but also through practices.
1.4 Sources
1.4.1 Archival Sources
There is a wealth of federal records on the Women’s Army Corps in the National Archives (NARA). Record group (RG) 94 contains the records of the Adjutant General’s
Office. Most relevant for this study have been the many unit histories collected here that
speak in detail of the work the WAAC/WAC did. Also in this record group are notes
and correspondence of the Office of the Chief of Military History, Historical Services
Division, including early stages and unpublished manuscripts of Mattie Treadwell’s
history of the Women’s Army Corps. Finally, the documents of the National Civilian
Advisory Committee for the WAC account for the positions of prominent civilian
women with whom the WAC Director was required to maintain close liaison. The records of the Office of the Inspector General of the Army (RG 159) include few but important documents regarding inspections and investigations conducted by the Inspector
General regarding the WAC’s efficiency, discipline and welfare, among them the proceedings of an investigation of suspected homosexual behavior at Fort Oglethorpe,
GA.254 Record Group 165 contains records of the War Department General and Special
Staffs. These include the Personnel Division (G-1), which from February of 1944 on in254
Investigation at 3rd WAC Training Center Fort Oglethorpe. NARA. RG 159, Entry 26F, Box
17A, File 333.9. June and July, 1944.
68
cluded the administrative home of the Office of the Director, WAC (DWAC), the Military Intelligence Division (G-2), the Organization and Training Division (G-3) and the
Supply Division (G-4) as well as the records of several special staff divisions such as
the Bureau of Public Relations (BPR) and the War Department Manpower Board. RG
165 contains a wealth of material on the WAC, ranging from policies to the legislative
process leading to the WAAC and WAC Bills and to the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. The formerly classified correspondence of the WAC Director in itself
deals with the full range of daily concerns. There are records on administrative, operational and organizational practices and policy matters, historical and background material, on advertising and public relations as well as medical aspects. RG 319 encloses the
records of the office of the Chief of Staff. Of particular interest for this study were the
records of the Women’s Interest Section of the War Department’s Bureau of Public
Relations and the records of the Assistant Chiefs of Staff. The records of the Office of
the Secretary of War (RG 330) contain a series of studies and surveys of the attitudes of
military personnel, of soldiers’ and public attitudes toward the WAC and one survey of
Wacs. The surveys collectively referred to as the „American Soldier in WWII” as well
as several reports and analyses based on them, provide insight in soldiers’ attitudes toward women in various branches of the military as well as Wacs’ attitudes concerning
their motivation to join and experience in the WAC. The records of the Adjutant General’s Office (RG 407) include documents related to discipline and discharge, recruiting,
training and medical examinations, uniforms and regulations, morals and conduct, rosters and strength reports as well as documents pertaining to desertion, detention, separation and discharge.
Among the sources in the National Archives are also a number of Camp Newspapers
and other ego-documents, which were produced by Waacs in the field, mostly for recreative purposes. Newsletters such as „WAAC Quacks”, „Dear Folks”, „WAACtivities” and others which were only allowed to exist only until March 1943 offer important insights into how Waacs saw themselves, their service and the Corps and how
they dealt with military life and the often adverse public opinion.
69
1. Introduction
Besides the National Archives, the manuscript division of the Library of Congress,
particularly the papers of the WAAC’s first Director Oveta Culp Hobby were of great
importance for this study.255 Hobby’s papers contain a wealth of correspondence,
engagement calendars, invitations, photos, clippings and printed matter such as
yearbooks and Army publications.256 Reproductions of the papers of Mary McLeod
Bethune, the originals of which are located in the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation
Archive on the Bethune-Cookman College campus, Daytona Beach, Florida, are also
among the holdings of the Library of Congress. The National Council of Negro Women
(NCNW) and its president Mary McLeod Bethune tirelessly advocated and supported
Black women’s service in the WAC. The archives of the U.S. Army Military History
Institute at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA contain several collections of
personal papers of WAC officers and enlisted women. Wacs who deployed to the
Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) came in contact with their Australian counterparts of
the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS), as documented by oral histories and
manuscript collections in the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC.
1.4.2 Published Sources
A number of former Wacs have published their recollections of the war, their diaries or
their wartime letters. These sources provide valuable insights into what life was like in
the top-secret facilities of the Manhattan Project, the tropical climate of the South West
Pacific or in a lab on a Texas Air Force Base. The women tell us about the communities
they came from, about adjusting to Army discipline, about camaraderie as well as monotonous workdays and the dull routine of „kitchen police” and about the excitement of
doing things for the first time.257 Numerous personal narratives have been recorded and
255
Oveta Culp Hobby. Papers, 1941-1952. Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. Washington, DC.
256
The WAC Museum, then at Fort McClellan, AL was closed at the time of research. It is now
part of the Army Woman's Museum at Fort Lee, VA. and its extensive collections of uniforms,
video tapes of oral histories and wartime documents are again accessible.
257
Weise, Selene H. C. The Good Soldier: A Story of a Southwest Pacific Signal Corps WAC.
Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 1999. Dahlgren, Cyclone Forbes. We Were First: Eglin
Field WW II WACS - We Heard the Guns at Wewak. Brownsville, TX: Springman-King Co.,
1977. Roensch, Eleanor Stone. Life Within Limits: Glimpses of Everyday Life at Los Alamos,
New Mexico, Seen Through the Experiences of a Young Female Soldier While on Military
70
Service There, May 1944 to April 1946. Los Alamos, NM: Los Alamos Historical Society,
1993. Women's Army Corps Veterans Association. Cameo Recollections of Women's Army
Corps Veterans. Cleveland, OH, Kansas City, MO: Women's Army Corps Veterans Association, 1983. Phillips, Harry Irving, and Herbert Roese. …All-Out Arlene: The Story of the Girls
behind the Boys behind the Guns. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran and Co., Inc., 1943. Adkins, Yolanda. Skirt Patrol : Women's Army Corps, Army of the United States. 1st ed. New
York: Vantage Press, Inc., 1993. Bandel, Betty, and Sylvia J. Bugbee. An Officer and a Lady:
The World War II Letters of Lt. Col. Betty Bandel, Women's Army Corps. Hanover, NH, Arlington, VA: University Press of New England in Association with the Military Women's Press
of the Women in Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, 2004. Boles, Antonette.
Women in Khaki. New York: Vantage Press, 1953. Campbell, Joan, and Eleanor Stoddard.
„One Woman's War: The Story of Joan Campbell, Member of the Women's Army Corps, WWII
April 1943-September 1945. Part 1.”Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military 4.1
(1986): 157-66.Green, Anne Bosanko. One Woman's War: Letters Home From the Women's
Army Corps, 1944-1946. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1989. Henderson,
Aileen Kilgore. Stateside Soldier: Life in the Women's Army Corps, 1944 -1945. Women's Diaries and Letters of the South. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. Kelly,
Emma Chenault, and Alice Elizabeth Tolle. Emmaline Goes to War. Charleston, IL: BLT & J
Pub., 1992. Miller, Grace Porter. Call of Duty: A Montana Girl in World War II. Baton Rouge,
LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1999. Perdue, Bernice. WAC Confidential. New York:
Exposition Press, 1963. Robinson, Harriet Green. The Gaylord WACS. Laguna Beach, CA:
Laurel Press, 2001. Thurston, Doris Joy. A WAC Looks Back: Recollections & Poems of
WWII. Stuart, FL: Norvega Press, 1996. Bachle, Rosemary Eckroat. Women's War Memoirs.
Waco, TX: Western Heritage Books, 1999. Flint, Margaret. Dress Right, Dress: The Autobiography of a WAC. New York: Dodd, Mead & company, 1943. Grahn, Elna Hilliard. In the Company of WACs. Manhattan, KS: Sunflower University Press, 1993. Harten, Lucille B. „Life As
a WAC: The Story of Louise Parkin.”Rendezvous 22.2 (1987): 87-89. Autobiographies by African American and Japanese American WAC veterans include: Earley, Charity Adams. One
Woman's Army: A Black Officer Remembers the WAC. College Station, TX: Texas A&M
University Press, 1989. Charity Adams Early was the commander of the only African American
contingent of Wacs to serve in Europe. See also Sims-Wood, Janet Louise. „'We Served America Too!' Personal Recollections of African Americans in the Women's Army Corps During
World War II.”Union Institute, 1994. Pitts, Lucia M. One Negro WAC's Story. Los Angeles,
CA: Privately published, 1968. Hirose, Stacey Yukari. „Japanese American Women and the
Women's Army Corps, 1935-1950.”M.A. Thesis. UCLA, 1993. Women's Army Corps Veterans
Association. Cameo Recollections. Chrisman, Catherine Bell. My War: WWII As Experienced
by One Woman Soldier. Denver, CO: Maverick Publishers, 1989. Kochendoerfer, Violet A.
One Woman's World War II. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1994. Pollard,
Clarice F. Laugh, Cry, and Remember: The Journal of a G.I. Lady. Phoenix, AZ: Journeys
Press, 1991. Pollard, Clarice F. „Waacs in Texas during the Second World War.”Southwestern
Historical Quarterly 93.1 (1989): 61-74. Pollock, Elizabeth R., Ruth Frances Duhme, and Page
Cary. Yes, Ma'am! The Personal Papers of a WAAC Private. Philadelphia, PA, New York: J. B.
Lippincott Company, 1943. Redmann, Betty Beyers. How Memories Are Made: The Journal of
an Air WAC. Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press, 1975. Smith, Kathleen E. R., and Miller, Emily
Ulrich. Lieutenant Colonel Emily U. Miller: A Biography. Natchitoches, LA: Northwestern
State University Press, 1984. Personal Narratives of service in overseas theaters include: Dammann, Nancy. A WAC's Story: From Brisbane to Manila. Sun City, AZ: Social Change Press,
1992. Edgar, Louise E. Out of Bounds. Philadelphia, PA: Dorrance, 1950. Green, Blanche.
Growing Up in the WAC: Letters to My Sister, 1944-46. New York: Vantage Press, 1987. Lutz,
Alma, ed. With Love, Jane: Letters From American Women on the War Fronts. New York:
71
1. Introduction
printed since the 1940s, very few of them are critical of the WAC, but sometimes invaluable in providing every day accounts of very different lives.
The Minerva Center, founded by Linda Grant DePauw in 1986, publishes the only
scholarly journal entirely devoted to women’s military studies, MINERVA: Quarterly
Report on Women and the Military. The Minerva center also maintains an H-net discussion list, which serves its over 500 members, active servicewomen, women veterans as
well as scholars, as a forum.258
1.5 Structure
In the following second chapter, I will give an overview of the organizational history of
the WAAC and the WAC. The chapter begins with the Navy’s „Yeomanettes” of World
War I because they were the first women’s auxiliaries serving in uniform with a branch
of the United States armed forces. Planning continued during the interwar years until
the Act to Establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for Service with the Army of the
United States was signed in 1942. The chapter further summarizes the training the
women received, the jobs they were assigned and the policies and regulations by which
they were governed. After the war debates over women soldiers arose again when Congress debated whether the Corps should become part of the Regular Army and Reserve.
The chapter closes with the passing of the Women Armed Services Integration Bill of
1948.
The third chapter analyzes the role of the press, the various campaigns and strategies to
recruit the needed number of women volunteers and the belated attempts to support recruiting with a coordinated public relations policy. In competition with other women’s
services and the civilian labor market, WAC recruiting was conducted by different
John Day Company, 1945. Prior, Billy. Flight to Glory. Belmont, CA: Ponce Press, 1985.
Samford, Doris E. Ruffles and Drums. Boulder, CO: Printed by Pruett Press, 1966. Spratley,
Delores R. Women Go to War: Answering the First Call in World War II. Columbus, OH: Hazelnut Publishing Company, 1992. Watson, Georgia B. World War II in a Khaki Skirt. Moore
Haven, FL: Rainbow Books, 1985. Weirick, Dorothy Millard. WAC Days of WWII: A Personal
History. Laguna Nigel, CA: Royal Literary Publications, 1992.
258
[email protected].
72
Army and WAC agencies and explored different approaches that reflected conflicting
discourses on women’s proper role in the war effort. The chapter analyzes press coverage, recruiting material such as brochures and posters but it also looks at collections of
songs and camp newsletters that were in part produced by the Wacs themselves and that
provide a different angle at the discursive formation in and around the WAC.
The fourth chapter explores three different aspects of the women’s uniforms. Military
uniforms are a complex system of signs that allows us to analyze the women’s precarious position with the military institution. Although the Wacs are formally part of the organization, I argue that on a symbolic level the borders were redrawn in order to deny
women access to the military masculinity, which is at the core of the institution. Apart
from the symbolic significance, the uniform as well as the Army’s system of procurement and supply, has a material quality that further illuminates the WAC’s position
within the Army. Thirdly, wearing a uniform is a corporeal practice.259 The uniform is
at once part of the disciplinary system and subject to a host of performative acts as the
women wore the uniform.
Chapter five analyzes the intersections of the categories race and class with those of
gender and sexuality. African American women were double minority in the WAC.
Their integration was contingent of that of African American males in the Army. Besides being a minority as Wacs, they were also a segregated minority in the WAC. Their
assignments were often determined by racialized stereotypes of their gender and vice
versa . Although African American Wac’s opportunities in the continental United States
were extremely limited, those few who were sent overseas experienced in the absence of
segregation in Europe a strong sense of purpose and cohesion.
In the final chapter I will discuss the deployment of the women’s sexuality in the WAC.
The Army regulated, controlled and normalized women’s and men’s sexuality according to different standards. The notion of „respectability” was central to Director Hobby,
who was convinced that this was the only way to establish the legitimacy of the Corps
259
On the notion of corporeal practice see Burgett, Bruce. Sentimental Bodies: Sex, Gender, and
Citizenship in the Early Republic. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998, 157.
73
1. Introduction
while at the same time protecting the women from being victimized in the formerly allmale organization. The wartime standards of acceptable behavior were suspended between post-Victorian sexual mores, the disciplinary regime of the Army as exemplified
by the measures to control venereal diseases and less rigid mechanisms of social control
due to women’s greater mobility and autonomy. Within a regime of truth that constructs
women’s agency, particularly female sexual agency, as deviant, women as agents not
only reversed the gender-order of 1940’s America but were also expected to violate the
sexual order. While women in the workforce, especially in the military, were already
suspicious of an undue amount of agency, the quintessential violation of women’s preordained role was not the heterosexual woman who gave expression to her desire, but
the female homosexual. An excursus into the medical literature of the turn of the century will explore formations of knowledge that by the time of World War II had entered
popular discourses as well as the tool boxes of the Army’s new psychiatric establishment that was for the first time applying these concepts to women. Finally, by examining several investigations and courts-martial, I will explore women’s homosocial networks, agency and the deployment of sexuality as a strategic apparatus in the WAC.2.
Organizational History of the WAAC/WAC 1942-1947.
74
2. Organizational History of the WAAC/WAC 1942-1947
2.1 Utilization of Women in World War I and Planning
during the Interwar Years
Long before the army began to consider the admittance of women, the industrial revolution of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century had brought with it a significant
restructuring of the job market. Increasing numbers of women worked outside the home
and many were trained as typists, clerks or telephone operators in factories and businesses.260 Some of these tasks had become so thoroughly feminized that by the time of
the First World War it was difficult for the army to find skilled male typists and clerks.
Neither public opinion nor the attitude of Army planners, however, had kept pace with
these occupational changes in the civilian industries. Women were considered as having
a weaker constitution and suffering from frequent ailments. Certainly, men could not be
expected to work under the direction of a woman. As one Air Corps Officer wrote in
1930, women had a „physiological handicap, which renders her abnormal, unstable,
etc., at certain times.”261 Apart from the Army and Navy Nurse Corps, the United States
did not even come close to the British example of utilizing women’s auxiliaries in several of their services.
Labor shortages in the American Expeditionary Force were significant. On 8 October
1917, General John J. Pershing requested one hundred women telephone operators who
spoke French and he recommended that they be uniformed. The women who were sent
were civilian contract employees, as were other groups of women who worked for the
Quartermaster General, the Ordnance Department and the Medical Corps, none of
whom had military status. Eventually, the AEF was „loaned” members of the British
women’s Auxiliary Army Corps to ease the shortage of skilled personnel.262 Addition-
260
For civilian women workers during the WWI era see Greenwald, Women.
Cited in Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 5.
262
There is an alternative account on these women that suggests that they have not only worked
with the Signal Corps, but also were actually sworn into the Army and given the equivalent to
the men's rank of lieutenant. They were addressed as „soldier,“ were subject to Court-Martial
and to all U.S. Army regulations. According to this account, five contingents of the 300 selected
and trained in „self-defense“, 223 women in total were dispatched to Chaumont, when the as261
75
ally, numerous civilian volunteer groups sent thousands of women welfare workers
overseas. Another request for women clerical workers to replace enlisted men came
from the commanding general of the AEF’s Services of Supply, Maj. General James G.
Harbord, in 1918. In the War Department considerable debate arose over the question
whether a group of 5000 women should be organized as part of the Army Service
Corps, as the AEF had suggested. Despite support from military agencies, the War Department’s position remained that it was not convinced of „the desirability or feasibility
of making this most radical departure in the conduct of our military affairs.”263 When
legislation was introduced in Congress in December 1917 to enlist women, the Secretary of War disapproved and stated that he considered the enlistment of women „unwise
and highly undesirable”.264
The Navy, however, interpreted existing legislation differently. In 1916 Secretary of the
Navy Josephus Daniels realized that as the United States headed for involvement in the
war, the Navy would not be able to meet its manpower demands on shore establishments and headquarters as more and more men were called for duty with the fleet. In
March 1917 the Navy Department authorized the enrollment of women into the Naval
Reserve. A year later the Marine Corps came to the same conclusion. Almost 12,000
women served stateside in the rank of Yeoman-F with full military status.265 Joy Bright
tonishing news of Victory arrived on November 11, 1918. If these women had indeed been
sworn in the Army, they were the first women in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, - the only military women other than nurses - to serve overseas during World War One. Even though ten of
them actually received a commendation „In Grateful Recognition“ from Congress, all records
were lost after they had returned, and they were told they had been „contract-employees“ although the Army was never able to produce a single contract. In 1978, the surviving “Hello
Girls” received honorable discharges in ceremonies atb their homes. On 20 July 1977, Representative Mark W. Hannaford introduced H. R. 8433, A Bill to allow service performed by
members of telephone operating units of the Army Signal Corps during WWI to be considered
active duty in the Army for purposes of all laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration.
The bill was referred to the House Committee of Veterans’ Affairs but never passed. Library of
Congress. Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet. Bill Summary and Status for the
95th Congress. URL: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/search.html. 23 August 2005. Christides, Michelle. The Unsung Women of World War One: The Signal Corps Women. Web Page. URL:
http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/signal.html. 3 May 2003.
263
Cited in Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 7. Harbord’s request for skilled personnel
was answered with 5,000 limited-duty, unskilled enlisted men.
264
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 7.
265
Friedl, Women , 57.
76
Hancock, then Captain USN and later assistant chief of staff of Naval Personnel for
Women, described Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels's retelling of his solution to
this problem:
„’Is there any law that says a yeoman must be a man?’ I (Daniels) asked my legal advisors. The answer was that there was not, but that only men had heretofore been enlisted. The law did not contain the restrictive word ‘male.’ ‘Then enroll women in the Naval Reserve as yeomen,’ I said, ‘and we will have the best
clerical assistance the county can provide.’ Tremendous gasps were heard, but
this was an order, and it was carried out.”266
While there was no law that said yeomen must be men, all yeomen were required to be
assigned to a ship. Navy regulations, of course, forbade women at sea. The ingenious
solution was to assign the yeomen-F to sunken tugboats that rested on the bottom of the
Potomac.267 57 „Yeomanettes” and „Marinettes”, as they were nicknamed, died in the
service, mainly from a deadly influenza epidemic. The women performed not only
clerical duties, but also served as draftsmen, translators and recruiters. They were the
first women other than nurses to have full military status as part of the reserves. By the
end of the war, 34,000 women had served in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps and in the
Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Army nurses served in Belgium, Italy, and England and on troop trains and transport
ships. Some contingents followed closely on the heels of the AEF, after they had landed
in France in June 1917 under General Pershing’s command. Army nurses had to minister to soldiers wounded by new types of weapons of mass destruction: tanks, machine
guns and poison gas. Mustard gas was the cause of most casualties and of particularly
painful, slow deaths. In the face of these conditions on the battlefields of Europe, the
need for more military doctors could no longer be ignored. The Surgeon General in
266
Hancock, Lady in the Navy. See also Hewitt, Linda L. Women Marines in World War I.
Washington: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1974. Devilbiss, Margaret Conrad. Women and Military Service: A History, Analysis, and Overview of
Key Issues. Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.: Air University Press, 1990, 12.
267
Thomas, Patricia J. Utilization of Enlisted Women in the Military. San Diego CA: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, 1975, c.i. Binkin, Martin, and Shirley J. Bach.
Women and the Military. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1977. See also Gavin, Lettie.
American Women in World War I: They Also Served. Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado, 1997.
77
Washington proposed commissioning women doctors but was told by the War Department that only persons „physically, mentally, and morally qualified” could be granted
commissions as medical officers.268 When the War Department’s efforts to recruit a su fficient number of male doctors failed, it changed its policy and eventually 350 (white)
women doctors were commissioned and sent overseas.
After the first peacetime Selective Service Act became law in September of 1940, the
pressure of women’s groups on the War Department for women to take part in the nation’s defense increased and several groups took recruiting and training of women in
their own hands. The Women’s League for Defense, 17,000 strong, organized semimilitary groups drilling with rifles and the YWCA offered their service „as the only
strictly military women’s organization in America.”269 Army representatives in England
reported on the model of the British WAAC and stressed that because of their own
manpower shortages, British women auxiliaries could not be „borrowed” by U.S. forces
in sufficient numbers. At this stage, Eleanor Roosevelt promoted the possibility of organizing a women’s pool for service with the armed forces under the authority of the
Office of Civilian Defense. With the end of the War the General Staff shelved the issue
of enlisting women, but admitted that „much more extended use of women” would have
been made, had the war continued.270
When hostilities ceased on November 11, 1918, the armed forces were rapidly dismantled and plans for a women’s military group came to an abrupt end. In 1920 Secretary of
War, Newton D. Baker appointed Anita Phipps as Director of Women’s Relations, U.S.
Army. Her job was mainly to keep pacifists at bay by explaining to women that the
Army was a „progressive, socially minded human institution” and that women voters
should not „fanatically demand the dissolution of a ruthless military machine.”271 When
Phipps left office in 1931, she had studied the experiences with utilizing women in the
US and in Britain and left behind a plan for a Women’s Service Corps that was to serve
in the Army, not as an auxiliary. She proposed that the women be fully trained and as268
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 10. Moore, Serving Our Country, 11.
270
271
Ibid., 11.
269
78
signed under the command of a woman officer in groups of no less than a squad per
station. All Army regulations were to apply, and special regulations for women as
needed. Another plan was devised by Army planner Maj. Everett S. Hughes, also of G-1
Division, General Staff. His plan, presented in 1928, proposed that most women were to
be employed by the industries and only those who were to be sent overseas or in danger
zones should be militarized and provided with equal rank and pay as men.272 Hughes’
plan was buried so deeply that Army planners who devised subsequent plans were not
aware of it and it was only uncovered after the WAAC had been in existence for six
months.273 In 1939, when General George C. Marshall was appointed Chief of Staff and
hostilities in Europe were imminent, another plan by the Army personnel staff (G-1)
called for a women’s corps modeled after the all-male Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC). Women would have civilian status, but be attached to the military „with a military form of organization, uniformed, given grades of rank, paid and cared for, employed under orders of Army Officers, administered by the Army's chain of command,
and governed by War Department Regulations, without being members of the Army.“274
Anticipated jobs for women included those of „hostesses, librarians, canteen clerks,
cooks and waitresses, chauffeurs, messengers, and strolling minstrels.“275 However, all
of these plans were filed away and the Army took no action to implement any of them
for eighteen months.
2.2 The WAAC and WAC Bills in Congress
When the first peacetime Selective Service became law in September 1940 and the
United States’ entrance into the war became ever more likely, pressure increased to include women in the war-effort. Women’s organizations pointed toward the example of
Great Britain and the Soviet Union where women served even in capacities that were
traditionally considered men’s work. Legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Edith
272
Memorandum E. S. Hughes, Major, General Staff, to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1; su: Participation of Women in War; 21 September 1928. NARA. RG 165. File 320.2, Box 175.
273
Letter E. S: Hughes, Maj. General, AUS, Deputy Theater Commander to Colonel T.B. Catron, ODWAAC, 13 May 1943. NARA. RG 165, File 320.2, Box 80.
274
275
Ibid.
79
Nourse Rogers was introduced in the House of Representatives on 28 May 1941.276
Rogers had originally opted for full, not auxiliary, military status for the women.277 She
argued that, unlike the female civilians who had gone overseas as contract workers and
volunteers during World War I, the women who were to serve with the Army in this war
should receive official recognition for their military service and the same legal protection and benefits as their male counterparts.278
Marshall ordered the General Staff to draft a bill that the War Department could support. In a report on the question of women's organizational status, the Assistant Chief of
Staff for personnel wrote, „the purpose of this study is to permit the organization of a
women's force along the lines which meet with War Department approval, so that when
it is forced upon us, as it undoubtedly will be, we shall be able to run it our way.“279
The other „threat” that Army officials feared was a proposal from the White House, in
which Eleanor Roosevelt suggested a pool of women that were to serve with the Army,
Navy and the Marine Corps, but were to be organized under the Office of Civilian Defense, a plan that would have severely limited control by military officials.280 The bill
that the General Staff had prepared and that Rogers finally introduced as a compromise
called for a corps of originally 25,000 women „for the purpose of making available to
the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation” for noncombatant service attached to, but not in, the Army.281 Congress would
authorize a strength of up to 150,000 auxiliaries, who were to be provided with food,
uniforms, living quarters, pay, and medical care. WAAC officers would not be permitted to have command authority over men. The highest ranking and commanding officer
of the WAAC would be called Director and assigned the rank of major. All other
WAAC officers were ranked as first, second, and third officers, but received less pay
276
HR 4906, A Bill to Establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for Service with the Army
of the United States, 77th Congress, 1st session, 28 May 1941.
277
Congressional Record, Vol. 88, No. 55, 2657, 17 March 1942.
278
Congressional Record, Appendix, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, 77th Congress, 1st sess.
17 March 1942. Vol.88, part 56:2658-59.
279
280
Gulick, Administrative Reflections, 104.
281
80
that the corresponding Army ranks of captains and lieutenant. Enlisted women were
ranked as auxiliary, a position comparable to private, through junior leader, comparable
to corporal and up to chief leader, the equivalent of master sergeant in the Regular
Army. As Jeanne Holm noted, there was a considerable contradiction in calling for „a
small, elite corps of educated, technically qualified women” in order to attain „the highest reputation for both character and professional excellence” and the using them for unskilled work as charwomen and laundresses.282 The fact that the women had to be of
„high moral character and […] competence” where no such standards existed for men
set the scene for the double standards that were to be programmatic for the women’s
services.283
Faced with fighting a two-front war and supplying men and material for that war while
continuing to send lend-lease material to the Allies, however, military and political
leaders realized that women could supply the additional resources so desperately needed
in the military and industrial sectors. General George C. Marshall believed firstly that
manpower shortages could reach critical levels and that secondly the Army could ill afford to train men in essential service skills such as typing and switchboard operations
when highly skilled women were already available. Marshall and others felt that women
were inherently suited to these tasks, which, while repetitious, demanded high levels of
manual dexterity. They believed that men tended to become impatient with such jobs
and might make careless mistakes, which could be costly during war. Although the
Chief of Staff supported the bill almost enthusiastically, it was routinely referred to the
bureau of the Budget and „immediately sank from sight […] for a full year.”284
When the Bureau of the Budget openly favored utilizing male limited service personnel
instead of women, Marshall employed the recently appointed Oveta Culp Hobby, who
headed the newly founded Women’s Interests Section of the War Department Bureau of
Public Relations to act as the only female representative of the War Department in the
282
Ibid.
284
283
81
negotiations with the Bureau of the Budget and later in Congressional hearings.285 Despite their efforts nothing happened until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On 11
December 1941, however, the Bureau of the Budget withdrew its objections and the
Secretary of War suggested some amendments, but otherwise informed Congress of his
approval of the bill. Rogers reintroduced the revised bill as H.R. 6293. Against the utilization of women as Civil Service employees the Air Corps advanced a powerful argument: The Aircraft Warning Service, on which the security of the east coast and the
capital depended, could not operate securely with civilian volunteers.286 After the House
and the Senate hearings and their respective committees’ approval, the bill was at length
debated on the House floor (ninety-eight columns in the Congressional Record) and met
with considerable opposition particularly on the part of the Southern congressmen on
the issue of militarization of women.
„I think it is a reflection upon the courageous manhood of the country to pass a
law inviting women to join the armed forces in order to win a battle. Take the
women into the armed service, who then will do the cooking, the washing, the
mending, the humble homey tasks to which every woman has devoted herself?“
was one comment. Despite the auxiliary status, fears were voiced in that a situation
would result in which „women generals would rush about the country dictating orders to
male personnel and telling the commanding officers of posts how to run their business.“287
Meanwhile, the War Department set up a pre-planning group and Lt. Col. Gilman C.
Mudgett was assigned the task of coordinating the establishment of the new corps.
There was ample misunderstanding: Firstly, the pre-planner and the various staff agencies involved worked under the assumption that Waacs were to replace not only enlisted
men, but also non-Civil Service civilian employees. Secondly, most stations were under
the impression that the Waac companies they were asked to request would not count
against a station’s troop basis and consequently asked for Waacs who would be assigned not technical and skilled clerical work, but unskilled labor and housekeeping du-
285
Unites States, Dept. of Defense, and Civil Defense Liaison Office. The Aircraft Warning
Service of the U.S. Air Force. Washington, DC: [GPO], 1950.
287
286
82
ties for which it was difficult to find civilians. Thirdly, the War Department assumed
that during the first year, some 10,000 Waacs and officers were to be trained – a number
that would in fact already be surpassed by the end of the year and continue to rise to in
60,243 in June 1943.288
In February 1942 the future WAC Director was added to the pre-planning group. The
War Department chose the chief of the Bureau of Public Relations' Women's Interests
Section, Oveta Culp Hobby. Hobby was a lawyer, editor and publisher of a Houston
newspaper and had been a parliamentarian of the Texas legislature. Her husband was
the former Texan Governor William P. Hobby. She was president of the Texas League
of Women Voters, and civic worker in numerous state and city organizations of both
men and women. „Oveta Culp Hobby was thus the perfect choice for Director of the
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. [...] The Director of the WAAC had to show a skeptical American public that a woman could be „a lady“ and serve as a member of the
armed forces at the same time. This was crucial to the success of the WAAC.“289 On 14
May 1942, the Senate approved the WAAC Bill, albeit with none of the amendments
that would have placed the WAAC in the Army and would have granted the women full
military status. The next day it was signed into law by the President as PL 77-554, An
Act to Establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for Service with the Army of the
United States.290
The Navy, by way of comparison, faced similar problems: The legal loophole, that had
made it possible to recruit the „Yeomanettes” during WWI, had been closed by the Naval Reserve Act that limited eligibility for service to male citizens.291 After this was r enewed at the onset of the war and after the Navy had declined to support a joint bill to
provide women auxiliaries to the Army and the Navy, the attitudes of the higher eche-
288
Bellafaire, The Women’s Army Corps.
290
WAAC Regulations and ranks were modeled after those of the Army but separate and clearly
distinguishable. For example, the commanding officer of the WAAC/WAC was the Director,
which corresponded to the Colonel in the Army but implied less military authority and command. WAAC officers could only command WAAC units whereas both civilian and military
male superiors commanded the Waacs who worked for them.
291
Naval Reserve Act of 1938, United States, Statutes at Large, 52 Stat. 1178.
289
83
lons of the Navy changed considerably in the months following Pearl Harbor. Naval
forces in the Pacific, in the summer of 1942 fighting the battles of Coral Sea and Midway Island and preparing for the long struggle for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands, had to be manned by sailors released from bases in the United States. This had
made it obvious that the Navy, too, was to encounter serious manpower shortages. By
May 1942, a bill similar to the WAAC Bill that created a Women’s Naval Reserve and a
Marine Corps Women’s Reserve was passed by Congress - with the notable difference
that the Navy bill granted full military status to the WAVES but forbid them to be assigned overseas. With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt and due to the fact that the Navy
bill was not introduced until the WAAC bill had passed all committees and the House
and taken the brunt of argument, the passage of P.L. 689 was comparatively smooth. 292
The auxiliary structure of the WAAC soon proved to be problematic. Waacs did Army
jobs, but were administered under a separate, parallel set of regulations, which led to
endless controversies between numerous agencies.293 It became clear that these admi nistrative handicaps would stay with the WAAC as long as it had auxiliary status. Waacs
were entitled neither to the same military rank or entitlements for dependents as soldiers
of the Regular Army, nor to benefits, such as government life insurance, veteran’s
medical coverage, and death benefits.294 Although they were permitted to go overseas,
292
In July 1942 P.L. 689 established the Navy Women's Reserve, which was from the onset integrated into the Naval Reserve and not a separate „women's corps“ like the WAC in the Army
structure. The Navy women were, however, soon known by the acronym WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), thus establishing at least the perception of a separate
women's organization. P.L. 689 also established the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve; they were
known as Women Marines. In November 1942 P.L. 773 established the US Coast Guard
Women’s Reserve. Their acronym, SPARs, came from the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus—Always Ready. Although for organizational purposes the women were in the reserve component of their respective service branches, virtually all of these women reservists were called
to serve on active duty. Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 15. Holm, Women in the Military, 25-7, Hancock, Lady in the Navy, 56.
293
WAAC Regulations included a code of conduct and covered appointment, enlistment, promotion, discipline, training, uniforms, pay, and discharge. Where WAAC Regulations did not
cover a particular situation, Army regulations were to be used. Punishment under the WAAC
Regulations could only be administered by WAAC officers, although male officers and civilian
supervisors had the authority over the women who worked for them. WAAC Regulations.
NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
294
WAAC Officers’ ranks third, second and first officer, field director, assistant director and
director corresponded with the ranks of second lieutenant through colonel in the Army. Enlisted
84
they did not receive overseas pay nor would they in the event of capture being protected
under existing international agreements covering prisoners of war.295 Far more impo rtant than administrative difficulties and eligibility to soldiers’ benefits was the question
of a legally sound and viable disciplinary system. With very few exceptions such as deployment overseas, Waacs, like other civilians, could not be tried by courts-martial or
be subject to the Articles of War. Instead, the WAAC had its own code of conduct,
which was limited to civilian punishments such as fines, reprimands, restrictions, or discharge.296 In several instances where Waacs were „absent without leave“ (AWOL),
military police was unsure whether Army regulations applied and whether they had the
authority to arrest a Waac. The Judge Advocate General found that there was apparently
no legal foundation to the whole WAAC disciplinary system.297
Army historian Mattie Treadwell concluded „[I]t was now clear that the Army had little
more hold over Waacs than over civilian workers. The women could obviously leave
the service at any time they desired, just as a civilian employee could. Under such conditions it would be risky to replace thousands of trained men on any very vital or secret
work with an equal number of Waacs who might depart as readily as other civilians.
The large women's corps, which the War Department planned, could scarcely be built
on such shaky foundations.“298 On 14 January 1943 Congresswoman Rogers introduced
a new bill and Congress opened hearings on the conversion of the WAAC into the
WAC as part of the Regular Army.299 On July 1, 1943, the Act to establish a Women's
Army Corps in the Army of the United States became law. It provided the women
ranks, titles and pay comparable to that of their male counterparts.300 Irene Brion, then
stationed with a WAAC contingent, wrote in her memoir:
women held the ranks of auxiliary, junior leader, leader, staff leader, technical leader, first
leader and chief leader which corresponded with Army ranks from private up to master sergeant. Until November 1, 1942 Waacs were paid less than their male counterparts in the Regular
Army.
295
Holm, Women in the Military, 24; Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 113-121.
296
WAAC Regulations 1942 Tentative; sec 47. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
297
298
Ibid., 117.
299
HR 1751. 8 Feb 43; 78th Cong 1st sess.
300
With the conversion former WAAC first, second, and third officers became captains and first
and second lieutenants, respectively. Director Hobby was officially promoted to the rank of
85
„By early August basic was nearing completion and all kinds of LRs (latrine rumors) were circulating. The WAAC was to become the WAC (Women's Army
Corps), a regular part of the army. This meant, for one thing, a different nomenclature in the ranking system. WAAC auxiliaries would be privates and first,
second, and third officers would be captains, first, and second lieutenants, respectively. WAAC noncoms already had army equivalents. What other changes
would be made? Like most LRs, they would not be for the good. We learned that
everyone would be discharged from the WAAC and would have to reenlist in the
WAC. That meant a chance to get out by not reenlisting. What a tempting
thought after the servitude of basic. Laura Ehman and I decided, half in tears,
that we could never face people back home, especially after all the sendoff parties and gifts. There was nothing to do but carry on. Besides, basic would be the
worst, and we were looking forward to our first assignment. Most of us
reenlisted. There was only one week of basic left when we were marched to the
post's huge parade ground for the swearingin [sic] ceremony. We moved onto
the field, formed the huge letters WAC (Company 6 of the 31st was down in the
right foot of the A), and repeated the oath, company by company. It was all very
exciting.” 301
In the Army's organizational structure, the new WAAC headquarters was under the
largest of the Army’s three major commands, the Services of Supply.302 This command
directed and managed administration, personnel, training, and supply matters for all of
the Army.
2.3 Training
The first class of officer candidates trained at the First WAAC Training Center in Fort
des Moines, Iowa, from 20 July to 29 August 1942. These first 440 Waacs, who had
been selected from over 35,000 applicants, were well-educated women compared to
subsequent groups. About 99 percent had been employed in civil life, 90 percent had
college training and some held several degrees. Most of them were between 25 and 39
colonel; WAC service command and theater staff directors were promoted to lieutenant colonels. Company commanders became WAC captains or majors now commanded WAC companies. Enlisted women were now ranked as master sergeant through corporal and private.
301
Brion, Irene. Lady GI: A Woman's War in the South Pacific. The Memoir of Irene Brion.
Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1997, 12.
302
Services of Supply (SOS) was renamed Army Service Forces (ASF) in March 1943.
86
years of age.303 The WAAC basic and officer candidate courses were identical with co rresponding courses for men, with the exception of combat subjects.
The forty African American women were placed in a separate platoon. Although they
attended classes and mess halls with the other officer candidates, post facilities were
segregated, as were all army stations. Black officer candidates had backgrounds similar
to those of white officer candidates. Almost 80 percent had attended college, and the
majority had work experience as teachers and office workers.304 After graduation on 29
August the first of the 436 new WAAC third officers were assigned to WAAC Headquarters to Washington, DC and to the operation and instruction at the Training Center.
New officer classes averaging 150 candidates began training every two weeks and upon
graduation were assigned to staff the three new WAAC training centers in Daytona
Beach, Florida; Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; and Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Some accompanied the first WAAC companies sent to U.S. Army field stations across the
country, with black officers being assigned to black auxiliary and officer candidate
units. Recruiting for enlisted women had started in July. The first auxiliary class started
its four-week basic training at Fort Des Moines on 17 August. The average WAAC
auxiliary was slightly younger than the officer candidates, with a high school education
and less work experience, but still more educated than the average male recruit.
2.3.1 Basic Military Training
Recruits arrived from recruiting stations all over the nation and were grouped into
classes for basic military training courses. Because of the small size of the corps,
WAAC and later WAC training centers performed some functions that reception centers
did for male recruits. After processing, the women were turned over to basic companies
that were to transform a civilian woman into „a physically fit, psychologically welladjusted, well-disciplined soldier who was informed of the duties, responsibilities, and
privileges of women in the Army.“305
303
305
304
87
The WAAC basic training program, with the exception of combat courses was almost
identical to the first four weeks of the men's basic course, including subjects such as
military courtesy, Articles of War, Army organization, drill, and others. After completion of the first four weeks the women were at once assigned to the field, unless they
went to specialist school or to the short technical courses for clerks, cooks, and drivers.306 WAAC officers and enlisted personnel were assigned to a 150-woman table of
organization (TO) company.307 Disappoin tingly for many women who had acquired
special skills in civilian life, these first units had spaces only for clerks, typists, drivers,
cooks, and unit cadre. The specialist courses that were also held at the training centers
immediately followed basic training and lasted for another four to twelve weeks.
Driver’s training was the most popular of the technical courses offered at WAAC/WAC
training centers. The six to eight week course also included maintenance, repair and lubrication, convoy driving, vehicle recovery and blackout driving. Future medical technicians went to the Enlisted Medical Technicians’ School at Camp Atterbury, Indiana
for a three to four months’ course as X-ray, laboratory, surgical, medical or dental technician. Additionally, three other Schools for enlisted men were opened to women in
1944, when medical technicians were needed in ever greater numbers.308
306
In 1944 the basic training period was extended to six weeks, the same length as the men's
course. War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, Press release: The Women’s Army Corps,
February 1, 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 1.
307
After conversion to Army status, WACs at first continued to be assigned under the bulk allotment system instituted in May 1943 for noncombatant units. Under that system, a commander
received a quota of WAC spaces by grade; he then submitted requisitions to obtain WACs with
particular skills. However, Commanders now had to account for the women and ensure that they
filled only authorized positions listed on manning documents, which described the military positions (by grade, position title, military occupational specialty, and branch) in every installation, activity, and unit in the Army. After May 1943, a manning document for a noncombat
(sometimes called an overhead) unit was referred to as a table of allotment (TA) or, later, a table
of distribution (TD); a manning document for a combat or combat-related unit was called a table
of organization (TO). Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 18-19.
308
War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, Press release: The Women’s Army Corps, February 1, 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 1.
88
2.3.2 Specialist Training
After the initial class of officer candidates, future generations of WAAC/WAC officer
candidates were selected from the ranks. Although WAC officers might be assigned to
many arms and services the WAC officer candidate school could only specialize in the
production of officers for WAC troop administration. „in its entire two years of existence the WAC school was allowed to receive only 750 candidates, in contrast to the
5,675 that had been received in only one year by the WAAC school.“309 When the ASF
took over the school in 1943, it extended the course from the previous eight weeks to
three months, similar to the length of men's officer candidate courses.
Enlisted women attended WAAC/WAC specialist courses or, provided that housing for
women was available, could attend Army non-combat specialist schools on a coeducational basis. Some students were sent direct from training centers to fill WAC quotas
allotted by the school concerned, and others were sent by Army stations. Among the
specialist schools that Wacs attended were the Army Finance School, the Photo Lab
Technician School and the Armored Parts Clerical Course, which covered receiving,
checking, accounting and packing of small arms, artillery parts or motor parts. Military
police were trained at the Investigators’ School, radio operators at the Signal Corps
Schools and officers at the Inspector general’s or the Adjutant General’s School. WAC
officers also attended the Army's Command and General Staff School at Fort
Leavenworth, or the ATS Wing of its British counterpart, the British Staff College to
train for doing staff work with the allied services.310 At times „faculties noted with a pproval a certain increased industry among competitive-minded male students.“311
309
War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, Press release: The Women’s Army Corps, February 1, 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 1.
311
310
89
2.4 Policies and Regulations
When the WAAC was formed in 1942, the War Department started from scratch. Although, as mentioned above, there had been earlier plans for a women’s corps, War Department planners were not aware of them and Hobby investigated other countries’ approaches to and experiences with utilizing women. Because of the WAAC’s civilian
status, Army Regulations could not be applied, particularly in matters of discipline.
The uncertainty of Army officers concerning legal matters, the administrative proceedings applicable for the WAAC and the proper command channels led to much confusion. Questions regarding the status of the WAAC ranged from whether Waacs might
use the franking privilege when mailing their letters, to whether a Waac should be buried with military honors. Countless different opinions existed between various agencies
under what circumstances Waacs would be considered „persons in military service.”312
According to existing legislation, the WAAC was a separate command with its headquarters located in the Services of Supply. Nine regional directors assigned to the headquarters of each of the corps areas served as a command echelon between the Director,
whose orders were issued by the Adjutant General, and the WAAC units. The field station to which a unit was assigned was responsible only for furnishing supplies, housing,
medical and dental care. Army officers had supervisory authority as with all civilian
employees, but no disciplinary authority.313 Discipline, promotion and discharge were
the responsibility of the WAAC company commander and her superior WAAC officers.
Court-martial was only possible overseas. Unlike with men, where the uniform Army
Regulations applied, disciplinary matters could not be handled at station level, but instead were always referred to WAAC headquarters.
There were countless instances in which Waacs did not receive privileges granted to
soldiers and WAVES. An Auxiliary received $21 where the Navy paid its recruits $50 a
month. Waacs were also not eligible for disability benefits, retirement or pensions and
veteran’s hospitalization in case she was injured but instead was discharged in case an
312
313
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 113-5.
WAAC Regulations, tentative (1942). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
90
injury or illness became permanent. These were, however, minor administrative difficulties compared to the shortcomings of the Auxiliary disciplinary system, which in itself was reason enough to abolish the Auxiliary system. The Articles of War were not
applicable to Waacs, or to other civilians, unless they were „accompanying an army in
the field”. The WAAC Regulations, which included a strict code of conduct, were limited to civilian punishment for minor infractions – the women could be restricted to
quarters, fined, reprimanded or discharged, but for major infractions the Army could not
subject WAAC members to court-martial, imprisonment, or dishonorable discharge.314
There was much disagreement over what precisely constituted „in the field”. Could a
Waac who was stationed on the Eastern seaboard, and thus potentially subject to enemy
attack, be tried by court-martial, as one station commander argued?315 What were the
proper procedures for military police if they apprehended a Waac who went AWOL
(absent without leave)? Cases of AWOL became too numerous for the Army to ignore,
but there was little it could do if civilian employees or Auxiliaries decided not to return
to their station.316 Under these ci rcumstances it seemed risky to replace trained men
with Waacs.
After the bill to establish a Women's Army Corps in the Army of the United States was
signed by the President on 1 July 1943, the Army had ninety days before the WAAC
would cease to exist and all Waacs had to be enlisted or commissioned in the WAC, or
discharged.317 For the first weeks after the conversion, despite an initial War Depar
t-
ment directive to the contrary, WAAC regulations still governed matters of uniform,
housing, training, medical care, and other issues. In matters of enlistment, discharge,
and military justice, however, Army regulations applied.318
In devising the first WAC Regulations Hobby attempted to assure that Waacs would
only be assigned to units commanded by a woman officer. The Army Service Forces,
314
WAAC Regs, tentative (1942), sec. 47.
316
Letter Oveta Culp Hobby on confinement of Waacs AWOL. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
186.
317
PL 110. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 221.
318
315
91
the War Department Manpower Board and other Army agencies felt their prerogatives
of transfer and assignment were curtailed if they could assign enlisted women only to
stations where a WAC officer was located. Although the ASF were reluctant to make
any changes in Army Regulations, they decided upon reconsideration, that one basic
Army Regulation for the WAC would be required: that under no circumstances would
women command men.319
The revised WAC Regulations provided for the following exceptions to Army Regulations: WAC units were to be commanded by WAC officers. Wacs could not be confined
in the same building with men, except a hospital. WAC messes had to be separate from
men’s and Wacs could not be employed in officers’ clubs, service clubs or messes. Enlistment standards also differed from those of men in age requirements and in a different
physical examination. Women who had enlisted as minors, that is under the age of 20,
were mandatorily discharged as were pregnant women or those with venereal disease.
Women with dependent children were ineligible.320
Additionally, some restrictions applied by act of Congress: WAC officers other than the
Director would not be promoted to the grade of colonel or above. WAC officers were
appointed only from graduates of officer candidate schools, who in turn would be selected only from women already in the Corps.
On the other hand, some requirements that were identical for women as for men nevertheless had to be spelled out explicitly because they were frequently violated: Wacs, like
any other military personnel, could only be assigned military jobs, could not replace civilians, and were not to be assigned as permanent kitchen police.321
The number of exceptions and amendments to Army regulations grew steadily over the
course of the war. One area in which Hobby requested many changes in Army Regula319
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 263-4. The Chief of Staff, General Marshall later
authorized, over ASF nonconcurrence, the publication of the revised WAAC Regulations
(1943), which contained the „safeguards” for women Hobby had proposed. A final version of
the revised WAC Regulations was published in October 1943. War Department Circular 289:
WAC Regulations. 9 November 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entr 55, Box192.
320
321
Ibid.
92
tions was that of standards for discharge. Unlike a male minor who misrepresented his
age in order to enter the Army, the discharge of a woman found to be under age was
mandatory. The concealment of dependent children, a fact which made women ineligible for enlistment, was considered fraudulent enlistment and according to Army Regulations the woman would be given a discharge other than honorable (blue). Another case
in point was discharge for misconduct. The WAAC regulations and the Code of Conduct had interpreted misconduct rather broadly to include offenses such as being found
„drunk in uniform or otherwise to bring discredit upon the Corps.”322 The defin ition of
„conduct bringing discredit upon the Corps“. Violations included „drinking unwisely or
without moderation.” Generally, it was considered undesirable „to drink at all while in
uniform, to buy packaged liquor, or to be found all evening in bars even if sober.”323
The WAAC’s discharge rules had been considerably more strict than comparable Army
Regulations. Under Army status and discharge regulations, however, many Army officers were reluctant to discharge a woman except for misconduct for which they would
discharge a man. Drunkenness, fighting and swearing, although generally considered
misconduct in a woman, were not usually considered grounds for discharge of a male
soldier. Over the course of the war, Director Hobby consistently argued in favor of a
double standard in this matter, which she considered essential for the morale and wellbeing of the Corps. Since female offenders could not be punished more severely than
male soldiers for the same offenses, Hobby recommended „that discharge boards be informed that it lay within their authority to define ‘habits and traits’ in line with the right
of unit members to decent surroundings as defined by American religious and social usage.”324
A double standard within the WAC was evident in the provisions for pregnancy discharge according to the first WAAC Regulations. They provided only for married
women to be honorably discharged when pregnant, while unmarried women would re-
322
Ibid., 499.
324
Ibid., 500.
323
93
ceive a summary discharge.325 A pregnancy, which made a woman intelligible for se rvice in the WAAC was thus treated like a violation of military or civil law, although
there was no legal charge that could be brought against a pregnant unmarried woman if
her conduct was not disorderly. In December 1942, the regulation was changed to permit an honorable discharge on the grounds of „unsuitability for the service.“326 Henceforth, WAC and Army Regulations required an honorable discharge for all pregnant
women without reference to marital status. Pregnancy „and the direct complications and
sequelae thereof“ would be considered as incurred „not in line of duty“ but with no misconduct involved.327
Among the disciplinary issues, the lack of provisions for the confinement of delinquent
Wacs soon became evident. Provost marshals did not know what to do with AWOL
Wacs who had to be confined for several days or even weeks until they could be returned to their stations. An experiment, which consisted of a small guardhouse for detention, a WAC officer and two enlisted women as military police in the larger cities,
was nevertheless disapproved by Military Personnel Division, ASF.328 In the absence of
female military police stations, confinement of WAC AWOLs was thus handled according to local arrangements with Wacs being confined to city jails if local WAC
companies would not accept custody of the delinquents. Finding a place to confine
Wacs who were sentenced to long terms by Army courts-martial proved even more difficult. Hobby’s suggestion of setting up a centralized WAC disciplinary barracks at one
of the training centers was not approved by the War Department.329 WAC prisoners
with longer sentences were transferred to the Federal Industrial Reformatory for
Women at Alderson, West Virginia. Federal facilities did accept military prisoners, provided the individual had committed a felony or violated a civil law. In cases of confinement over thirty days for offenses that did not violate civilian law, the WAC policy
325
Ibid., 501.
WAAC Circular No. 17, 29 Dec 1942. NARA. RG 165. Entry 55, Box 193.
327
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 501, 503. An example of a „sequel” of a pregnancy
would be the case of an abortion, which was hardly distinguishable from a miscarriage. Attempts by the Director to make abortion a cause for discharge were therefore unsuccessful. Only
if there proven „illegal abortions complete or incomplete will be regarded as misconduct.“
328
329
Memo Hobby, File: Trial and Punishment of WAC. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
326
94
during the war was to direct discharge instead of confinement for Wacs who could not
be transferred to Alderson and who did not appear to be useful members of the Corps.330
2.5 Women Soldiers at Work
After basic training, the women were formed into companies and sent to field installations of the Army Air Forces (AAF), the Army Ground Forces (AGF), or the Services
of Supply (in 1943 renamed Army Service Forces (ASF) Initially most auxiliaries
worked as file clerks, typists, stenographers, or motor pool drivers, but the number of
positions increased gradually as women were admitted to fill additional military operational specialties (MOS). The system of assignment by TA or TD (table of allotment or
later, of distribution) company had proved too inflexible for wartime and was eliminated for non-combat units in May 1943. Under the new system, post commanders received a bulk allotment of WAAC spaces, and then submitted requisitions to obtain individual women with the skills needed at their posts. The new system increased the variety of assignments open to enlisted women.
The Army Air Forces was the WAAC-friendliest of the major commands. They received the greatest share of the WAAC field units, or 35 percent of all Waacs.331 It was
the policy of General Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General, AAF, to employ Waacs
to the widest extent possible, to make up for manpower deficiencies. The first Air
Forces Waac unit, fifty-seven WAAC enrolled women and two officers, arrived at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on 3 March 1943 to work for the AAF's Map Chart Division.
By the end of the summer of 1943 there were 171 air bases, which had WAAC personnel. Hobby’s former aide and Acting Deputy Director, First Officer Betty Bandel, was
promoted to Major and given the title of Air WAAC Officer, the WAC's second-ranking
officer until Director Hobby retired. Toward the end of the war, when the AAF could
not recruit enough qualified men, the AAF placed women in its many technical specialties. Women were assigned as weather observers and forecasters, cryptographers, radio
operators and repairmen, sheet metal workers, parachute riggers, link trainer instructors,
330
331
95
bombsight maintenance specialists, aerial photograph analysts, and control tower operators. Over 1,000 Waacs ran the statistical control tabulating machines (the precursors
of modern-day computers) used to keep track of personnel records. By January 1945,
only 50 percent of AAF Wacs held traditional assignments such as file clerk, typist, and
stenographer. A few AAF Waacs were assigned flying duties as radio operators, mechanics and photographers. Some of the women assigned to the Ordnance Department
computed the velocity of bullets, measured bomb fragments, mixed gunpowder, and
loaded shells. Others worked as draftsmen, mechanics, and electricians, and some received training in ordnance engineering.332
The highest number of Wacs was employed with the Army Service Forces (ASF) (initially named Services of Supply). Wacs served in the geographic service commands as
well as in the technical and administrative services (Signal Corps, Ordnance Corps,
Quartermaster Corps, etc.), each of which had a WAC staff director. Within the Army
Service Forces 3600 Women were assigned to the Transportation Corps (ASF) where
they processed men for assignment overseas, handling personnel files and issuing
weapons or served as boat dispatchers and classification specialists. The Transportation
Corps also placed a senior WAAC staff director in its Washington headquarters, and
others in the various ports where Waacs were to be stationed thereby greatly facilitating
the requisition and assignment of Waacs. Late in 1944, a few women were trained to replace men as radio operators on the U.S. Army hospital ships Larkspur, Charles A.
Stafford, and Blanche F. Sigman. Soon after this, more female secretaries and clerical
workers were assigned to hospital ships.333
Waacs assigned to the Chemical Warfare Service (ASF) performed many kinds of work,
in laboratories as well as in the field. For the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) Waacs
were highly welcomed because their research would not be interrupted by combat duty.
For this reason they requested a WAAC staff director and received the first WAAC
company as early as April 1943. In the summer and early fall of 1942, immediately after
the establishment of the WAAC, chemical officers, under ASF direction, made a study
332
333
Bellafaire, The Women’s Army Corps, 12.
Ibid., 13.
96
of possible employment of Waacs in the CWS. It was decided that Waacs might be employed as replacements for enlisted men doing housekeeping duties in arsenals, as fillins for certain types of civil service positions where it was impossible to obtain civilians, and possibly, in chemical impregnating companies in the zone of the interior. In
the course of this study the Personnel Division, Office of the Chief, Chemical Warfare
Service (OC CWS), contacted the WAAC to ascertain what the chances were of securing the services of WAAC officers and auxiliaries. The Personnel Division was informed that all existing WAAC units had been earmarked for assignment outside the
CWS but that, not withstanding this fact the CWS should submit a requisition, which
would be filled if at all possible.334 The employment of Wacs in the CWS turned out to
be „successful beyond all expectation“. The COs and lab technicians who were at first
skeptical about employing Wacs on certain types of assignments, soon changed their
minds once the women got on the job.335
About 250 Waacs who worked for the Quartermaster Corps (ASF) managed supplies
stocked in depots all over the country. Over 1,200 WAACs assigned to the Signal Corps
(ASF)336 worked as telephone switchboard operators, radio operators, telegraph oper ators, cryptologists, and photograph and map analysts. Some were trained as photographers or became map analysts and learned to assemble, mount, and interpret mosaic
maps.337
Waacs within the Army Medical Department (ASF) performed clerical and ward duties
or worked as laboratory, surgical, X-ray, and dental technicians. A total of 20,869
Waacs served in the Medical Department where they made up to 50 percent of enlisted
personnel in larger hospitals. About 4,000 of them served as orderlies or performed
other non-medical tasks.
334
Brophy, Leo P., and George J. Fisher. The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War.
Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1959, 152.
335
Ibid., 154.
336
The WIRES (Women in Radio and Electrical Service) were assigned to the WAAC for radio,
telephone, and other communications work.
337
Thompson, The Signal Corps, 49,95,181, 182, 316, 495 497, 509, 516, 595, 596, 601, 602,
621.
97
The women of WAC Detachment, 4817th SCU, assigned to the Corps of Engineers participated in the Manhattan Project. They worked in chemical, electronic, metallurgic and
other laboratories, as engineering draftsmen, chemists, physicists and clerks at the sites
at Los Alamos, NM, in London and at Oak Ridge, TN. Many of them college graduates,
some holding a Ph.D. in chemistry, the Wacs worked twelve-hour shifts seven days a
week in a highly restricted environment.338
Most AGF units had combat missions, where the women’s non-combat status precluded
their assignment. Many staff officers of the Army Ground Forces would have preferred
to see women in the war industries, rather than in the armed forces. Moreover, most of
the administration of schools and other installations was done by the ASF, so that no
Waacs were needed here, either. AGF Plans Section, for example, was flatly opposed to
employing any significant number of Waacs: „In view of the educational, occupational,
and physical training of the average American woman, it is anticipated that it would be
extremely difficult to adapt them to military duties. […] With the exception of a very
limited number of assignments […] there is no reasonable field for utilization of women
in the military structure.“339 Eventually, the AGF received roughly 20 percent of all
WAAC assignments, but initially were reluctant to request any women. The Ground
Forces declined to accept the assignment of a WAAC staff director or any WAAC officer in its headquarters. This attitude reflected on the Waacs who were assigned to the
AGF and who did not feel welcome and realized that chances for transfer and promotion
were slim. Three quarters of the Waacs who worked in training centers performed routine office work. Motor pools were much more popular among Waacs, but only 10 percent were assigned there.
338
339
Bell, Los Alamos WAACs/WACs. Roensch, Life Within Limits.
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 133
98
2.6 Overseas Service
Members of the Women's Army Corps served in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and
the European Theater of Operations (ETO) as well as in the Southwest Pacific area,
China, India, Burma, and the Middle East. Overseas assignments were much sought after, even though the vast majority consisted of those communications and clerical jobs
for which women were believed to be best suited. Overseas assignments required for a
woman to possess some needed skill as well as an excellent record. Some women favored an overseas assignment over the chance to attend Officer Candidate School. Conditions differed considerably between the theaters of operations, as the following examples illustrate.
On 13 November 1942, five days after Operation Torch, the landing of allied forces in
North Africa had begun, the Allied Commander in Chief Dwight D. Eisenhower asked
that five WAAC officers, two of whom could speak French, be sent immediately to Allied Forces Headquarters to serve as executive secretaries. The troopship carrying the
first WAAC officers to serve overseas, third officers Martha Rogers, Mattie Pinette,
Ruth Briggs, Alene Drezmal, and Louise Anderson was torpedoed en route from Great
Britain to Algiers by a German submarine. A British destroyer plucked two of the
women from the burning deck of their sinking ship. The other three escaped in a lifeboat. While adrift on the high seas, they saved several seamen by pulling them into the
boat with them. Picked up by a destroyer, they were delivered to Algiers with no uniforms, clothing, or supplies. After their officers had suffered these hardships, the 200
women of the 149th WAAC Post Headquarters Company, the first WAAC unit overseas, arrived in North Africa at General Eisenhower's theater headquarters in January
1943. The unit operated the headquarters switchboard and provided clerks and typists
for the postal directory service as well as stenographers and drivers. Additional WAAC
postal workers joined them in May. A WAAC signal company arrived in November to
take jobs as high-speed radio operators, teletypists, cryptographic code clerks, and tape
cutters in radio rooms. Corps members assigned to the Army Air Forces arrived in
North Africa in November 1943 and January 1944. In 1945 Eisenhower stated, „During
the time I have had WACs under my command they have met every test and task as-
99
signed to them […] their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit and determination are
immeasurable.“340
Another women’s unit that served in the North African and Mediterranean theaters was
the 6669th Headquarters Platoon, which was assigned to General Mark W. Clark's Fifth
Army.341 Although the women performed rather traditional duties, the unit convinced
skeptics of the usefulness of female units in the field. The 6669th accompanied Fifth
Army headquarters from Mostaganem, Algeria, across the Mediterranean to Naples and
eventually all the way up the boot of Italy. Billeting was in tents, schools, factories and
vacated houses. Unit members remained from six to thirty miles behind the front lines.
Nightly bombings and the extremely complicated communications networks the telephone operators had to cope with constituted hardships not encountered by Waacs in the
continental US. The „experiment“ of utilizing WAACs in the North African and Mediterranean theaters was highly successful. Wacs felt needed, useful and well integrated
into the Fifth Army and credited much of this to the policies of General Clark. Consequently, their morale was much higher than in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) or
other theaters of war.342
The first WACs to serve in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) arrived in London in July 1943. This battalion of 557 enlisted women and 19 officers were assigned to
duty with the Eighth Air Force. A second battalion of WACs arrived in September.
Their duties were similar to those of the Wacs in the North African and Mediterranean
theaters, operating telephone switchboards, driving staff cars and serving as clerical
workers. WAC officers also served as cryptographers, mail censors and photo interpreters. The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), which was
originally stationed in Bushey Park, London, but later moved to France and eventually
to Germany, was also accompanied by a detachment of 300 WACs.343 These women
handled highly classified material, worked in three shifts around the clock, and were
340
C.i. Bellafaire, The Women’s Army Corps.
Siciliano, Peg Poeschl. The 6669th Women's Army Corps Headquarters Platoon: Path Breakers in the Modern Army. M.A.Thesis. College of William and Mary, 1988.
342
343
Bellafaire, The Women’s Army Corps, 19-20.
341
100
exposed to considerable danger by nightly air raids and, after D-day, by German V-1
and V-2 missiles that hit the WAC area several times.
Overseas, the hardships of soldiering were quite similar for women and men, as were
the dangers they were exposed to, even though Wacs were unarmed and did not engage
in combat. Wacs followed closely after the Allied troops had landed in Normandy. On
14 July 1944, the first contingent of forty-nine WAC arrived in France. WAC strength
in Europe was at this moment 3,600. Assigned to Forward Echelon, Communications
Zone headquarters, they immediately took over mobile switchboards and worked in
tents, wine cellars, prefabricated huts, and switchboard trailers. Lieutenant Colonel
Anna Wilson remembered their arrival: „Aboard a heavily-laden cruiser the loudspeakers blared; ‘WAC personnel, prepare to disembark.’ Wacs hooked helmet straps,
grabbed gear, climbed down the ladder into a bouncing LCI [landing craft, infantry].
Ashore, they saw blackened steel skeletons of vehicles, smashed German and American
equipment and mute rows of wooden crosses. GIs waved from tents hidden under trees
as Wac trucks jolted over shelled roads.”344 The 54 Wacs lived in tents outside Valogne
and quickly became used to digging drainage ditches around their tents, to K and C rations, rationed water and helmet baths. With the liberation of Paris, the Wacs packed
their tents and typewriters and six days after the Allies entered Paris, Aug. 31, 1944,
Wacs moved into the city as part of an advance detachment to set up the Services of
Supply Seine Base headquarters. They set up offices in a building vacated by the Germans only a few days before.
The only contingent of African American Wacs to be sent overseas was the 6888th
Central Postal Battalion under the command of Maj. Charity Adams. The battalion of
800 women was shipped to Birmingham, England, after three months moved to Rouen,
France, and finally to Paris. The 6888th was responsible for the redirection of mail to all
344
Wilson, Anna W. The WAC: The Story of the WAC in the ETO. Paris: Orientation Branch,
Information and Education Division, Hq. USFET (U.S.Forces, European Theater), 1945.
101
U.S. personnel, civilian as well as all branches of the Military) in the European Theater
of Operations, all in all over seven million people to keep track of.345
The Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) was one of the last theaters to request and receive
Wacs. The Wacs assigned to the SWPA arrived in Australia in May 1944. While some
of them were assigned to General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in Brisbane, the
others moved on to Port Moresby, New Guinea.346 Wacs were assigned to supply and
support facilities at Oro Bay, Lae, Finschhafen, and Hollandia in New Guinea and at
Tacloban on Leyte. By the end of 1944, over 4,700 enlisted women and 330 WAC officers were assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area and more were followed early in 1945.
In February, a WAC detachment was assigned to New Guinea, and on 7 March, three
days after the Japanese had moved out, the first Wacs arrived in Manila. Most of them
were needed for skilled administrative and office work, positions that had become difficult to fill by the summer of 1944. Consequently, many of the Wacs had to be retrained.
Those stationed in the SWPA faced a number of difficulties, some of which were due to
climatic factors, others to errors in the supply system and other factors. Censoring mail
was one of the tasks that women were thought particularly well suited for. On the other
hand, women were also thought to be „more sensitive than men by nature.“ „Censors on
the job over a year became susceptible to depression because of the endless bitter complaints and reiterated obscenities in the majority of letters home.“347 On arrival, the
Wacs found that they had been poorly equipped and clothing requisitions continued to
be a problem for the duration of the war. Their lifestyle in this theater was highly restricted; Wacs as well as Army nurses were housed in guarded compounds and could
not move freely. Tropical climate and the lack of appropriate uniforms lead to a significantly higher number of evacuations for health reasons than that for Wacs in other areas
or for men.
About 400 Wacs served with the Army Air Forces in the China-Burma-India theater.
Initially reluctant, theater commander Lt. General Joseph W. Stilwell in 1944 did re345
The experience of African American Wacs within this unit are reported in Putney, When the
Nation Was in Need. Earley, One Woman's Army.
346
For a first hand reports see Dammann, A WAC's Story.
347
102
quest Wacs to serve as stenographers, typists, file clerks, and telephone and telegraph
operators with his units. The first sixty Wacs were sent to New Delhi, India, in October
1943 where they worked in the headquarters of the Allied Commander, Southeast Asia
Command. In 1944, this command moved to Ceylon, where it remained until after the
Japanese surrender in 1945. In November 1944, the War Department separated the
China Theater from the China-Burma-India Theater.348 One hundred Wacs were taken
from the contingent in Ceylon and assigned to the new U.S. headquarters in China at
Chungking. After the Japanese surrender, the unit moved to Shanghai and then to Peking before returning to the United States.349
2.7 Demobilization und Integration
By V-E Day, women could be assigned 406 different jobs, i.e. 406 of the Army's 628
military occupational specialties (MOS). Some jobs requiring combat training, great
physical strength, long training courses, or supervisory duties were still closed to
women, but even without those, women could fill over 1.3 million Army jobs. By V-E
Day, 8 May 1945, 99,388 women had joined the Women's Army Corps, at the same
time the peak number during WWII.350
On August 29, 1945 the US government officially ended recruiting for the WAC and
the two remaining WAC training sites were shut down by the end of that year.351 As a
consequence of the fastest demobilization in the course of American history the armed
forces went down from 12.1 million in 1945 to 1.4 million in 1948. The number of
women in military uniform was reduced from 266.000 to 14.000 – about 1% of all
military personnel - within the same period.352 In July Oveta Culp Hobby resigned the
position of Director because of her increasingly poor health and an acute illness of her
348
Bianchi, Linda Noreen. United States Army Nurses in the China-Burma-India Theater of
World War II, 1942-1945. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Illinois at Chicago, 1990.
349
Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 23.
350
351
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 658, 699. Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 24.
352
Department of Defense, Selected Manpower Statistics, c.i. Binkin and Bach, Women in the
Military, 22, 46.
103
husband. After Westray Battle Boyce had been promoted to Colonel and made the second Director of the WAC, she continued her mentor’s work, whose „unvarying conviction was that the WAC should be disbanded as soon as possible after the war was
over.”353 There was also widespread public opinion that the women soldiers should r eturn home as soon as possible, in order „to reknit family life.“354 To achieve this, Boyce
suggested a separate plan for demobilization, so that women could be released at the
same rate as men. She realized that it would be difficult for women to go back to their
civilian jobs if they were not among the first discharged soldiers and back on the labor
market before the expected impact of discharged men. Demobilization followed an Adjusted Service Rating (ASR) system. Points were given for time served in the U.S. and
overseas, participation in combat, decoration for gallantry and the number of dependent
children. Between V-E Day and V-J Day men could be discharged with 85 and women
with 44 points, a number that was hard to reach for servicewomen because they were
excluded from three out of five ways to earn ASR points. The War Department, however, decided that the WAC should be disbanded the same way as other units were.
When it became increasingly difficult to maintain the strength of 2.5 Million men and
women necessary for the occupation, the new chief of staff, General Eisenhower, suggested demobilization should proceed slower. Massive protests at stations in Manila,
New Delhi, Frankfurt, Paris and London followed. Empty ships were waiting in the
ports; soldiers were waiting for the War Department to lower the minimum ASR points.
Eisenhower gave in and between May and September 1945 the number of necessary
ASR points was lowered several times. In July, he additionally announced the immediate release of all Wacs who wished to leave. At the end of 1946 WAC strength was at
9.655 officers and enlisted women.355 Meanwhile, the
National Civilian Advisory
Committee on the WAC, which had been founded in 1944, was working on plans for
the integration of Wacs into civilian life.
353
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 726; Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 25.
Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 26. See also Michel, Sonya. „Danger on the Home
Front: Motherhood, Sexuality, and Disabled Veterans in American Postwar Films.”American
Sexual Politics: Sex, Gender, and Race since the Civil War. John C. Fout, John and Maura
Shaw Tantillo. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1993. 247-66.
355
Strength of the Army Report (STM-30), 31.3. 1947, c.i. Morden, The Women’s Army Corps,
28.
354
104
A planning group around Colonel Boyce and the WAC staff directors had already convened in the Pentagon on November 19, 1945 to devise a plan for the integration of the
WAC in the post war Army and the organized reserve corps. The group prepared four
plans for legislation. The first plan provided for Regular Army and Reserve status for
WAC commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted women. Under the second
plan WAC officers, NCOs and enlisted women would not be admitted into the Regular
Army, but form a Women's Reserve section in the Organized Reserve Corps. The third
option provided for Regular Army and Reserve status for WAC commissioned and warrant officers only. The fourth plan additionally provided for a group of enlisted women
called „Auxiliary Specialists“ who would serve in the Regular Army and the Reserve.356
Although Colonel Boyce believed that it would be more promising to quickly pursue the
Reserve plan and postpone the Regular Army plan for a later decision, in February 1946
Eisenhower directed G-1 Maj. General Willard S. Paul to draft a bill that would integrate the WAC both into the Regular Army and the Reserves.357 In order to generate
enough momentum for this proposal, the Army had to show that enough WAC personnel on active and retired status would be willing to stay in the Army or reenlist.358 Soon
the War Department launched a major campaign to convince former WACs to reenter
the Corps and persuade WACs to extend their active duty and long enough for congress
to integrate the WAC into the Regular Army. Fourteen specially trained WAC officers
toured the United States and visited 105 installations within one month in order to inform Wacs about retention und reenlistment programs and advertise the legislative
plans.359 These retention and reentry programs helped to keep the WAC alive during the
period that the WAC bill struggled for passage in Congress.
356
ODWAC, Presentation of Four Plans for Inclusion of Women, Other than Those of the
Medical Department, in the Post-War Military Establishment, Dec 45, History Collection, WAC
Museum, C.i. Morden, The Women’s Army Corps, 31-2.
357
The plan to draft a bill for the establishment of a Women’s Army Corps in the Regular Army
with concurrent Reserve status was formally announced on 5 February 1946. Morden, The
Women’s Army Corps, 33.
358
359
Memos, DWAC to G-1, 2 February 1946, su: WAC Volunteer Program, and DWAC to G-1,
8 April 1946, su: WAC Volunteer Program, c.i. ibid.
105
In April 1947, a bill became law that granted the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy
Nurse Corps permanent military status.360 The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), A dmiral Louis E. Denfeld, had convinced the commander of the Marine Corps, General
Alexander A. Vandegrift in 1947, to jointly seek legislation integrating the WAVES and
Women Marines not only in the Reserves, but also in the regular Navy and Marine
Corps. The Regular Army legislation, in contrast moved haltingly. Resistance against a
permanent women’s corps was much stronger than in the medical field. Deputy Director
Hallaren succeeded Westray Boyce as DWAC while the WAC leadership as well as the
officers and enlisted women who were still overseas grew increasingly impatient.
After the WAC Integration Act of 1946 had died in the respective committees of each
chamber, a new measure was introduced when the 80th Congress convened in January
1947. The chairmen of the newly renamed Armed Services Committees introduced the
revised WAC bill on 15 April 1947 as H.R. 3054 in the House and as S. 1103 in the
Senate. 361
Gallup polls showed that a majority of American men and women favored a peacetime
contingent of women.362 On 15 July, the Senate Armed Services Committee combined
the WAC and WAVES/Women Marines bills into one, the Women's Armed Services
Integration Act of 1947. Both General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and Fleet
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz testified in favor of the combined bill before the Armed
Services Committee. For the first time, Eisenhower spoke of the opportunity for women
to make the armed forces their career:
„[The time has ] come when we must stabilize the Women’s Army Corps in order to offer those still in uniform and prospective members a career with prestige
360
United States. Congress. Public Law 36. 80th Congress, 1st Sess., approved 16 April 1947.
An Act to Establish a Permanent Nurse Corps of the Army and Navy and to Establish a
Women’s Medical Specialists Corps in the Army.
361
United States. Congress. House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Organization
and Mobilization. Hearing on S. 1641. 80th Congress, 1st. sess. A Bill to Establish the Women’s
Army Corps in the Regular Army, to Authorize the Enlistment and Appointment of Women in
the Regular Navy and Marine Corps and the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve, and for Other
Purposes. Washington, DC: GPO, 1948.
362
106
and security. We cannot ask these women to remain on duty, nor can we ask
qualified personnel to volunteer, if we cannot offer them permanent status.“ 363
On the 23 July the bill was unanimously approved by the full Senate and forwarded to
the House.364 Next, Carl Vinson, ranking minority member of the House Armed Service
Committee, stalled the bill in the House for eight months in subcommittee before the
new Republican chairman of Armed Services, Walter G. Andrews of New York decided
to bring it before the committee in a watered-down version, with the regular status of
women taken out.
In March 1948 the House Armed Service Committee voted twenty six to one to pass the
Reserve-only legislation.365 Representative Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was the
sole dissenter. She stated that the „issue is simple - either the armed services have a
permanent need of women officers and enlisted women or they do not. If they do, then
the women must be given permanent status.”366 [....] I am further convinced that it is
better to have no legislation at all than to have legislation of this type.“ Proponents of
the Reserve-only solution were Carl Vinson and the chairman of the Armed Services
Committee, Walter G. Andrews. Andrews expressed „considerable, not antagonism, but
antipathy to the thought of women being brought into the regular services on exactly the
same basis as men permanently“.367
363
United States, et al. Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1947: Hearings Before the
Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Eightieth Congress, First Session, on S.
1103, a Bill to Establish the Women's Army Corps in the Regular Army, and for Other Purposes, S. 1527, a Bill to Authorize the Enlistment and Appointment of Women in the Regular
Navy and Marine Corps and the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve, and for Other Purposes [and]
S. 1641, a Bill to Establish the Women's Army Corps in the Regular Army, to Authorize the
Enlistment and Appointment of Women in the Regular Navy and Marine Corps and the Naval
and Marine Corps Reserve, and for Other Purposes. July 2, 9, 15, 1947. Washington, DC: GPO,
1947. Further quoted as Hearings on S. 1641.
364
Hearings on S.1641, 23 Jul 47, 101. The Department of the Navy had introduced legislation
(H.R. 5915) in March 1946 to create women's reserve groups in the Naval Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve as well as provide for women's limited peacetime active duty. Morden, The
365
Congressional Record, 23 Mar 48, 7338.
366
Congressional Record, 6 Apr 48, 2411.
367
107
Chairman Andrews, determined to jettison the regular status, listed the Reserve bill on
the Congressional consent calendar, which was intended for noncontroversial bills that
were reported unanimously approved out of committee and usually passed the full
House without debate. Margaret Chase Smith protested and thus single-handedly prevented this legislation being „railroaded through on the consent calendar.“
368
It was
better, she maintained, to have no legislation at all. Smith's objection forced the Armed
Services Committee to bring the issue to the floor. In the intense and lengthy debate,
Smith proposed an amendment to the bill that would restore regular status to the House
version of S. 1641, but was defeated. Opponents of regular service charged those who
supported the partial or total integration of women with undermining the very substance
of family life. In reference to the Wacs’ planned maximum rate of two percent of the
total force Carl Vinson remarked: „If you try to bring in 35.000 [representing 5%,
M.H.], you will hear the cry all over the country that you have an army of women.“369
Rep. Leroy Johnson from California opposed to any financial assistance of the servicewomen’s families by stating that this „[would] open the door for wholesale support of
husbands by servicewomen.“370 Colonel Hallaren assured him, that servicewomen had
to prove a 50% dependency on the husband’s salary; women with small or dependent
children would not be admitted into the service. The families of servicemen, in contrast,
were generally assumed depended entirely on his income.371 Leslie S. Perry of the N ational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also testified before the committee and proposed an amendment against „discrimination or segregation
on account of race, color, religion, or national origin“ in all women’s units. He showed
that the WAVES had accepted far fewer colored women than the WAC, only two officers and 58 enlisted women in 1945 and six in 1946.372 Chairman Vinson pointed to the
Constitution and rejected any further provision. „If Negroes are qualified and meet the
requirement, we can and do accept them […] Let us legislate for the whole country and
not for any particular group.“373
368
Sherman, Janann. No Place for a Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000, 71.
369
US Congress. Hearings on S. 1641. Congressional Record. 18 February 1948, 5624.
370
Ibid.
371
Ibid., 23 February 1948, 5622.
372
King, Separate and Unequal, 130.
373
US Congress. Hearings on S. 1641. Congressional Record, 5657.
108
After the Senate had rejected the revised bill it was transferred to a joint conference
committee, which was more sympathetic towards women’s integration into the regular
armed forces. The conferees reached a compromise on 19 May: The House members
had given in and agreed to restore the original wording with two amendments.374 F inally, the House and the Senate both voted on the original bill, which integrated the
WAC in the Regular Army as well as in the Reserve.375 President Harry S. Truman
signed the bill on June 12, 1948.376
Although the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act constituted a breakthrough for
many women, it nevertheless permanently fixed the basis for ethnic and gendered discrimination within the armed forces during the next two decades: Women were not allowed to make up more than two percent of all armed forces and female officers could
not surpass ten percent of all officers commissioned, with the notable exception of
nurses.377 Promotion for women was limited.
378
There was no restriction to noncombat
positions, but existing provisions excluded women from duties that required combat
training. For a limited period, women could be assigned to any branch, except Infantry,
Artillery and Cavalry.379 In order to foreclose the competition of male and female off icers for promotion, female officers were not allowed to obtain a commission that included command over men.380 For the same reason, Wac promotion fo llowed a separate
374
US Congress, House, Report of the Conference Committee on S. 1641, House Report 2051,
80th Cong, 2nd sess, 25 May 1948, 22.
375
Two amendments were added to the original bill: A maximum number for the recruitment of
women between 1948 and 1950 and a limit to the promotion of women. While women were
now assured of a right to serve, the act restricted their numbers considerably. It laid down restrictions on types of duty assignments, specifying that in the Navy and Air Force, women could
not be assigned to aircraft while the aircraft was engaged in combat missions, nor could they
serve on vessels of the Navy except on hospital ships and Navy transports. Only the Army retained their women in the WAC as separate corps.
376
Congressional Record, 2 Jun 48, 7052; PL 625, 80th Cong, 2d sess, 12 Jun 48.
377
62 Stat. 357, 358 United States, Statutes at Large. During the hearing General Dwight D.
Eisenhower as well as representative Lyndon B. Johnson from Texas had proposed a higher
percentage of women. Hearing on S.1641, 1621-25.
378
The highest rank obtainable for women was lieutenant colonel or commander in the Navy.
Additionally, only one woman in each service could be promoted to the rank of colonel or captain in the Navy for a limited term of four years and women could command only female units.
379
62 Stat. 357, 360-61. 363, 368. United States, Statutes at Large.
380
D'Amico and Weinstein, Gender Camouflage, 41.
109
scheme. Female recruits could enlist at age 18 and required a written consent of both of
their parents. Benefits for dependent family members were not paid automatically, but
female soldiers had to prove their husbands’ need for support. Children of servicewomen were only deemed dependent after their father’s death.381 Wacs nevertheless
perceived the act as progress. From the auxiliary corps of the WAAC in 1942 to temporary and permanent military status in 1943 and 1948, the act had turned servicewomen
into ordinary members of the regular Army and the Army Reserve.382
2.8 Combat: Drawing the Line
The question of whether the war had a lasting effect on the American society’s gendered
order or whether the obvious changes were rather temporary, has received more scholarly attention with regard to women on the home front than in the military.383 The fact
that American women for the first time during WWII entered several military services’
women’s components that became permanent parts of the military after the war does
seem like a dramatic departure from pre-war gender roles. How much change to the
gender order could the public tolerate? For some people the question was also how the
inevitable changes to the wartime gendered labor market could be prevented from becoming permanent. „Women are the invisible combatants of World War II”, argues
D’Ann Campbell.384 The rendering invisible and exclusion of women from combat (that
381
Decision of the Comptroller General, B-35441, 4 August 1943; c.i. Morden, The Women’s
Army Corps, 14-15. The same stipulations were employed in the Organized Reserve Corps
(ORC).
382
PL 80-625, 12 June 1948. §210, 62 Stat. 368 United States, Statutes at Large.
383
There appears to be a general consensus that although women temporarily assumed new
roles in the economy, there has been no lasting or radical transformation resulting from this.
Campbell, Women at War. Rupp, Mobilizing Women. Honey, Creating Rosie. Milkman, Gender at Work. Hartmann, Susan M. The Home Front. Chafe, The Paradox of Change, argues in
favor of radical changes.
384
Campbell, Women in Combat: The World War Two Experience. She refers not to resistance
fighters or guerrillas, but adopts as a definition of combat „an organized lethal attack on an organized enemy that does not include self- defense in emergency situations. (Ibid.) See also Fenner and Young, Women in Combat. Goldman, Female Soldiers. Grahn, In the Company of
WACs. Georgia Watson was also a graduate of OCS at Ft. Des Moines, IA and was assigned to
„Battery X“. She later served in England. Watson, World War II in a Khaki Skirt. From a more
contemporary point of view, Rosemarie Skaine analyzes the contradictions between definitions
110
continues to be a much debated issue until this day) along with the rule precluded
women from having command authority over men were intended to protect a particular
form of masculinity and virility which the military perceived as its core. While women
in military non-combat positions constituted a blurring of the traditional gender roles,
women in combat positions posed the threat of their inversion. Combat, I argue, is
where the American public drew the gender line. Despite this, there was no uncontested
definition of what constituted combat and the boundaries of the concept were continuously probed, challenged and negotiated through symbolic practices.
General George Marshall and other military officers were willing to test women’s performance as well as public and congressional resistance in a secret experiment with integrated mixed-gender units in the Antiaircraft Artillery (AA). They were aware of the
extent and character of other countries’ utilization of womanpower and they were the
ones concerned with over-all strength, military efficiency and the ‘teeth-to-tail’ ratio.
The British experiment with women in AA batteries began in 1941 when the National
Service Act drafted 125,000 women into the military over the next three years with
430,000 more volunteering.385 The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the largest of
the women's services, began as a woman's auxiliary to the military in 1938 and was
granted military status in 1941.386 The division of labor at AA batteries was such that
male officers of the AA regiments commanded the batteries, women officers from ATS
served as „gender commissars“, supervising the enlisted women who operated the firecontrol instruments, while enlisted men operated the actual guns.387 By late 1943, over
56,000 women were working for the AA Command, most of them close to London.
ATS women were also assigned to searchlight units. These units, scattered around the
gun were comprised of the women who operated the beam and a male soldier with a tri-
of combat and the way that the military has been organized. Skaine, Women at War. Wekesser
and Polesetsky, Women in the Military. De Groot, ’I Love the Scent’.
385
Winston Churchill's daughter Mary was one of the volunteers serving in an AA brigade.
386
Pile, Ack-Ack. See also [Anonymus: J. W. N.] „`Mixed' Batteries.”Journal of the Royal Artillery 69.3 (1942): 199-206. Thomas, Women in the Military, 629.
387
„The Second World War Memories of Miss G. Morgan,“ mss PP/MainCR/115, 1, Imperial
War Museum, London, c.i. Campbell, Women in Combat. [Anonymous]: Two ATS AA Officers, Life, 82.
111
pod-mounted light machine gun.388 Initially, there was considerable fear of unfavo rable
public comment or sex-scandals in the mixed searchlight or the battery crews.389 I nstead, there seems to have developed a „close working relationships, a form of bonding
which was vital when the batteries came under fire.”390 Despite harsh living cond itions,
morale was high in the mixed batteries. The women wore the AA Command insignia
and while on duty were called Bombardiers and Gunners.391 The first woman killed in
action was Private J. Caveney, who was hit by a bomb splinter. The total ATS battle
casualties were 389 killed or wounded.392
Antiaircraft Artillery corps commanders reported that the experiment with mixed units
was an „unqualified success”. The ATS women performed their operational duties with
„tremendous keenness and enthusiasm.”393 With regard to public opinion, the British
government did not formally classify these AA jobs as combat and, at least symbolically as D’Ann Campbell argues, prohibited the women from pulling the trigger. „The
mixed AA crews were as much combat teams as were the airplane crews they shot
down.”394
Based on the positive reports of British officers and General Dwight Eisenhower as to
how effectively mixed gender AA units could be expected to perform, Marshall decided
to conduct his own experiment.395 Colonel E.W. Timberlake was the Commanding O fficer of the Antiaircraft Artillery Command (AAAC), Military District of Washington,
which included the 36th Coast Artillery Brigade AA to which the Waacs were to be as388
Pile, Ack-Ack, 227-28. See also [Anonymous], The Work.
Boileau, Searchlight, 12. Bidwell, The Women's Royal Army Corps, 127.
390
D’Ann Campbell, Women in Combat. Pile, Ack-Ack, 36-37; Bidwell, Women's Royal Army
Corps, 130.
391
Ibid, 126. See also [Anonymous]: Two ATS AA officers, Life, 80-83.
392
Bidwell, Women's Royal Army Corps, 130-32.
393
Pile, Ack-Ack, 192, 194. [Anonymous: J. W. N.] „'Mixed' Batteries, 202-4.
394
Campbell, Women in Combat.
395
Report no. 1101 Eisenhower to General Marshall, 12 August 1942. Women's Army Corps
WDCSA 1942-43, 291.9; Reel 306, Item 4688. Original in NA, copy in GM Library. Marshall
to Eisenhower, 6 Aug 1942 and Marshall Memorandum, 18 Nov. 1942 in Bland, Larry I. and
Sharon Ritenour Stevens, eds. The Papers of George Catlett Marshall. 5 Vols. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981-2003. 3:288-89, 443-444, 561. Chandler, Alfred Dupont,
et al. Eds. The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower. 21 Vols. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins
Press, 1970-2001. 1:450-51.
389
112
signed when their training was completed. Out of concern for possible scandals over
men and women working in close proximity, the project was highly secret. Third officer
Elna J. Hilliard, along with Army liaison officer Major William Warrick, was put in
charge of the experiment. The purpose was to determine if, and in what positions of antiaircraft Tables of Organization (T/O), qualified women could be found in sufficient
numbers to warrant training and assignment as a standard practice.396 Hilliard and Wa rrick were assigned the task of drawing up command policies and procedures that were
in accordance with Army policies as well as with WAAC Regulations. This proved difficult at times because the WAAC was still a civilian organization serving with the
Army. The Waacs belonged to three companies, the 150th and 151st WAAC Technical
Companies and the 62nd WAAC Operations Company.397 The 21 officers and 374 e nrollees were trained on two composite anti-aircraft gun batteries and searchlight units
from December 15, 1942, to April 15, 1943. The 150th WAAC Technical Company
trained at Camp Simms for work in a regimental and a battalion headquarters and the
151st Company was assigned to an Experimental Battery in the Washington, DC area.
The forward command post was at Bolling Field in DC, where the filter board was located that tracked all aircraft.
By mid-February, the Waacs had replaced 46 enlisted men and had taken over the entire
fire control section of the 90-mm gun battery. Composite Battery X, also a 90-mm gun
battery, was then activated at Camp Simms. The women were trained and assigned to
operate various instruments, among them for instance the fire control director to get on
target, track the target and electrically transfer that information to the gun. The gunner
then had to match two pointers on the dials for direction and elevation of the gun. Including the entire range section as well as to perform clerical duties. In contrast to their
British counterparts, Waacs were not assigned to outlying and isolated searchlight positions. They were not assigned to fire guns, nor were they given small-arms training.
Likewise, no automatic weapons batteries were included in the experiment because at
those gun sites gun and fire control crews had to be interchangeable. Despite this, the
396
Grahn, In the Company of Wacs, 20.
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 301 gives the number of 10 officers and over 200 enrolled women reporting for duty in December 1942.
397
113
Waacs were briefed on the function of automatic weapons batteries. At times during
training, they also took the positions of the men in the gun crews in order to „experience
the end product of their work in the fire control section, thus to become cognizant of the
effect of erratic tracking.”398 When Hobby inspected the unit and was erroneously told
that an enlisted woman had been operating a gun, she became „furious”.399
For Colonel Timberlake, the outcome of the experiment was clear, particularly since the
choice was between all-male units made up of mostly limited service personnel mixed
units staffed with highly motivated Waacs: „The experiences […] indicate that all
WAAC personnel exhibited an outstanding devotion to duty, willingness and ability to
absorb and grasp technical information concerning the problems, maintenance and tactical disposition to all type of equipment.“400 Timberlake estimated that WAAC perso nnel could be substituted for men in 60% of all Antiaircraft Artillery positions. Maj.
General John T. Lewis of the Military District of Washington, his superior, came to a
similar conclusion. In May, 1943, he proposed to continue the experiment, increase the
number of Waacs about tenfold, to 103 officers and 2,315 enlisted women and replace
half the 3,630 men in his AA Defense Command with them.401 Far from discussing the
question whether this constituted combat duty, the final report to the War Department
concluded: „WAAC personnel can be used in performing many of the tasks of the Antiaircraft Artillery.” The report also echoed the at the time widespread belief that women
were „superior to men in all functions involving delicacy of manual dexterity, such as
operation at the director, height finder, radar, and searchlight control systems. They perform routine repetitious tasks in a manner superior to men. […] The morale of women
used in the AAA was generally high due to the fact that they felt that they were making
a direct contribution to the successful prosecution of the war.”402
398
Grahn, In the Company of Wacs, 42.
Grahn, In the Company of Wacs, 35, 42.
400
U.S. War Department. Organization and Training Division. G-3. File 291.9 WAAC, 7 July
43. NARA. RG 165, Entry 211, Box 199.
401
Ibid. 5-10; 15 June 43 Memorandum for Asst. C/S G-3, /s/ Lewis, file 291.9 WAAC. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 212, Box 199.
402
MDW Narrative Report, 10 July 1943. File 324.5 (151st WAAC Tech Co). William H.
Cartwright, Jr. The Military District of Washington in the War Years (1942-1945). [no place,
self-published, ca. 1946.] C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 301-2.
399
114
Was the American public ready to hear that women were assigned combat positions?
How would that influence proposals to draft women or the progress of the WAC Bill in
Congress? In assigning the women to General Lewis’ command, Marshall knew he
would have to disclose the experiment and prepare for a public debate not only on the
issue of women in combat, but also on that of the WAC in the Army. For Marshall it
was most important that the Wacs were able to serve overseas. The WAC bill had just
been withdrawn by the War Department, (because of a proposed amendment to the
Navy bill that would forbid WAVES from serving overseas) and was to be resubmitted
it in May.403 If Congress learned that Ma rshall wanted the WACs to serve in combat
units, the WAC bill might have sunk forever or the Army’s ability to utilize women
might have been severely restricted. Rumors about women firing guns or sleeping in
men’s barracks would severely harm WAC recruiting. It was also clear that existing
legislation would have to be changed if Congress decided to continue the assignment of
women to the AA as a combatant organization.404
General Miller White (G-1), too, acknowledged that the experiment had been an unqualified success, but argued that since the present strength of the WAAC was far below
total requirements, the Waacs could be „more efficiently employed in many other positions for which requisitions are already in hand, and that their use in antiaircraft artillery
to release limited service personnel is not justified under present circumstances.“405 It
was the Army staff’s consensus that „national policy or public opinion is [not] yet ready
to accept the use of women in field force units.“406
Marshall terminated the experiment and dissolved the mixed AA units. Over the protest
of the AA command, but with Colonel Hobby's concurrence, he reassigned the Waacs
403
Campbell, Women at War, 20.
According to the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Congress would have to change the existing
legislation, and The new Section 20 would read, „Nothing in this act shall prevent any member
of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps from service with any combatant organization with her
own consent.”ASF Director of Administration, 020 WAAC, 18 November 1942. NARA. RG
160, Box 1.
405
Brig. General Ray E. Porter, Asst. Conf G-3, Xerox 2788, 14 July 1943, ASF, Director of
Personnel, Military Personnel Division. NARA. RG 160, Entry 484, Box 491.
406
General Russell Reynolds, ASF, Director of Personnel, Military Personnel Division. NARA.
RG 160, Entry 485, Box 491.
404
115
for use in overhead installations to replace combat fit men. The records were kept confidential and filed for future use. They were not declassified until 1968. G-3 Division
concluded that „The experiment which has been conducted of employing WAAC personnel in antiaircraft artillery units has demonstrated conclusively the practicability of
using members of the Corps in that role.”407 D’Ann Campbell argues that if there had
been a more imminent threat from the air to the continental U.S., then Waacs in AA positions might have become a higher priority. Waacs, however, were in short supply and
most needed to serve in clerical and administrative positions while there were more than
enough male limited service personnel to fill the current need for AA units.408 Although
the qualitative distinction between combat and non-combat positions was and is somewhat artificial in the case of the Antiaircraft Artillery, the American public would not
have that imaginary line blurred. Marshall’s decision against disclosing the successful
experiment to the public may well have saved the WAC Bill from being torn to pieces
in Congress.
407
408
General George C. Marshall, 13 August 1943. NARA. RG 160, Entry 489, Box 492.
Campbell, Women in Combat.
116
3. Constructing the Women|Soldier through Recruiting
campaigns, Media Coverage and Public Relations
Even before the WAAC had its own publicity apparatus for WAAC recruiting, the news
media played the most important role in getting the public informed and interested and
ultimately influencing eligible women to enlist. From the first day of the Corps, it was
critical for the WAAC that newspapers and magazines, radio and movietone newsreels
that were shown in theaters before movies reported favorably. The WAAC was to be
portrayed as an organization that was genuinely helping the war effort, enjoyed public
acceptance and a positive image. In the initial months, all major news media gave ample
coverage to the new women’ corps, which was largely responsible for the great number
of applications the recruiting stations were swamped with. In this early stage, newspapers and magazines focused on explaining the purpose of the Corps, informed about enlistment requirements and explored the perceived tensions between what was generally
thought of as women’s role and the military. Ann Allen has found that the changing focus of the media coverage directly correlated with the public attitude toward military
women. Recruiting figures, but also several public opinion polls, suggest that the public
acceptance of the Corps plummeted to an all time low in the summer and fall of 1943
when after an initial overachievement, the WAAC had great difficulty in filling the recruiting quotas. 409 When the novelty of the Corps had worn off, the corps plunged into
several image crises that were always also recruiting crises. Mobilizing women for
military service on a large scale was an unprecedented challenge for the armed forces.
Although women had been mobilized as part of the war effort in WWI, the Army had
never depended on a large group of women voluntarily enlisting in a military service.
The realization that the public and eligible women needed to be ‘sold’ the idea of voluntary service for the Armed Forces was neither immediate nor unanimous.
409
Allen, The News Media, 77. Allen argues that radio and movietone news had the greatest
impact after mid-1943. Both of them followed the trends set by newspapers and magazines.
117
3. Constructing the Women|Soldier through Recruiting campaigns, Media Coverage and Public Relations
Recruiting for the Corps can be loosely grouped in several phases:410 From August 1942
to November 1942 , WAAC recruiting was handled by the US Army Recruiting Service. The first recruiting campaign was organized by the Recruiting Service in the period
from December 1942 to March 1943 when the President had authorized ever larger
quotas of Waacs. Between April 1943 and August 1943 WAAC recruiting came under
the authority of WAAC Headquarters. After an enlistment had almost come to a halt in
August, the newly established WAC took up recruiting and launched several successful
campaigns after September 1943.
A woman’s decision to enlist for voluntary military service took place in a complex discursive formation. Firstly, women in the military involved a progressive moment of
empowerment and of overcoming barriers. Secondly, there was a strong patriotic discourse involved of the woman contributing her share to the war effort, shouldering her
civic duty. Thirdly, women’s military service, precisely because it was understood to be
outside the traditional realm of femininity, was considered a sacrifice the woman made
for the duration of the war. By constructing the home front as a mere extension of the
home, however, the self-sacrificing of women also reinforced her traditional family role
as the supporter of her husband. Finally, by augmenting the fighting force as noncombatants, military women could, even in the Army, function as the preservers of peacetime virtues, moral values, and the stability of the home.
All of these competing discourses were present and made use of in recruiting and publicity: The WAC emphasized femininity, for example, by frequently feeding the press
stories of various post mascots or the Waacs’ efforts to decorate their barracks and plant
flowers to create a homely atmosphere. Even in the military, so the stereotypical story
went, women cared for kittens, puppies and flowers, all the while they longed „for the
real thing more than anything. […] A girl’s experience in the Wacs serves to accentuate
her desire for home […] and children. When you put on a uniform, you don’t change
410
„A Summary of WAC/WAAC Recruiting by Four Periods.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
64.
118
nature.”411 The bottom line and pe rhaps the most important sales message was that the
WAAC did not change „nature” that their military service did not make the women
„mannish”, but even enhanced their femininity. Millions of soldiers and civilians
wanted to be reassured that „[t]he Wac who shares your Army life will make a better
post-war wife!”412 This was by no means exclusive to women in uniform. In her anal ysis of American propaganda during the Second World War, Leila Rupp has argued that
portrayals of women war workers aimed at convincing the public to accept women in
„men’s jobs” and simultaneously preserved feminine identities shaped by traditional
gender roles.413 Women’s employment in male fields „for the duration” did not cha
l-
lenge traditional gender roles.
WAAC and WAC recruiting reflected middle class values that were associated with the
ideal of respectability and morality of women in a men’s world. The invocation of the
patriotic sacrifice has traditionally worked both ways. The respectable woman who
selflessly shouldered her civic duty could later hope to claim citizenship rights. In numerous speeches, Hobby appealed to women’s clubs and sororities by stressing the
„secondary benefits” that membership in the WAAC paid. When addressing the African
American college women of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, for instance, Hobby
promised prospective Waacs that the training she will receive would make her „a better
citizen” and pointed out „the value of a disciplined mind and a trained body” to her and
her community. „[W]hen peace comes, […] the woman who has served with the Corps
will take her place as a leader.”414
This chapter will first examine different recruiting campaigns and the discourses that informed them. Recruiting suffered significantly from the fact that the Army was reluctant
to create duplicate structures for WAAC recruiting and publicity. Existing Army recruiting and induction agencies were ill equipped to convince and enlist women volunteers. Different opinions existed between WAAC officers, Army recruiting personnel
411
„Restless Wacs demand Hand in War.” NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92 File 330.14.
WAC News Letter Vol. 1, No. 14 September 1944, 7. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 218.
413
Rupp, Mobilizing Women, 176.
414
Address by Oveta C. Hobby before Non-Partisan Council of Public Affairs of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority, Howard University, 6 July 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
412
119
and civilian advertising experts concerned with WAAC recruiting as to how eligible
women could be reached and convinced to join a military service. The various recruiting
campaigns with their themes and slogans reflected this ambiguity. Secondly, vis-à-vis a
press coverage that was often less than favorable, the WAAC made efforts to gain some
control over its own public relations will be examined. Because of resistance from the
Bureau of Public Relations (BPR) and other government and Army agencies, the WAC
Group that actively devised PR campaigns for the WAC in the BPR was not established
before 1944. After having identified the network of competing discourses and practices,
we will turn to a different class of sources: songs and camp-newspapers. Both are interesting because they allow for the production, storage and transportation of the WAACs
very own tradition, folk tales and myths. They serve to negotiate the position the
women had with or in the military organization, but at the same time, vis á vis that organization. The songs collected in WAC songbooks were of various origins. Some were
old military songs that were superficially adapted for the WAAC or WAC. Some were
written by enlisted women or other amateur writers and sung to existing tunes, while
others were written by professional composers. The songs contain elements of many
different discourses. Some appropriated patriotic themes hitherto reserved for male
combat soldiers. Marching songs and unit songs were used for the same purpose of
boosting morale. A number of songs reflected the women’s new life in the Corps and a
surprising number re-appropriated and ironically affirmed derogatory comments by
Army men and civilians.
3.1 „Petticoat Army“ or „Doughgirl Generalissimo“415:
The swearing-in of the WAAC’s designated Director Oveta Culp Hobby, was the first
ceremony staged with particular regard to the press. The first Waac had to raise her
hand and repeat the oath several times for the photographers, who had difficulty with
her wide-brimmed hat. The following press conference exemplified many of the public
relations battles that were to be fought over the next three years.
415
120
The War Department through Hobby, General Marshall and the head of the Bureau of
Public Relations, Maj. General Alexander Surles, was trying to convey an image of the
WAAC as a „sober, hard-working organization, composed of dignified and sensible
women.“416 Hobby found that the press tended to pattern news on women on three
stereotypes – a woman was typically portrayed as either a „giddy featherbrain frequently engaged in powder-puff wars and with no interest beyond clothes, cosmetics,
and dates,“ „a hen-pecking old battle-ax who loved to boss the male species,“ or „a
sainted wife and mother.“417 For Hobby, the question was whether the public would
read stories of the Waac’s „real work and useful jobs, [or] of her underwear, cosmetics,
dates with soldiers, her rank-pulling, sex life, and misconduct.”418 To avert fears of
„women generals rush[ing] about the country dictating orders to male personnel and
telling the commanding officers of posts how to run their business“,419 Hobby pointed
out that she was“about as unmilitary a person as ever existed“.420
Indeed, reporters focused much on the issue of „feminine” versus „martial” qualities.
Hobby herself was portrayed as a „slender, quietly pretty, very feminine woman, a
Southern lady with an aura of breeding and gentility, wearing a straw sailor hat and a
stylishly plain suit“.421 The press also asked many questions of what the uniform, esp ecially the underwear, would look like, whether make-up would be allowed and whether
Waacs would march and drill with arms. The pre-planners had been convinced that
women would be induced primarily by an attractive uniform. Although it was later
found that clothing rated much lower on the list of reasons why women joined the service, the Army’s press releases and its secretiveness regarding the underwear did much to
blow the apparent importance of the clothing issue out of proportion.422
416
Ibid., 47.
Ibid., 47-8.
418
Ibid., 48.
419
Meyer, Creating G.I.Jane, 44.
420
Pogue, Forrest C. George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory, 1943-45. New York: Viking
Press, 1973, 107.
421
Ibid., 109.
422
Allen, The News Media.
417
121
For the public the next highly visible task of the new Corps was the selection of the first
officer candidates. Hobby’s position, backed by a General Staff decision, was not to
grant any direct commissions to civilian women. The WAAC bill would have permitted
the Corps to commission many of its officers directly from civil life with appropriate
rank as was also a common practice in the Army and the WAVES. Many Army officers
had from the moment the bill was signed tried to secure officers commissions for secretaries or other women they believed worthy. African American women’s organizations urged Hobby to name a black assistant director.423 Finally, congressmen and pu blic officials tried to secure commissions for constituents, friends and relatives. Hobby
felt that even if few direct commissions had been granted, it would have been difficult
to refuse hundreds of others with prominent sponsors. Thus, all applicants were asked to
apply at their local Army recruiting stations. They were the only women who were directly selected for officer candidate school. Subsequent Waacs had to enlist without
guarantees and future WAAC officers were then selected for Officer Candidate School
(OCS) from the ranks of enlisted women.424
The selection of the first officer candidates was widely reported by the press. It was at
the same time one of the first opportunities to attempt to steer media coverage into the
direction the Director desired. The initial screening criteria strongly reflected the
WAAC’s definition of respectability, which was linked to class background and education. The induction of the new officer candidates, as well as the publicity on the
WAAC, reflected middle class, not working class values. Creating legitimacy and
gaining public sanction for the Corps was also framed by contemporary sexualized racial stereotypes, to which I will come back in chapter six.
About 30,000 women filed applications for the WAAC in Army recruiting stations. The
applicants were then summoned for an aptitude test and those who passed the test were
screened by a preliminary local interviewing board consisting of two „prominent“ local
women and an Army officer selected by the corps area. The pre-planners had sent out
423
424
Ibid., 54.
122
instructions that the members of the national screening board were to be „local personnel directors, business executives, YWCA supervisors, and women of like standing“,
but they also included several women professors, the Dean of Women of Purdue University and the Dean of the School of Home Economics of Cornell University.425 After
the physical examinations in Army medical facilities, a final screening board, the „Director’s Representatives,“ conducted lengthier personal interviews with the applicants.
426
Finally, an „Evaluating Board“ of eleven psychiatrists looked at the applicants’ work
histories, parents and family, and other background data.427 The appointment of the
members of these boards underscores the WAAC director’s „boarding school“ approach
to recruiting women she deemed „respectable”. Moral guidance was not suspended, it
was merely transferred from the parents to the Corps and its officers. Members of the
evaluating board selecting future officers were asked to be guided by the question
„Would I want my daughter to come under the influence of this woman?“428
During this early stage in the life of the WAAC the Corps received a fair share of media
coverage. Newspapers generally used Army press releases and syndicated material or
combined both with a reporter’s perspective on a local event. Smaller papers that did
not maintain correspondents at the East Coast depended mostly on the news syndicates,
which the Army and later WAC public relations bureaus could easily furnish with information.429 Although this meant that the Army could fairly well influence media co verage in the metropolitan areas of Washington, DC and New York City, articles about
the WAAC in papers published west of the Alleghenies were rare.
3.2 „Release a Man to Fight“
425
Bureau of Public Relations, Press Branch, Committees Selecting Officer Candidates for
WAAC Announced, 30 June 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189. Treadwell, The
Women’s Army Corps, 55-6.
426
Bureau of Public Relation, Committees Selecting Officer Candidates for Women’s Army
Auxiliary Corpss Announced, Press release, 30 June 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
427
428
Ibid., 56. See also „Life in the WAC: A Word to Parents.”Oveta Culp Hobby Papers, LoC.
429
Allen, The News Media, 78.
123
The first WAAC recruiting campaign began on December 21, 1942 when all service
commands were assigned new quotas for the first three months of 1943. The total number of women to be recruited was 75,000.430 While the original planning for the Corps
had been based on obtaining 25,000 enlistments within the first fiscal year, President
Roosevelt authorized a strength of 150,000 by executive order on November 20,
1942.431 This goal, to be a ttained by the end of June 1943, meant for the Corps to triple
its size in four months. Although the Adjutant General had prepared the „General Plan
for Enrollment of WAAC” as early as July 1942, WAAC recruiting operations were
„based on expediency rather than plan,” as Hobby observed later. „[D]uring the first
year of its operation it was more or less a side issue with the Army Recruiting Service to
which its operation was assigned.“432
The Army Recruiting Service had never voluntarily enlisted a great number of men or
women because with World War I, universal conscription in times of war had become
an established tradition. With the Selective Service System handling most of the induction of men, the Army Recruiting Service was now „being forced to attempt a feat entirely outside its experience: to bring in larger numbers of women than it had ever obtained of men, and this in a nation that indorsed the idea that „'women's place is in the
home.“433 The Recruiting Publicity Bureau was busy with producing publicity material
for Aviation Cadets, then the main objective of the Army Recruiting Service, and had
no capacities to produce material for WAAC recruiting. To make matters worse, the
Army Recruiting Service had lost much of its personnel. Approximately 110 officers
430
Memorandum Colonel Clyde Pickett, Appointment and Induction Branch to Adjutant General, su: Organization plans for WAAC recruiting drive, 29 January 1943. NARA. RG 407, Box
4297.
431
Executive Order 9274 Authorizing an Increase in the Number of Units and Members of the
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, War Department Bulletin no. 58, 28 November 1942. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 199.
432
The Adjutant General, „General Plan for Enrollment of WAAC.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 55,
Box 212. Oveta Culp Hobby, Memorandum for Director, WD Bureau of Public Relations, su:
Problems and Deterrents in Connection with WAC Recruiting, 18 February 1944. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 64.
433
124
were assigned to WAAC recruiting.434 Most of them were entirely unfamiliar with the
WAAC or its purpose. Army officers nevertheless believed that recruitment and promotion of women should be subsumed under existing agencies, rather than to create duplicate structures.435 This worked fairly well as long as the number of Waacs autho rized
by Congress was small enough and women interested in the Corps far exceeding training facilities.
When the expansion program increased the authorized strength from 25,000 to 100,000,
the Army Recruiting Service came under more strain. According to the Plan for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC, written by the planning committee of the
Recruiting and Induction Section and printed by the Recruiting Publicity Bureau, the
actual conduct of recruiting was left to the nine service commands.436 The new quotas
posed serious challenges: The Fourth Service Command, for instance, had enrolled
1,348 women in the four months between July 20, 1942, when enrollment of Waacs began and November 30, the day when the new quotas were assigned. In the three months
between then and March 1943, the Service Command was asked to enroll 9,000 new
members. To create additional pressure on the Service Commands, the Adjutant General
suggested the break down of the quota between the individual states in their command,
thus „creating interstate rivalry in filling the quota.”437 He further requested reports on
the organizational efforts each Service Command had made until the end of the year.
The Army Recruiting Service secured professional help and contracted the advertising
agency N. W. Ayer & Son. Despite this, the campaign started slowly. Until November,
the Adjutant General's Recruiting Publicity Bureau (RPB) in New York City had
434
A Summary of WAC/WAAC Recruiting by Four Periods. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
64.
435
In contrast, the Navy placed the responsibility for recruiting and enlisting WAVES in the
hands of the Office of Naval Officer Procurement. They also directly commissioned civilian advertising and publicity experts in order to recruit WAVES. Treadwell, The Women’s Army
Corps, 169 and Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 64.
436
Army of the United States, A Plan for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the Women’s
Army Auxiliary Corps. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 199.
437
Letter Adjutant General to Commanding General, Fourth Service Command, su: Enrollment
quota for WAAC period January 1, to March 31, 1943, 21 December 1942. NARA. RG 407,
Box 4297.
125
printed and distributed only one WAAC recruiting poster and one information pamphlet. In cooperation with the Office of War Information the Recruiting Publicity Bureau devised a radio campaign and prepared short spot announcements, read „live” by
announcers as well as one-minute and fifteen-minute dramatized announcements. Short
announcements were included in sponsored commercial programs, which had donated
time to Army Recruiting and Induction Service. One-minute scripts were prepared
weekly and transferred to the Office of War Information (OWI), which scheduled them
for production and distribution in transcribed form. 15 minute dramatized programs
were produced by contracted actors of NBC under the supervision of RPB. Recordings
were then converted into transcriptions and distributed on a regular schedule to 682 radio stations.438 For the print media, Ayer & Son produced ads appearing in 654 daily,
Sunday and weekly Newspapers. Additionally, RPB produced posters, car cards, booklets, leaflets and post cards as well as material for Army Life, RPB’s own publication
with a monthly circulation of 30,000.
3.2.1 Competition by Other Government Agencies
In wartime, womanpower was a much sought-after resource. One of the main competitors for women’s labor was the newly created War Manpower Commission (WMC).
The WMC was given jurisdiction over the Selective Service system in December of
1942.439 One of its pr imary goals was to secure 4,000,000 women for civilian industry.
In order to meet this goal, the WMC tried to restrict WAAC recruiting to non-critical
labor areas, excluding most centers of population. From the Army's point of view, the
Commission did not possess the power to limit the recruiting of women who volunteered for military service and were not subject to a draft. The commission also tried to
438
Until the end of 1942, the Recruiting Publicity Bureau produced 33 spot announcements, as
well as 13 1-minute and three 15-minute recordings. „Summary of Organizational and Promotional Work Effected for the WAAC by the Recruiting and Induction Section, Procurement
Branch, A.G.O. and the Recruiting Publicity Bureau.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 212.
439
Fairchild, Byron and Jonathan Grossman. The Army and Industrial Manpower. Washington,
DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1959, 21-33. Flynn, George Q. The Mess in
Washington: Manpower Mobilization in World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979,
15-23.
126
exempt entire occupational fields that were in short supply in the industry. This was the
case in the clerical, stenographic, and other fields much needed by the Army. In many
areas, WAC recruiting was under constant fire.440
The WMC was of the opinion that women would best and most efficiently help the war
effort by working in the war industry, not in the military services. Other government
agencies, such as the General Accounting Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), were also concerned that their skilled female employees would enlist in the
WAAC. Director Hobby felt that even women otherwise eligible should be allowed to
join the WAAC and that the Corps as a voluntary organization could not afford to turn
down any women just because they might also be qualified to work with other agencies
or employers. On 6 February 1943, a General Staff conference decided on the WAAC's
recruiting quotas and implemented severe limitations on women's enlistment: female
federal employees and women from „war industries“ would not be accepted without a
release from their agencies or employers and agricultural workers were generally not
accepted.441
Other services such as the WAVES, SPARS, and Women Marines also competed with
the WAAC for recruiting skilled women. Although their combined quota was less than
half that of the WAAC, they had more recruiters in the field.442 The Navy was also in a
position to offer various advantages to the better-qualified women: All of their members
had military status and college women could be directly commissioned instead of having to serve as enlisted women first. WAVES earned more than twice the base pay for
enlisted women and officers were given a money allowance for their uniforms to be individually purchased. Instead of performing mainly administrative duties with the corps,
the Navy assigned WAVES operational and technical assignments right away. WAVES
were also allowed to socially associate with officers, whereas in the WAAC, as in the
Army and Navy, the customary no-fraternization rule was applied.
440
Oveta Culp Hobby, Memorandum for Director, WD Bureau of Public Relations, su: Problems and Deterrents in Connection with WAC Recruiting, 18 February 1944. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 64.
441
442
Letter Colonel Edward P. Noyes, Recruiting and Induction officer to Lt Col Vance L Sailor,
AGD, Recruiting and Induction Section, 23 March 1943. NARA. RG 407, Box 4296.
127
WAAC recruiting was not addressing these factors. The campaign was geared toward
college women but failed to take into account the benefits offered by the Navy and war
industry. At a time when the T/O system included four different jobs for Waacs, a brochure promised: „The WAAC offers women one of the most brilliant careers yet opened
to them. By demonstrating ability and leadership, they may advance to high commissioned rank.”443 As Capt. Harold A. Edlund, head of WAAC Headquarters' Recruiting
Section who had been in favor of an even greater target quota back in the fall, observed
in retrospect: „The job was turned over to the Army Recruiting Service […] without a
proper blue print.”444 With N.W. Ayer & Son’s, whose copy policy seemed dire
ction-
less, they did not have much help.445 The few recruiting aids the agency produced t ogether with the Army Recruiting Service446 informed about the expansion of the
corps,447 the kinds of jobs to be done, pay and wage scales and „life in the WAAC.”448
3.2.2 Quality or Quantity: The Enlistment Standards
The WAAC’s place in recruiting was still not clear although there was to be „close liaison [...] with WAAC Headquarters“ and some sixty newly commissioned WAAC officers had been assigned to Army district recruiting officers in September 1942. The Adjutant General, who was still in control of WAAC recruiting through the Army Re-
443
„A Plan for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC,” 10. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 64.
444
Captain Edlund at a conference of training center commandants, 31 March – 1 April 1943,
11. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 209.
445
A Summary of WAC/WAAC Recruiting by Four Periods. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
64.
446
The recruiting aids included two folders, two mailing pieces and four posters. „A Summary
of WAC/WAAC Recruiting by Four Periods.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
447
„WAAC Expanded By Executive Order!,” newspaper advertisement, Nov-Dec, 1942.
448
64.
128
cruiting Service, now took a very controversial step in order to meet the quotas: He
lowered acceptance standards and simplified the recruiting procedure.449
In the spring of 1943 it became evident that the campaign would not be successful.450
The number of women enlisted dwindled and because of the lowered standards more
women were enlisted out of those who had previously been rejected.451 New recruits
tended to score lower in the Army General Classification Test (AGCT) and have lesser
educational degrees than those recruited earlier.452 Women with grade school education
or less and those whose civilian experience was classified as semiskilled, unskilled,
domestic service, or laborer were much more difficult to assign after their basic training
and as a result were seriously overcrowding the training centers. In March, Director
Hobby started protesting the lowered standards and appealing to Lt. General Brehon
Somervell, head of the Services of Supply, to reverse that decision.
Without the requirement for a civilian doctor's examination, medical standards were
also falling alarmingly. The fact that the rejection rates for certain diseases also varied
dramatically between different regions and stations suggests that the reason was most
likely the absence of an adequate induction examination for women. In this matter,
449
Certain medical tests were omitted, neither letters of recommendation nor statements on occupational training were required any longer. The WAAC questionnaire and the educational requirements were eliminated. The minimum score required in the aptitude test was lowered to
only 50 points. Memorandum from Adjutant General, su: WAAC Recruiting Campaign, 5 April
1943. NARA. RG 407, Box 4296.
450
In February 1943, only 12,270 had been enlisted in spite of the lowered standards. With new
training centers available, the quota was raised to 27,000. This quota was not met and with
11,464 the number enlisted in March fell below that of February. Treadwell, The Women’s
Army Corps, 173-4.
451
The result of the lowered standards is illustrated by the distribution of AGCT results at Fort
Des Moines: Between September and December of 1942 Army General Classification tests
showed that less than 12 percent fell into the lowest two grades; until October, 60 percent were
in Grades I and II, the required score for Army officer candidates. However, during the first
months of 1943 standards plummeted, and over 40 percent of all recruits received at Des
Moines were in Grades IV and V. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 174.
452
In addition to physical standards (height, weight, vision, etc.), the Corps required two years
of high school, a police check, employment and character references, and a score of at least 60
on the Army General Classification Test (AGCT) which measured aptitudes and capabilities.
The test measured the individual's skills in reading and vocabulary, arithmetic computation,
arithmetic reasoning, and pattern analysis.
129
Hobby was able to convince the Surgeon General that „there are problems of health peculiar to women“ and that consequently, the WAAC had to depart from the way the
Army handled medical examinations. In May the Surgeon General appointed Major
Margaret D. Craighill, formerly dean of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania
to his office as a „Consultant for Women's Health and Welfare“. Craighill’s first task
was to devise and publish standards for gynecological and psychiatric screening of applicants and for other medical problems.453
3.2.3 The „toughest sales problem in the country”
In March the civilian advertising agency Young & Rubicam made a survey of WAAC
recruiting at the existing recruiting stations in all parts of the United States. The survey
returned quite unfavorable results. Only one third of the researchers acting as applicants
believed the story of the WAAC was given to them by the recruiter was very convincing
and all thought it lacked sufficient detail.454 The WAAC officers and enlisted women
assigned to the Army Recruiting Service often complained about Army recruiting personnel who did not seem to know much about the WAAC and as a result kept the
WAAC recruiters from doing their work. Enlisted men tried to give orders to WAAC
officers, Army officers overruled their decisions or used civilian women to interview
applicants. As a result of the disinterested inexpert recruiting methods, only one out of
every ten women interested enough to find their own way to a recruiting station ever
filed an application.455
In early 1943 it became clear that the Army recruiting system would not be able to fill
the quotas authorized by the Congress with qualified women. In February, the monthly
453
The Surgeon General, „Plan for Securing Medical and Social Histories of Applicants for Enlistment in the WAC.” Surgeon General, Medical Statistics Division, „WAAC Enrollment Data:
Distribution of Waacs Discharged from Service Due to Disability August, 1942 through May,
1943. 17 August 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 214. See also Treadwell, The Women’s
Army Corps, 178.
454
WAC Recruiting Station Investigation, prepared by Research Department, Young & Rubicam, October 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
455
WAC Recruiting Station Investigation,. See also Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps,
179-180
130
quota was raised from 10,000 to 13,000 and was not met, despite the lowered standards.
Until the spring of 1943, training capacity was insufficient for the number of recruits
being procured. The result was that recruits were held on the reserve list for long periods – the backlog at one time reached 10,000. This created the impression for Waacs
and their families that the new recruits were not needed. With the expansion of the
training facilities, Waacs who had completed their training were first assigned to the
new training centers, with the result that no WAAC companies went into the field before December 1942 – hence, the public had no evidence of Waacs actually performing
Army jobs until five months after training had started. When the new training centers
had opened and the quota was raised to 27,000 for March, the WAAC was already receiving increasingly bad press – with 11,464 new enlistees, their number was even
lower than in February. From then on until the conversion in August, the number of enrollments dropped dramatically: 6,472 women enlisted in April, 4,064 in May and 2,400
in July.456 Hobby believed that Army recruiting methods led to enrollment of „unsui
t-
able women“ and wanted authority over recruiting handed over to her office. At the end
of March 1943, Harold Edlund realized: „We made an error when we set our quotas in
January. We did not nail down quality at that time. We have let quality go down. We
have been getting girls at the low end of the list.”457
Underlying the question who should steer recruiting in what direction was the larger issue of whether the WAAC should continue its original mission of supplying the Army
with skills that were scarce among men and form a small highly qualified group of
women with clerical and communications skills or whether large numbers of unskilled
or semi-skilled women should be recruited. These, however, would not be able to replace men in like categories because their fields often included heavy physical labor and
were not deemed suitable for women.
By March Hobby and her staff had begun to work at convincing General Somervell of
the necessity to transfer all responsibility for the WAAC recruiting from the Office of
456
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 173-4 and Table 2 – Accessions of personnel in the
WAC: 1942-1946, Appendix A, Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 766.
457
Captain Edlund at a Conference of training center commandants, March 31- April 1, 1943,
11. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 209.
131
the Adjutant General to the WAAC headquarters. On 5 April she submitted a detailed
WAAC recruiting plan to raise standards and a request for control of acceptances. At
the same time, the Adjutant General devised a new plan himself. Although Maj. General
James A. Ulio, the Adjutant General, conceded many of the inadequacies of the present
Army system and proposed extensive reforms, his plan included the lowering of the age
limit to 19 or even 18, the elimination of the aptitude test for high school graduates and
the further lowering of the physical standards.458 Hobby’s plan to place the WAAC in
control of recruiting and to raise, rather than lower, the standards was backed by the
Chief of Staff, General Marshall and finally approved.459 Thereupon Hobby immed iately restored the enlistment standards and raised them even further after two months,
which caused the number of new recruits to drop to almost a third in May.460
Finally, WAAC Headquarters realized: ”The recruiting problem is serious and the
toughest sales problem in the country today.”461 With the old and new priorities of
quality instead of quantity in place, the expansion program never showed any effects in
terms of numbers. New enlistment figures were soon back to the level of before the
campaign had begun. A recruiting campaign was needed that would increase numbers
without lowering the WAAC’s average standards.
458
The reforms included creating the office of Service Command WAAC Recruiting Officers,
who were directly responsible to the commanding general, with full control of the acceptance of
Waacs and WAAC recruiters. Other proposed changes included better locations for recruiting
stations, to seek help from women's clubs and Army chaplains, the increase of recruiting personnel, and public relations measures such as a Hollywood film and a Special Services campaign to change Army men's opinions. Martha E. Eskridge, 1st Officer WAAC, Headquarters
Brach Office Special Service Division, Los Angeles, CA, su: Report of Technical Advisor,
WAAC Film. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 9.
459
Oveta Culp Hobby, Memorandum for Director, WD Bureau of Public Relations, su: Problems and Deterrents in Connection with WAC Recruiting, 18 February 1944. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 64.
460
The number of recruits fell from 11,464 in March to 6,472 in April, and in May, when the
new standards were in force all month, to only 4,064. In June the requirements were raised
again, to a score of 70 plus two years of high school, or 80 without high school; in this month
only 3,304 recruits were enlisted. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 183.
461
Captain Edlund at a Conference of training center commandants, March 31- April 1, 1943,
11. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 209.
132
Hobby felt that the advertising agency, in handling the WAAC account as part of the
Army account, had not given particular consideration to „women's psychology“.462 The
advertising contract went from the current contractor, N. W. Ayer & Son to Young &
Rubicam. In order to determine the best psychological approach, Young & Rubicam
made several surveys, employing public opinion statistician George Gallup, who had
been on their payroll as vice-president in charge of copy research in 1932.463 A poll
made in October 1943 of a nationwide cross section of eligible women and their parents
revealed that, contrary to what WAAC recruiters had believed so far, the overwhelming
majority (86 percent) was well aware of the Army’s need for man- and womanpower.
According to George Gallup, there were number of reasons why women did not respond
to recruiting: Many women feared Army life and felt unable to adapt to rigorous training and discipline. Often, they were unaware of the existence of qualified skilled work
in the WAAC and thought the Corps did menial jobs such as cooking, laundry, scrubbing and kitchen police exclusively. Another factor was the negative attitude of parents,
male friends and relatives. Many eligible women learned of the negative attitude of the
Army towards Waacs from soldiers’ reports. An interesting piece of misinformation that
was nevertheless widespread was that „half the women believed that a Waac could not
marry an Army man; many others believed that a Waac was not allowed to marry at all,
or to have dates, or to use cosmetics.”464
3.3 „Self-Sacrifice” v. „Self-interest”: WAAC Recruiting
The campaign slogan, „Release A Man For Combat“ had proven unpopular. Apart from
the fact that „release“ or „relieve a man“ lent itself too easily to sexual puns and was for
this reason replaced by „replace am man“, many soldiers in clerical jobs did not appreciate being replaced for combat duty. Neither eligible women nor their relatives wished
to be reminded of the possibility of brothers, sons or sweethearts dying in battle when
replaced by a woman in a safe office. In many areas, recruiting depended on civilian
462
Crane, Milton. The Roosevelt Era. New York: Boni and Gaer, 1947, 373.
464
Conference WAC HQ with Young & Rubicam, Presentation of figures on survey conducted
by Gallup in August 1943, 10 November 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
463
133
committees of local women. A recruiting officer reported: ”Publicity about releasing a
man for active duty is bad because women on these committees will not recruit, solely
on the basis that recruiting women has sent their sons to the battle front.”465 When
Young & Rubicam became advisers to WAC recruiters in March 1943, it was their
opinion that the patriotic theme of self-sacrifice was not useful in recruiting large numbers of women into the WAC. Based on the series of Gallup polls, Young & Rubicam
found that „self-interest“, not „patriotism“, was the key to convincing women to enlist.
„Patriotic duty,” they pointed out repeatedly, „is not an effective advertising appeal.“466
Instead, emphasis was to be placed on the „personal benefits to be gained by enlistment,
as well as an individual sales approach [and] to show the pleasant side of Army life.”467
Not everybody in the War Department agreed. Maj. General Miller G. White stated:
„I do think whatever appeal you make it must be honest. We mustn’t stress excitement, or the vacation angle. We must tell the truth. Tell them what they may
expect and if they want to come in, in the spirit of sacrifice, I think you will get
the right people.”468
As a result, the theme of „Release A Man For Combat,“ was replaced by several recruiting themes. The campaign launched by Maj. Harold A. Edlund of WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam reflected many different approaches and ongoing tensions between the tropes of „Self-Sacrifice“ and „Self-interest“, the latter of which increasingly dominated the WAC recruiting compromise.469
3.3.1 The Motifs of Motherhood, the Family and the Home
465
Capt. Miller, WAC 8th Service Command, at the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC
Recruiting, Chicago, IL 21-23 February 1944, 26. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
466
„Life in the WAC“, Recruiting pamphlet by Young & Rubicam and „WAC Recruiting
Guide.” NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Boxes 3 and 5.
467
64.
468
Maj. General Miller G. White, Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel (G-1) at Conference at
WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam on Advertising & Recruiting, 13 July 1943.
469
„A Plan for Increasing Enrollment in the WAAC.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 199.
134
The theme of ‘sacrifice’ had a long history in the struggle for women’s rights in the
state. During the total wars of the 20th century, it had been considered the ultimate sacrifice for women to give up home and family ‘for the duration’. This was construed as a
short-term contribution to the war, not including the right to permanent access to those
duties, rights and privilege in peacetime. The family figured most prominently in the
traditional motif of women’s self-sacrifice, which is merely extended from the family to
the nation. As Hobby stressed in a speech before the Poor Richard Club in Philadelphia,
„thousands of American women have left their happy American homes – and thousands
more will leave them – in order to keep those homes happy, and free.”470 The Lady’s
Home Journal fell in step: „The American family is the kernel of democracy, and that’s
why U.S. women are entering the armed forces, sacrifice to save the family and democracy.”471 Press releases frequently contained stories of women enlis ting to „bring home”
brothers, sweethearts or fathers serving overseas. Men in their lives were said to have
first priority, women join up to hasten their homecoming.
To combat the popular stereotype of the Waacs being unfeminine amazons or even figuring as the protector of men, as depicted in several cartoons, the War Department emphasized motherhood, a motif that played a role on several levels. Although Waacs
could not be actual mothers of small children, they could be ‘national’ mothers. „Mothers of Families have experience particularly valuable for the WAAC, but as a matter of
public policy, it is felt that children under fourteen should not be deprived of their
mother’s care.”472 In the national fa mily that the nation had become during war, women
soldiers could figure as the guarantor of the American home and of its pre-war values.
Hobby repeatedly pointed out to the press that every one of them would enable a married father to stay with his family: „Women as a group have always been the exponents
of family life. They may now preserve and protect this family life, the core of American
470
„W.A.A.C: Spells Work or Women Wear Khaki Well,” Speech by Oveta C. Hobby before
the Poor Richard Club, Philadelphia, PA, January 16, 1943. NARA. RG 165, E. 54, Box 13.
471
„Our Girls in Uniform.” Ladies’ Home Journal 60, (Jan 43): 63. Early women’s rights activists also framed women’s political participation as extension of duties in the home. Epstein,
Barbara Leslie. The Politics of Domesticity: Women, Evangelism, and Temperance in Nineteenth-Century America. Middletown, CT, Irvington, NY: Wesleyan University Press, 1981.
472
„A Plan for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC,” 3. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 4.
135
civilization and culture.“473 The traditional theme of women sacrificing themselves for
their family also tied in with the unpopularity of the drafting of fathers: „In the absence
of a draft, it is just possible that the WAC will be filled by young women who would
rather join the Army than see their married brothers taken from their children.“ 474
Magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Mademoiselle also took up the theme of the
Waac who was „willing to say goodbye now…but not forever, to all the things she held
dear and pleasurable.” Temporarily, she would exchange „chiffon evening dresses,
weekend trips, and the off-shore cruise” for the world where „the jeep takes priority
over the roadster.”475 Aside from the fact that most readers had more likely exchanged
the bus for the jeep, it is interesting how the magazine conveys middle class values such
as the patriotic self-sacrifice, to eligible women the majority of whom belonged to the
working class with the help of status symbols that were beyond the reach of both
groups. As Ann Allen pointed out, the magazine media emphasized elitism.476 They focused more on Colonel Hobby and other WAAC officers than on the job the average
enlisted woman actually performed. This did little to help recruiting because most of the
educated, affluent women who tended to read these magazines, were already committed
to what they considered responsible war work by the end of 1942 and were highly unlikely to quit these jobs in order to enlist in the WAAC. Lower-middleclass women, on
the other hand, who had held vocational or unskilled jobs before the war and constituted
the bulk of the Waacs, might have been taken aback by the elitism with which some
magazines portrayed the WAAC.
Another level on which the motif of motherhood figured was that of Waacs as daughters
away from home. In the absence of mothers to guard the moral welfare of the young
women who joined the Corps, the WAAC Mothers’ Organization, which was founded
in March of 1943 stepped in. Edna McCord Rohde, the group’s president, wrote she felt
473
Oveta C. Hobby quoted in The New York Times, 1 July 1943.
Letter Edna McCord Rohde to Col. Westray Battle Boyce, 28 July 1945 and letter Boyce to
Rohde, 20 September 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, 14, File: ODWAC.
475
Harper’s Bazaar, December 1942 and July 1943. Ladies’ Home Journal, June 1943.
476
474
136
„as though all Wacs are my daughters.”477 The WAC Mothers’ Organization provided
care and services to both women and men, served in hospitals and with USO, packed
comfort packages to Wacs, sold war bonds and mended clothes. It was among the
members of this group that the Wacs’ return to home and hearth was awaited most eagerly after the Axis powers had surrendered: They wanted their daughters to return to
„happy, successful spacious homes, where ‘Romeo’ awaited ‘Juliet’.”478
The smooth surface of the discourse of motherhood and the sacrifice ‚for the duration’
was seriously perturbed by the case of „Norma the Warrior“ that was publicized in several east coast papers: „You’ve heard of how Rosie the Riveter left her husband home to
wash dishes so she could work in a war plant. Well, here’s one about Norma the Warrior – and how she left her son home with her ex-husband so she could go off to war.“
Norma Schoener Kunstler, a psychiatrist from New York City, had previously shared
custody of her son with her ex-husband on a half-year basis. In order to join the WAC
she submitted a court order relinquishing all rights to the custody of her son, thereby
being relieved of any dependency. „The fact that the WAAC is responsible for this
woman’s separation from her child or, at least, for condoning it,“ as one War Department consultant put it, did not „help the WAAC at all.“479 Moreover, it came worse: A
subsequent editorial in the Washington Post featured a picture of the 6-year old blonde
boy, steering a toy ship and hugging a spaniel puppy.480 Hobby could only „wish very
much we knew some way to [...] suppress this type of publicity.“481 A woman sacrifi cing what was ‘naturally’ dear to her - her home, family and children - was well and
good as long as it remained a temporary sacrifice. In Norma Schoener Kunstler’s case,
her decision seemed less a sacrifice than a decision based on her own priorities that had
the potential to seriously threaten the established gendered order.
477
Letter Edna McCord Rohde to Col. Westray Battle Boyce, July 28 1945 and letter Boyce to
Rohde, 20 September 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 14, File: ODWAC.
478
„Forecasts of the Future, News and Views To and From the WAC,” published by the WAC
Mothers’ Association of Chicago, IL. Vol. 1, No. 2, February 1946. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 14, File: ODWAC.
479
Letter Herbert B. Swope to Hobby, 19 August 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
480
„Mother Gives Up Son; the WAC Comes First.” Daily News (New York) 19 August 1943
and Washington Post, [n.d.]. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
481
Letter Hobby to Herbert B. Swope, 24 August 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
137
On the issue of „glamour“ versus „duty“ there were repeated clashes between Hobby,
Young & Rubicam and Army personnel. A recruiting booklet compiled by Young &
Rubicam, for instance, was only accepted by the Director after she had thoroughly deglamorized it.482 At the same time, as reports from the field indicated, the patriotic a pproach yielded only „very discouraging” results.
„[T]he impression has been subtly spread not only among women undergraduates in colleges but among women generally that the WAVE organization is
composed of higher type women; that cooks, KPs, scrub-women laundresses,
etc., are not needed and that drudgery is unknown. [T]he pouring on of glamour
seems to work satisfactorily. It was applied successfully by the Marines to obtain
recruits and also by the Navy.”483
Oveta Culp Hobby personally favored invoking the tradition of pioneer women as reflected in a recruiting brochure of 1943: „Back of the Fighting Front […] supporting it
with resolute faith, is a valiant force whose spirit reflects the righteous might of our nation […] is woman power. […] American women are meeting the challenge of total war
with the same courageous determination that pioneer women showed when this country
was a rough, frontier wilderness.”484 One poster that Hobby wholeheartedly approved of
was one that showed a series of pictures of „pioneer women” such Molly Pitcher, Clara
Barton and others with the caption „It Is a Heritage To Be Proud Of – Will You Live
Up To It?”.485
482
Her corrections included „change the word ‘rooming’ for ‘living’ in barracks; change ‘delicious food’ to ‘good food’; leave out how much it costs to outfit a WAAC [sic] as a blunt statement – make it relative to what it would cost a girl in civilian life, have a statement from a girl
herself to this effect; also on question of wearing pretty clothes and not losing feminine traits
through enlistment; […] take out about girls serving with fathers, husbands, etc. […]; strike out
‘you will be sworn into the WAC [sic] with an impressive ceremony’; take out ‘this is the
Army, sister’.”Conference with Young & Rubicam, July 31, 1943 Conference proceedings.
483
Letter Colonel T. N. Gimperling, HQ Colorado Recruiting District to Colonel Edward P.
Noyes, Recruiting and Induction Officer, 26 March 1943. NARA. RG 407, Box 4296. The 7th
Service Command included the rather thinly populated states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Its Headquarters was located in Omaha, Nebraska.
484
485
Conference ODWAC staff with Young & Rubicam personnel, 11 October 1943. NARA. RG
165, Entry 55, Box 200.
138
WAAC Headquarters now coordinated advertising in various media. WAAC cover girls
appeared on the July American, the August Cosmopolitan and other magazines. The
May Reader's Digest had a story; Life used pictures sent from North Africa; the August
Harper's Bazaar showed WAAC physical training in its least terrifying aspects; a June
Saturday Evening Post began a five-part serial. Through the co-operation of the Office
of War Information, radio time was obtained, including plugs on shows by Bob Hope,
Kate Smith, and others.486
3.3.2 „I joined to serve my country...and I’m having the time of my life!“487
In view of these unresolved differences regarding recruiting themes, the group employed a compromise: While the women joined the Corps for patriotic motives, there
was nothing wrong with their taking advantage of opportunities while they were there.
Accordingly, recruiters pointed out special training and new career opportunities. An
early suggestion that was not used in campaigns or recruiting aids even emphasized the
cost of such vocational training:
„The WAAC gives its members specialized training in many different vocations
that will be useful in the future. In some cases, such training would cost hundreds of dollars in civilian training schools. Many young women, who heretofore
have not had the opportunity to get training, may do so now in the WAAC. At
the same time they are afforded the opportunity to express in a tangible way the
patriotism they so strongly feel.”488
Accordingly, Young & Rubicam educated the public about the important and interesting work the WAAC did. The agency also secured the co-operation of the Writers' War
Board and flew ten writers to Fort Oglethorpe to write articles for national magazines
and audiences.489
486
A Plan for, see also recruiting poster „’I joined to serve my country...and I’m having the time
of my live’ Corporal Margaret Ritchie, Hickory, N.C.” NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 221,
File: Advertising.
488
Suggested Outline For Talk Presenting Basic Ideas of WAAC Recruiting Program, „A Plan
for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC,” 10. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
489
Press material, notes of 12 writers. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 15.
487
139
Young & Rubicam suggested that „every ad present the Corps in terms of importance to
the war effort. Stories regarding jobs and dramatizing the urgent need – what they do to
actually help and how they can help win the war sooner.490 This new approach was r eflected in the 25-page brochure „Facts You Want to Know About the WAC”, which
contained statements by President Roosevelt, George Marshall, „an Army private,” „a
WAC private,” and a clergyman – all to the effect of stressing that the Wacs did „155
important Army jobs.”
491
Phot ographs of Wacs on different jobs, particularly when
working with men, were another new way of communicating „why [the Wacs] are vital
to victory”.492 The series of photographs „A Wac does this…” was designed to illustrate
that Wacs were performing responsible work that had an immediate impact that they
worked hand in hand with Army personnel and that they were part of the larger picture
of the war effort. One caption read:
„In a control tower, a Wac watches the incoming plane clear the taxi strip. She
turns and speaks into a microphone […] And here’s what happens…A great
bomber lifts over the field, circles, and speeds forward on its way to mission far
across the seas.”493 Another image showed Wacs on a drawing board working on
a military map. „[L]ater, gun fire, an officer studies this map. A signal is given,
the great attack begins.”494
This combination of patriotism and self-interest that dwelled neither on sacrifice, nor on
glamour, seemed to be a workable compromise and was used until the end of the war:
Every young woman who has the necessary qualifications should avail herself of this
opportunity to serve her country and, in so doing, her own interests as well.“495
After a summer of intense recruiting, however, WAAC recruiters were confronted with
the full extent of public opposition – „an impenetrable wall against which the methods
490
P. Fiori of Young & Rubicam at Conference at WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam on Advertising & Recruiting, 13 July 13 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
491
Brochure „Facts You Want to Know About the WAC,” 12-13. NARA. 407, Box 4292.
492
Ibid.
493
Ibid.
494
Ibid.
495
Recruiting, 21 July 1945 (file: December 1943). NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
140
of super salesmanship and expert recruiting techniques broke and fell ineffectually.” 496
In July 1943, Herbert Lenz of Young & Rubicam announced to the assembled Army
and WAC personnel the sad truth in regard to the size of the task that laid before them
and pointed out some of the „outside influences“ that worked against the success of
WAC advertising: „You not only need all the recruits you can get, you need them all at
once. [...] There are only five million women in this country who are eligible for the
WAC. You would have to ‚fine toothcomb’ all of America to find all of your prospects.
You cannot afford to do this. You have strong competition for the woman power of
America – competition that permits a woman to stay at home and earn an infinitely
higher income than she can in the WAC. „Additionally, because the „unfortunate press
received by the WAC [...] and the influence of parents, husbands, sweethearts, relatives,
friends can keep a woman from enlisting, it is necessary for you to influence favorably
all public opinion – as well as to appeal directly to the prospect herself.“497
3.4 The “Slander Campaign”
In the spring of 1943 the WAAC became the target of widespread gossip, rumors and
bad publicity that became known as the „slander campaign,“ sometimes also called the
„whispering campaign“ or „rumor campaign.“ Early in 1943, the occasional bad publicity or ill-humored cartoon turned into more vicious attacks by word-of mouth gossip
and by private letter that began to indicate a significant change in public opinion.
With the mobilization of women on an unprecedented scale, traditional systems of social control lost their efficiency. Single women concentrated in the industrial cities and
the towns around military bases. Whereas the norms that dictated that respectable
women should not engage in premarital sexual practices were still prevailing, the war
496
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 190. The summer had included devising the „Cleveland Plan” in Ohio 1-15 June 1943, testing the utilization of civilian aid to locate eligible
women by survey, the training of WAAC personnel in methods of recruitment, planned publicity and advertising as well as producing new recruiting aids such as the 16-mm recruiting film:
We’re In the Army Now. „A Summary of WAC/WAAC Recruiting by Four Periods.”NARA.
RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
497
Conference at WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam on Advertising & Recruiting,
13 July 1943 Conference proceedings, afternoon session. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
141
was tacitly understood to change the sexual behavior of the average soldier. Men were
thought to require sexual activity and the loosening of sexual norms was not feared to
overthrow society’s gendered order. The fact very few people had actually seen Waacs
on their jobs or worked with them, aggravated the general ignorance about the purpose
of the corps and led many people to speculate whether the WAAC had been created as a
morale booster or even in order to provide sexual services to Army men. The fear of
women’s autonomy and sexual agency on the one hand and fear of their sexual victimization on the other hand both indicated the fragility of the wartime gender order. Soldiers often expressed their desire to return to unchanged homes and communities, but
wage earning women and, even more so, women soldiers, represented considerable
change of the social order.
Under the conditions of an all-encompassing and pervasive patriotic discursive regime,
these and other fears were articulated, not surprisingly, in the form of gossip and rumors.498 The Office of Censorship’s Code of Wartime Practices that the press volunta rily accepted in 1942 and other means of self-censorship and censorship relegated the
articulation of doubts regarding the purpose of the WAAC to the realm of the subversive.
One „cleverly written piece of obscene literature“ disguised as a „technical manual” titled Characteristics, Functioning, Care and Preservation of The WAAC, M-1, (Model
1942-43) was circulating among personnel of the Tank Corps at Camp Polk, LA . It was
discovered when an enlisted WAAC at Daytona Beach, FL who had been sent a copy
by her fiancé brought the pamphlet to the attention of military intelligence.499
498
Allport, Gordon W., and Leo Joseph Postman. The Psychology of Rumor. New York: H.
Holt and company, 1947, 33-34.
499
„Technical manual No. 38-3487 – Characteristics, Functioning, Care and Preservation of The
WAAC, M-1, (Model 1942-43).” Letter Ellen Hayes 1st Lieutenant, WAC, Post Intelligence
Officer to Director, Intelligence Division, HQ 4th Service Command, Atlanta GA, su: Obscene
Literature Relative to WAC, 9 December, 1943. NARA. RG 319, Entry 47, Box 590.
142
The press frequently implied that Waacs had joined the Corps for questionable motives,
namely to pick up men. In what seemed like news about the WAAC uniform, a story
distributed by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate commented on its lack of attractiveness measured by the amount of attention Waacs and other servicewomen received by
men: „[T]he victims [of the WAAC uniform] note that a Wave or Spar usually appears
in public with a man on her arm or in the offing. Secretary Stimson’s aides, on the contrary, do not so often have male companionship in their off hours. It is only human nature for them to grow lonely and dissatisfied.“500 Associated Press did not have to imply
that Waacs were really only looking for male companionship – they found a WAAC recruiting officer to quote:
„They’re patriotic, too, but the quest for husbands and thirst for excitement are
the principal impulses that lead the gals into the Women’s Army Auxiliary
Corps.“501
By late spring, War Department officials began to suspect a pattern: rumors had become
more frequent, more vicious and more consistent. 502 Could it be that Axis agents were
systematically spreading rumors they had fabricated out of the sporadic stories in order
to discredit the WAAC, impede the recruiting of women and thus harm the Army's mobilization? The fact that some stories appeared in almost identical form in various cities
seemed to support this theory. Among the more stereotypical rumors were variations of
the pregnancy theme: „50 % of the Waacs in the camps are pregnant and that the other
50% are prostitutes.“503 „300 pregnant Waacs were being kept at Camp Pickett, Va.“
504
500
McClure Newspaper Syndicate, Press Release, 18 May 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
203.
501
Associated Press dispatch from Oklahoma City carried by newspapers throughout the country in May 1943, Young & Rubicam, „Report on Unfavorable WAC Newspaper publicity,” 7
January 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
502
On 18 May 1943, Director Hobby asked for the investigation of „an organized whispering
campaign directed against the WAAC“ and asked investigation. The Army Service Forces sent
the request to G-2 Division, General Staff, which in turn sent it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, claiming that it was out of the Army's jurisdiction. By early June, the G-2 Division acknowledged the „circulation of plainly vicious rumors [...] appears to be a concerted campaign
[and] has assumed such proportions as seriously to affect morale and recruiting.” .C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 210.
503
List of Rumors submitted by Third Officer Alta R. Joffee, Recruiting and Enrollment station,
Roanoke, Virginia, [n.d.] NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
504
List of Rumors submitted by Third Officer Alice E. Graass, WAAC Recruiting Station,
Staunton, Virginia, [n.d.] NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
143
„There are 400 pregnant, unmarried women among the WAACs at Fort Oglethorpe.“505
Later investigations indicated canards like the rumor of 70% of all Waacs being pregnant, which had been started by a doctor,506 or the Cincinnati rumor of „115 of 150
Waacs“ reported to be pregnant, where in reality only 15 Waacs were stationed at the
post.507
Pregnancy was taken as evidence that the Waacs were generally immoral – another
theme that circulated in an endless number of variations: Waacs in Florida „openly solicited men and engaged in sex acts in public places.“508 „Women joined the WAAC
only for one reason – that is to have men as their companions.“509 „The WAAC consists
of women who are tired of living with their husbands. They give their children away
[...] while they seek adventure and chase around with all the soldiers.“510 Soldier’s le tters contained references to the Waacs’ conduct in Africa being more than questionable:
„The main need for WAACs overseas is to provide them [officers] with women” wrote
a male corporal to a Waac friend.511 „75 Waacs,” one soldier claimed, were sent back
from Africa „for immoral reasons“512 „Somewhere, in [the] central part of the United
States,“ the government kept a hospital that was „filled with Waacs with venereal diseases contacted [sic] since joining the Corps,“ according to soldiers’ letters.513
On the one hand, the rumors expressed fears that the WAAC would morally corrupt decent young women and force them into immorality. The presence of soldiers, sexual hy-
505
„WAACs Here Hit Rumors as Axis-Inspired,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 10 June 1943.
NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, 59
506
Memo 2nd Officer Blanche Belcher, Assistant Recruiting Officer Wilkes-Barre, PA, 14 July
1943, su: Rumors of WAAC. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
507
Report First Officer Helen Y. Hedekin to DWAAC, su: Rumors, 10 July 1943. Ibid.
508
509
List of Rumors submitted by Third Officer Alta R. Joffee, Recruiting and Enrollment station,
Roanoke, Virginia, [n.d.] NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
510
Ibid.
511
Letter, Cpl. Badgett to Cpl. Helen Stroude, August 11, 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
192, File: Rumors.
512
Ibid.
513
Memo, 2nd Officer Blanche Belcher, Assistant Recruiting Officer Wilkes-Barre, PA, 14 July
1943, su: Rumors of WAAC. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
144
giene lectures or the issue of contraceptives would make them quasi-prostitutes ‚for the
duration’, according to some allegations. In many cases the mere invocation of pregnancy insinuated immorality, but other comments were quite explicit:
„You apparently haven’t read some information by Washington concerning the
WAACS and WAVES. Do you realize they are supplied with contraceptives,
and prophylactics. […] Why doesn’t our government pick special sex fiend
women and send them with the army. […] And there are so many morons that
follow that course of ill decency. […] But this I will say there will be a lot of sad
women after this war: occupation – prostitutes.”514
Another letter seems to have been at least partly motivated by genuine concern for the
enlisted women: „If the pending bill to make the WAACS of the Army (not auxiliaries)
goes through, then some evil minded officer may, (under guise of military discipline,)
may order a WAAC to his private tent plus her contraceptive. Are we paying taxes to
foster and support an army of prostitutes?”515
On the other hand, the WAAC could also be some kind of New Deal project like the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) with the purpose to get ‚fallen women’ off the
street. According to a rumor recorded in Baltimore, the WAAC took „women that other
services will not have. [A] great many people have the idea that anybody can get in the
WAACs [sic].” 516 Accordingly, the Mayor of a small community in Virginia told the
Commanding Officer of the recruiting station in Winchester, VA „that there were a
great many girls wandering the streets of Leesburg at night, and he wished that we
would take them in the WAACs, as he might have to put a curfew in force.“517
In March the Syracuse University Rumor Clinic, a regular news release run by social
psychologist Floyd H. Allport, had offered help in combating rumors about the
514
Letter A. Otrosina, Douglas Aircraft Company to Mrs. Margaret Otrosina in a Sanitarium in
upstate New York, 31 August 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
515
Copy of letter to Mrs. Gold, [not signed], 9 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
516
Memo, Jameson B. Dowdy, 3rd Officer, WAAC Recruiting Station Winchester, VA to
Commanding Officer, WAAC Recruiting Station Baltimore, MD, su: Rumors, 9 July 1943. RG
165, Box 93.
517
Ibid.
145
WAAC.518 At that time, however, WAAC officers deemed it unnecessary to investigate
any rumor’s origin or to take active measures against it, but rather preferred to „let it die
its natural death”.519 Until June, Army and WAAC authorities had chosen to ignore the
rumors. However, on 8 June 1943 the nationally syndicated column „Capitol Stuff“ by
John O’Donnell appeared in the New York Daily News, the Times Herald and other
newspapers of the McCormick chain. The „whispering campaign” had become an open
„slander campaign”. O’Donnell wrote:
„Contraceptives and prophylactic equipment will be furnished to members of the
WAAC, according to a super-secret agreement reached by high-ranking officers
of the War Department and the WAAC Chieftain, Mrs. William Pettus Hobby.
[...] It was a victory for the New Deal ladies,“
O’Donnell claimed and went on to quote „a lady lawmaker”:
„Women have the same right here and abroad to indulge their affections and
emotions, whether married or single, here or overseas, just exactly as do the men
in the same uniform. It is high time that the Army should pay as much attention
to the women wearing their uniform when it comes to their sex relations as the
Army had already done to the men. After all, we’re more vulnerable.“520
The Military Intelligence Division immediately confirmed that no contraceptives were
issued to Waacs and that „in all cases of recorded sales [in post exchanges] the purchasers have been married women.“ The „super-secret“ document O’Donnell had referred to
518
Originator of the newspaper Rumor Clinic was W. G. Gavin of the Boston Herald-Traveler.
In 1942/43 he edited a weekly rumor feature with the aid of psychologists. The idea was quickly
spread and imitated elsewhere. More than 40 newspapers and magazines in the United States
and Canada experimented with the rumor clinic. Macdougall, Curtis D. Understanding Public
Opinion: A Guide for Newspapermen and Newspaper Readers. New York: Macmillan, 1952,
361.
519
Letter Marie Cranney, 2nd Officer, WAC to Syracuse University Rumor Clinic, 7 March
1943. See also: Allport, F. H. „Some research suggestions on morale.” Journal of Social Psychology 14 (1941):257-261. Allport, F. H. „Chivalry toward WACs.”The Syracuse PostStandard (15 August 1943):3. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 13. Johnson, Blair T. and Diana
R. Nichols. „Social Psychologists' Expertise in the Public Interest: Civilian Morale Research
during World War II.” Journal of Social Issues. Special Issue: Experts in the Service of Social
Reform: SPSSI, Psychology, and Society, 1936-1996. 54.1. (1998): 53-78.
520
John O'Donnell, New York Daily News, Washington Times-Herald and Chicago Tribune, 8
June 1943. „Waac Whispers,“ Newsweek, 24 June 1943, 34-35; „Waac Rumors,“ Newsweek,
21 June 1943, 46. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
146
could have been the „WAAC Training Guide on Sex Hygiene“ printed by the War Department and issued on 27 May, 1943, twelve days before the appearance of the column.521 This pamphlet was „a suitably modest version“ of the Army's required hygiene
course for men that „definitely did not authorize any issue of contraceptives, and did not
even tell the women what they were or how to use them.”522 Interestingly, nobody di sputed the equation of the women’s morality and reputation with sexual abstinence.
Neither the War Department, which was primarily concerned with filling the recruiting
quotas, nor the WAAC leadership who were also interested in protecting the Waacs
from sexual victimization debated the association of contraceptives used by single
women with immoral conduct.
Within days after the column, a subcommittee of the House Military Affairs Committee
summoned Hobby and the Surgeon General Norman Kirk to appear and bring statistics
on the actual cases of pregnancy and venereal disease.523 After the War Department and
Hobby had decided that for the sake of the self-respect of the Waacs and their families
public denials would have to be made, despite indications that a formal War Department
denial increased the circulation of the column rather than curtail it,524 such statements
were immediately issued by the President and Eleanor Roosevelt, by the Secretary of
War, by General Brehon Somervell of the Army Service Forces, and by Colonel Hobby
521
Memo, Maj. General Geo V. Strong, Assistant Chief of Staff G-2 to DWAC, 21 August 43,
su: Origin of Rumors Concerning the WAAC. Military Intelligence Division G-2. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 92.
522
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 203. A preliminary document on WAAC policy regarding VD control of May 31, 1943 stated „no information on birth control will be given. Prophylactic facilities (stations) will not be established for Waacs. Distribution of mechanical prophylactic items through company organizations by purchase with unit funds is contrary to
WAAC policy.” Memo, Lieutenant Colonel Howland, su: WAAC Policy, May 31, 1943.
523
„Rumors About Waacs’ Morals under Secret Study in House,” New York Herald Tribune, 12
June 1943. See also „Intimate Message,” The Christian Science Monitor, 14 June 1943. WAAC
Daily Journal, Vol. I, 10 Jun 43. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
524
Eleanor Roosevelt’s denouncing „stories of moral misbehavior“ as „nazi propaganda“ [sic]
for example, was dispatched by Associated Press and carried by newspapers throughout the
country with a wider population than the O’Donnell column. Cottrell, Ann. „Mrs. Roosevelt Assails Stories About Waacs, Calls Them Propaganda of Foe, Blames Americans for ‘Falling for
Them,” Herald Tribune (9 June 1943). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203. See also statements
by Hobby (United Press, 9 June) and Stimson (AP and UP, 10 June 10).
147
and other WAAC officers.525 Stimson renounced the „sinister rumors aimed at destro ying the reputation of the WAAC“ in his highly publicized denial. Any „reflection on the
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps is, in essence a reflection on the whole of American
womanhood [...] the teachers who taught your children, the wives, sweethearts, sisters
and even mothers of the men who are today fighting.“526 The First Lady stated in front
of the press that rumors about pregnancies among Waacs in North Africa were Nazi
propaganda, and deplored that „Americans fall for Axis-inspired propaganda like children.“527
Shortly before the column appeared, a group of religious leaders had visited Fort Oglethorpe and Fort Des Moines. They now issued a statement to the press, assuring the
public of the „sacrificial contribution“ the Waacs were making, an „experience [that]
will strengthen their womanly character. However,“ the joint statement of the Catholic,
Protestant and Jewish clergymen went on, „we find them eagerly looking forward to the
time when they may take up again those time-honored joys which surround home life
and children.“528
On June 12, Eleanor Patterson, one of the editors and publishers of the Times Herald,
the newspapers that had printed the O’Donnell column four days earlier, wrote to
Hobby, using her private Washington apartment address. She explained that she regretted the O’Donnell column „from the bottom of my heart“ and promised to make it her
business to find out how this „gross mistake“ had happened.529 Hobby suggested „in an
unofficial capacity, as one women to another“ that the Times Herald publish an editorial
to give „reassurance to the mothers and fathers of our women in the Corps.“530 Patterson
preferred to „let the unfortunate column die“ rather than „breathe life back in the whole
525
„First Lady Scores Critics of Waacs,” New York Sun, 8 June 1943. „Mrs. Roosevelt Assails
Stories about Waacs,” Herald Tribune, 9 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
526
„Stimson Defends Waacs’ Morals,” Cleveland Press, 10 June 1943.
527
Washington Daily News, 9 June 1943. Ibid.
528
„Clergy, Congresswomen Spike Slur on Waacs,” New York World-Telegram, 11 June 1943.
Statement of clergymen, 11 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
529
Letter Eleanor Patterson to Hobby, 12 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
530
Letter Hobby to Patterson, 15 June 1943. NARA. Ibid.
148
sorry mess“ by further discussing the allegations, but Hobby had made up her mind and
chosen to deal with the affair head on.531 Several telegrams were exchanged and several
chances for personal meetings were missed before Kay McCarter, Patterson’s secretary
informed Hobby that „Mrs. Patterson [...]although she believes [the O’Donnell column]
to be a case of very bad judgment on his part, still there is no question that the foundation of his story is based on fact.“532
The damage had been done. Although O’Donnell was forced to retract his allegations,
he claimed at the same time that his information came from an „intelligent and trustworthy official who swore that his eyes had passed over an official memorandum which
dealt with this specific issue.“533 The specific issue, as presented by O’Donnell, was the
case of „Officer X, [age] 35, a college graduate married to a man in the service“ who
claimed „the same rights of regulating my private life“ by means of „medical essentials“
while in the WAAC that she enjoyed while she and her husbands were civilians.“534 As
late as October 1944 the story was reprinted by a religious publication, The Missionary
Worker, commenting on the sinfulness of promiscuity and indulgence. „Woe to America [...] we are becoming a nation of harlots and drunkards.“535
The WAAC received hundreds of letters referring to O’Donnell’s allegations, some
written in considerable moral outrage. A mother of a WAAC anonymously asked
whether „the government [was] trying to make an institution of prostitutes for the men
of the armed forces.“536 A writer in Vermont referred to the article as a „bold and i
n-
sidious argument in favor of ‚free love’ as I have ever seen in a publication pretending
to be even quasi-respectable.“537 Some writers were not certain what to think: A Texan
wrote to his Senator asking for „criminal indictments against everyone involved in such
531
Letter Hobby to Patterson, 16 June 1943 and Patterson to Hobby, 19 June 1943. Ibid.
Letter Kay McCarter, Secretary to Eleanor Patterson to Hobby, 1 July 1943. NARA. Ibid.
533
John O’Donnell, Capitol Stuff, 9 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, 203.
534
Ibid.
535
Letter J.W. Mathews to Eleanor Roosevelt 18 Oct 1944; Letter Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt to
Oveta C. Hobby, 27 October 1944 NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 91.
536
Letter, [anonymous], signed „Mother of a Waac“ to Hobby, 9 June 1943. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 92.
537
Letter Barnard Powers, Springfield, VT to Mrs. William P. Hobby, c/o The Houston Post, 11
June 1943. NARA. Ibid.
532
149
a depraved scheme to pollute the reputations, if not the bodies, of the young ladies who
enlisted in the WAAC.“538 On the other hand, in case „a conspiracy to distribute contr aceptives“ really existed, the Senator should be the first to propose in the Senate „the
disbanding of the WAAC as well as the indictments of the Congresswomen and Mrs.
Hobby.“539 Some writers were in favor of issuing contraceptives: „It would be good
thing if WAACS were instructed in modern contraceptive technique and all knew the
place of prophylactics in the prevention of venereal diseases which are so widespread in
our army.“540
From the ranks of enlisted men Corporal Jules E. Bernfeld observed that nobody had
„thus far drawn a clear definition of what constitutes an act of immorality for a woman
serving in the Armed Forces. I think we have failed to make clear that a woman serving
in the Armed Forces of the United States is as much a soldier as the man she is replacing and should be thought of as such.“ Peacetime „principles of good conduct“ applied
to civilian life but not to „a changed and drastic mode of living.“541 Corporal Bernfeld’s
observation was correct – the only standard that was being openly discussed by the
WAAC Director was sexual abstinence. Anything other than virginity for unmarried
women was unacceptable in a Christian country, as a member of the fraternal organization Knights of Columbus wrote: If the women were not taught „the value of virginity
and chastity“ the „lowered morals“ would trickle down to „girls in the lower ranks“ until „we will have a nation of prostitutes.“542
Interestingly, defenders of the WAAC argued along the same lines: A gynecologist
from Chicago also seemed to have regarded a woman’s hymen as some form of embodied morality. He stated that while he had been doing 826 pelvic examinations of
538
Letter Thad Putnam, Houston, TX to Senator Tom Conally, 11 June 1943. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 92.
539
Ibid.
540
Letter Margaret Darling Platner to Henry Stimson, Secretary of War, 11 June 1943. NARA.
Ibid.
541
Letter, Corporal Jules E. Bernfeld, Groton, CT to Oveta Culp Hobby, 8 June 1943. NARA.
542
Letter Abe Reynolds, Freehold, NJ to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 16 June 1943. Letter
Hobby to Reynolds, 23 June 1943. NARA. Ibid
150
Waacs, he found that „they are a very high class group of women. The per cent [sic] of
virgins among them runs higher that in my own private practice in Evanston, Illinois.“543
The Army's Military Intelligence Service began its full-scale investigation of possible
Axis origin of the rumors in June. Army agents combed through the nation service
command by service command, section by section and particularly concentrated their
efforts on communities near large WAAC posts, such as training centers. They held interviews with service personnel as well as with local citizens. Next, specific stories all
over the nation were tracked down to their suspected sources. Hobby also issued a letter
to all WAAC Public Relations Offices, all WAAC Staff Directors of Service Commands and all specialist schools and Major Bandel soliciting their help in investigating
the character and source of the rumors.544 Reports from all parts of the country came
back – a WAAC officer reported a conversation at a Philadelphia hair-dressers about
whether soldiers and sailors liked women in uniform,545 others reported rumors that
Army men and Waacs shared temporary barracks in Pennsylvania,546 as well as sigh tings of drunken Waacs in Toledo, Ohio, who turned out to be Women Ordnance Workers, not Waacs.547
Many stories about pregnancies, venereal disease, and immoral conduct had originated
with military personnel, as the G-2 report stated: „Military personnel, commissioned
and enlisted, were found to be a prolific fountainhead of WAAC rumors […] originating the rumor that ‘fantastic’ numbers of pregnant Waacs had been sent back to Lovell
543
Letter Charles E. Galloway, Major, M.C., Asst. professor Gyn. Ob. Northwestern University,
Chicago IL, to Representative Edith N. Rogers, 10 June 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
92.
544
Draft of letter by Colonel Hobby, 23 June 1943.NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
545
Letter Frances Hope Johnson, 2nd WAAC Officer, Adjutant HQ Philadelphia WAAC Recruiting District to DWAAC, 10 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
546
Letter, Velma R, White, Assistant Recruiting Officer, HQ WAAC recruiting Unit Scanton,
PA to DWAAC, 10 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
547
Report Marion Lichty WAAC Recruiting Officer to Commanding General, 5th Service
Command, Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, su: Investigation of Rumors in Toledo, Ohio, 14 April
1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
151
General Hospital from North Africa.”
548
When agents checked the hospital's records
without advance notice, they found no record of a pregnant Waac. 549 At Halloran Ge neral Hospital at Staten Island, one of 52 Waac patients admitted to the hospital was a
(married) pregnant woman returning from North Africa.550
From Baltimore, Maryland, a WAAC officer reported: „A soldier expressed great surprise when refused a date by a Waac who he attempted to ‚pick up’ as he thought that
was the duty of the Corps.“ Civilians had commented on the „prevalence of syphalis
[sic]“ among enlisted women, an unidentified soldier had stated, „Waacs are nothing but
tramps and used for one purpose. I’d kill any member of my family who’d join.“ Soldiers stationed at Camp Pickett were gossiping that Waacs stationed there „rent hotel
rooms for the weekends and ask men from the surrounding camps to stay with them.“
Army wives spread the rumor that „Waacs at Edgewood Arsenal and the Proving
Grounds [were] consistently discovered in promiscuous positions, frequently drunk“
and that Waacs and soldiers were often found in the „wooded areas near [the] camps in
the act of intercourse.“551 From Conway, Arkansas it was reported that a soldier who
was released from the service had returned to his hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas and
spread the story that „the WAAC is the Army’s solution to the prostitution problem.“552A soldier’s wife from Ohio wrote to President Roosevelt: „[A]ll those [...] girls
getting paid to live with our men. Why not if they can give money to the WAC Wave
etc. discharge such things and let us girls who have husbands go and spend some time
with them while they're on this side. Would you want to live with some one like that
after this war is over after spending their lives with them things.“553 Another Army wife
related a similar story:
548
Ibid.
550
Memo, Capt. F. M. Kerins to Col. Catron, 28 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
551
All rumor reports from WAAC recruiting station Baltimore Maryland, July 6, 1943.
552
Memo, HQ WAAC Br No 3, AAS, Conway Ark, to DWAAC, 1 July 1943. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 93.
553
Letter Mrs. Irene Reed, Harrison, Ohio to President Roosevelt, 26 August 1943. NARA. RG
407, Box 4290, F. 10
549
152
„My husband was at our local Army Post for examinations and this is what occurred. […] Through some source a boy in the same group with my husband was
supplied with a group of names of WACs he had never known, given instructions of how to get to them even tho’ their camp is „out of bounds” and assured
of a „good time”.554
A male letter writer claimed that „the idea of women in the Armed forces [sic] is
straight out of Nazi Germany and Communistic Russia,” and used building blocks from
the whispering campaign to accuse the Wacs of being „the morale problem of this nation at present.”555 Other letter writers just plain ridiculed the Waacs as dressed up i mpostures of soldiers:
„[F]ancy these women with a few weeks of training receiving an officers commission, seems to be an Opera Comique, all dressed up for parade. […] A fine
thing, when our non-commissioned men come Home, they who had done the
fighting, a dressed up sister, wife, etc, appeared as their officer.“556
The military intelligence report came to an alarming conclusion: There was „no positive
evidence that rumors concerning the morality of WAAC personnel are Axisinspired.“557 Instead, the rumors were spread by Americans, by servicemen and civi
l-
ians, factory workers and businesspeople. „Rumors regarding WAAC morality furnish a
lively topic of conversation in all walks of life.558 From Army officers and soldiers who
resented Waacs for various reasons, among them fear that they could be replaced by a
Waac and sent into combat, the rumors spread to wives, family and women friends and
from there into the general public. Military Police, „because of the traveling nature of its
duties“, spread rumors across service commands.559 Long-established misogyny played
554
Letter Mrs. J. C. Smith, Chattanooga, TN to President Roosevelt, 11 Nov 1943. NARA. RG
407, Box 4291.
555
Letter Elmer W. Serl, Nobleton, FL, 15 December 1943 to Secretary of War. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 91.
556
Letter A. Hamilton from Warren, Idaho, 6 December 42. NARA. RG 407, Box 4290.
557
Memo Maj. General Geo V. Strong, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 to DWAC, 21 August
1943, su: Origin of Rumors Concerning the WAAC. Military Intelligence Division G-2. NARA.
558
Memo Maj. General Geo V. Strong, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 to DWAC, 21 August
559
Report Marion Lichty WAAC Recruiting Officer to Commanding General, 5th Service
Command, Fort Hayes, Columbus, OH, su: Investigation of Rumors in Toledo, OH, 14 April
1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 92.
153
a role where servicemen who felt their own masculinity was being questioned or threatened by women entering the armed forces.
The height of the whispering campaign occurred when the WAC bill was being debated
in Congress and the safe distance to the masculinist core of the military that the auxiliary status had provided was about to shrink. Soldiers’ wives, whose husbands had been
or were about to be shipped overseas sometimes resented Waacs whom they held responsible, Civilian workers who held jobs at or near Army bases also feared that they
would be replaced by Waacs. In some areas, entire communities had undergone significant change when entire towns had come to depend economically on Army posts. Despite this, townspeople were at times annoyed at WAACs who during weekends came
to town in groups. In very few instances the investigators found that „disgruntled and
discharged Waacs“ were the source of rumors and the final group the investigation report listed were „fanatics”: „Those who cannot get used to women being any place except the home.“560 One worker at a defense plant in New Jersey took the matter of
tracking down possible Axis agents into his own hands: A German-born co-worker
spread a story of five hundred Waacs had arrived in New York, from North Africa, and
that they were all pregnant. George Hupp, whose daughter was a corporal in the Waac
dutifully reported later to the Alcohol Tax Unit as well as to Hobby that „indignation
caused me to strike a man down while on duty in the du Pont [sic] plant, this morning”.561
It was from overseas, where most soldiers had not yet seen a Waac that the fiercest
comments came.562 According to monthly Censorship Surveys of Morale, Rumors and
Propaganda, it was only in March 1945 that in some theaters of operations the number
of favorable comments by soldiers exceeded the number of unfavorable ones. Many
560
Memo Chief CIC, MIS, for General Strong, 13 Aug 1943, su: Closing Report on Investigation Rumors Concerning WAAC. C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 206.
561
Letters George Hupp to District Supervisor, Alcohol Tax Unit, 24 April 1943 and to Hobby,
14 May 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 93.
562
Letter Mary-Agnes Brown, Lieutenant Col. WAC Staff Director, HQ US Army Forces in the
Far East. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 89.
154
soldiers tended to question the moral values of any woman attracted to military service.
However, even those soldiers who commented favorably on the WAC would strongly
urge women friends, sisters and sometimes mothers not to join the corps:
„You ask me to tell you what I think of the Wacs and Waves with the idea of
you joining in mind. Darling, that sort of puts me on the spot. If the idea of you
joining were not involved, I would say that they have proven a proud, worthwhile part of our armed forces. But from the standpoint of you joining is something else again ... very emphatically I do not want you to join.”563
A Captain wrote to his sister in Iowa:
„Incidentally I don’t want you to join any WAACS or WAVES or anything associated with overseas service. I’m disgusted with our American girls in the
service […] They live with officers 1/2 or 3/4 of the night and then scram to
their quarters. I’m not saying what others tell me – its what I have seen.”564
A corporal wrote from overseas:
„The main need for W.A.A.C.s overseas is to provide them [officers] with
women. The Germans have their Brothels [sic], the Italians carry busloads of
women for their officers, but the British and Americans must disguise them as
‘Auxiliary Services’”.565
As Judith Bellafaire has pointed out, many of these mostly young soldiers had never
seen a Waac. Away from home and facing unknown dangers, many kept up their spirits
by imagining their return to the (increasingly idealized) family and community they had
left behind. „It was important that the family and community remain unchanged.
Women in the military represented change.566 A number of soldiers implied this mot ivation in their letters, others stated it explicitly: „When you asked me the first time
whether you could join the Wacs I refused and I meant that for all time. I want to come
home to the girl I remember.”567
Censors reported that male Army personnel felt „almost universally […] that the pres-
563
Captain D. Kerhli to Eloise Kehrli, Dubuque, Iowa on 20 August 1943. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 192.
565
Letter from an anonymous corporal (3rd A.S. Comm. Sqdn. APO 760, US Army) to an
anonymous Waac at Ft. Oglethorpe, 11 Aug 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192, F. 2.
566
Bellafaire, The Women's Army Corps, 16.
567
564
155
ence of the WAAC in this theater is undesirable.“568 Some of the comments made by
soldiers included: „Over here there are a great number of WAACs and the boys think
they are good for only one thing – and you know what that is.“ 569 Please keep making
those parts for planes for I want planes here and not WAACs. I ask it of you not to join
the WAAC.“ 570 An anonymous postcard that was forwarded to the FBI by a friend of
the recipient read, „Your daughter is a good girl if you wish to keep her that way get her
out of the WAC. They are being used for immoral purposes. Take a soldier’s advice.“571
Other comments by soldiers included: „I think it is best that he and Edith are separating,
because after she gets out of the service she won't be worth a dime;” „I told my Sis if
she ever joined I would put her out of the house and I really meant it. So if you ever join
I will be finished with you too and I mean it;” „Honey don't ever worry your poor head
about joining the Wacs for we went over all that once before, Ha! (Remember, over my
dead body. Ha! Ha!) You are going to stay at home.” Officers expressed similar feelings: „I cannot put this on paper how I feel and I am ashamed to tell my fellow officers.
She cannot even consider herself as my wife from now on. I am stopping all allotments
to her and am breaking off all contacts with her. Why she did such a thing to me I cannot understand. My heart is broken.”572
The rumor campaign and the O’Donnell column had done tremendous damage to how
the WAAC was seen by the public but also on a personal level. Over fifty years later,
WAAC veteran Mildred C. Bailey remembered: „[A]s a commanding officer I would
have women come to see me, and sit and sob from letters they were getting from their
parents about they had made this decision to do this, and what a mistake they had made.
I read the papers, too, and people were saying that I was a prostitute and all I was in the
568
Files of Col. Scott Bailey, Chief Base Censor of Allied Force Headquarters, [n.d.]. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 57.
569
Ibid.
570
Ibid.
571
Letter George J. Robertson to John Edgar Hoover, Director FBI, 18 Aug 1943. Postcard directed to Mary Neary enclosed. Letter J.E. Hoover to Maj. General George V. Strong, Assistant
Chief of Staff, G-2, 7 September, 1943.
572
All soldier comments are from NATO AG file 319.1 Morale, Vols. 11-V and Morale
Evaluation Survey in Women's Services, GHQ AFPAC, 16 June 1945, in possession of former
Staff Director, c.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 211-12.
156
Army for was to find a husband or to practice prostitution, you know, and that's not very
good for the morale. But we knew who we were and why we were there and what we
were doing, but it really hurt our feelings.“573 The official report by the G-2, Military
Intelligence Division came to the conclusion that „rumors concerning morality of the
WAAC are the outward manifestation of a psychological adjustment the American public is undergoing in regard to women in uniform.“574
3.5 „Guilt” v. „Glamour”: WAC Recruiting
After the conversion to Army status in the course of which about a quarter of all Waacs
had chosen to leave the Corps, the new Women's Army Corps was immediately faced
with demands for personnel. The Adjutant General estimated that of the total of two
million estimated necessary for the next year more than 600,000 positions could be efficiently filled by Wacs. So urgent was the situation that Hobby was approached on this
subject by General Marshall on the very evening of her swearing-in ceremony. This
stood in stark contrast to the reality of WAAC recruiting, which had yielded only 839
recruits in August, a rate at which normal attrition overtook recruiting.575
More recruiting conferences with Young & Rubicam were being held in search for a recruiting theme. This summer, high-ranking Army brass were among the participants.576
George Gallup strongly advocated an appeal to a woman's self-interest, with emphasis
on the advantages of the new military status – benefits such as free medical care, mailing privileges and WAC training for postwar careers. Director Hobby was once again
absolutely opposed to the „glamour“ approach. To the contrary, she argued that women
would respond better „the more difficult this job was painted to the woman, the more of
573
Interviewee: Mildred C. Bailey, Interviewer: Eric Elliott, 26 May 1999. Women Veterans
Historical Project. Oral History Collection - Jackson Library. 1999. Web Page. URL:
http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/veterans/BaileyMtrans.html. 31 July 2005.
574
Memo, Maj. General Geo V. Strong, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 to Dir WAC, 21 August
575
576
Participants included General White of G-1 Division, Brig. General Joseph N. Dalton of
ASF's Military Personnel Division and Major Robert S. Brown. Ibid.
157
a challenge it was to her. I wonder if a different slant, telling this woman how hard, how
drab, how routine it is (and 95% of the jobs are) send something of a challenge to her.
[...] Has she the courage to do the commonplace as against the courage of the spectacular?“577 Instead, Hobby favored a s eries of „shocker“ ads, one of which showed a dying
soldier on the battlefield while women were playing bridge. The proposed caption was:
„Men are dying on the battle line – can you live with yourself on the sideline?“578 The
Generals White and Dalton pointed out to Hobby that the censors forbade showing dead
American soldiers to the American public and vetoed the draft. Hobby was of the opinion that the campaign had to instill a sense of guilt in those women who were unwilling
to contribute their share. While the patriotic appeal of women’s self-sacrifice in wartime
was quite traditional, she went much further in proposing an ad that showed soldier’s
graves in order to „drive home a sense of shame to women not doing anything. […] We
are now shooting for women doing absolutely nothing.579 Another draft was „Women –
How Many More Must Die Before You Act?” showing soldiers carrying a flag-covered
coffin and a Wac at work.580
Gallup and the representatives of Young & Rubicam strongly disagreed with Hobby,
but agreed to test run one advertisement of the shocker type. The poster shows a black
and white photograph of five graves with crosses, one with a helmet under a dramatic
sky on a yellow background. The caption is, „Women! They can’t do any more – but
you can – Join the WAC, Women’s Army Corps, apply at nearest U.S. Army Recruiting
station“581 was used in October, it was banned as „too gruesome“ in Boston newspapers.
A milder example of this type was a draft that was presented in October 1943: The
577
Conference at WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam on Advertising & Recruiting,
13 July 1943 Conference proceedings, 6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
578
Ibid.
579
Hobby at Conference at WAAC Headquarters with Young & Rubicam on Advertising & Recruiting, 13 July 1943 Conference proceedings, 6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
580
Conference ODWAC staff with Young & Rubicam personnel, 11 October 1943. NARA. RG
165, Entry 55, Box 200.
581
Poster, 9 x 12 _ in. A023. Recruiting Publicity Bureau, U.S. Army, 1943. Jackson Library,
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC. University Archives Poster Collection. Women
Veterans Historical Collection. Web Page. URL:
http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/miscdes/posters.html. 12 July 2005.
158
poster showed wounded men on a hospital ship and, below that, pictures of Wacs at
work. The caption again read „They Can’t Do More – But You Can”. During the discussion Jessie Rice pointed out that „it might lead girls to think ‘if I release a man for
combat that might happen to him’.”582 Hobby now tried to think of „a way we could say
‘This is your war’ without actually pointing out that they release a man”.583
As a compromise, the recruiters decided that some „glamorization“ in advertising was
essential (this was not true for the recruiting campaign itself). Emphasis was thus placed
firstly on the many types of attractive jobs available to women in the Army, and secondly, on WAC benefits, with the advantage of full military status. An example for this
course of action was the radio series Green Valley, USA by Columbia Broadcasting
System (CBS).584 Each weekday the listener was greeted with „Hello neighbor. We
l-
come back to Green Valley. I’ve got a story for you, about some people you probably
know. People just like you, important people, whose story is the life story of America.”
The story was about young Jane Smith, an orphan, who works at the public library. Jane
is bitter, restrained, lonely but proud and doesn’t smile often. One sunny day, she meets
popular Danny, her former classmate, the captain of the basketball team, the chairman
of senior prom, who is now Sergeant and eager to go overseas, but has to do so much
office work. Lonely Jane leaves the job at the library, joins up and starts making friends
the minute she boards the train to Fort Oglethorpe. Once a member of the WAAC, she
is doing fine in class work, but because she is so bitter about not having a family, she is
not much of team player. A motherly WAAC Captain (who has lost brother in combat)
sets her head straight and Jane stops pitying herself. Finally, Jane finds her „family of
friendship – a family of loyalty to the ideas for which this country stands, and for which
we are all fighting today in true comradeship.”585 Jane becomes „Smitty” and is „part of
the gang now.” Finally, she finds romance with Danny. When he is going overseas, she
582
Conference ODWAC staff with Young & Rubicam personnel, 11 October 1943, 165, Entry
55, Box 200.
583
Ibid.
584
CBS, „Green Valley, U.S.A.”8 15-minute radio scripts, broadcast 8-14 June 1943, between
3:45 and 4:00 pm. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 15.
585
CBS, „Green Valley, U.S.A.,” script #115, broadcast 11 June 1943, 10. NARA. Ibid.
159
knows that after making her „own family […] here in the WAAC [she now has] the one
thing that was still missing […] A picture of somebody special to show off.”586
Advertisers were experimenting to find just the right amount of „glamour” that they
thought was necessary to „selling” the WAC to American women and that WAC Headquarters would still tolerate. The following radio scripts were written by Sergeant Hal E.
Woodard who worked at the Public Relations Office Camp Wheeler, Georgia. Woodard
was an editor of the camp paper of Camp Wheeler, an infantry replacement training
center and was in charge of „all radio activity” at the two men public relations office.
When Woodard was called to Atlanta on the WAC recruiting drive for the Recruiting
District, the enthusiastic Sergeant wrote shows and spot announcements, that combined
the patriotism approach with an emphasis on personal benefits and an increasing level
of glamour: „The WAC offers you the chance to chose from 239 different jobs, and also
the freedom to chose where you want to be stationed.”587 „There’ll be classes in military
operations, world events, administration and lots of other fascinating subjects. […] Yes,
[life in the WAC] is hard in many ways. Many of the jobs are routine and tedious. It
certainly isn’t all glamour, but there’s nothing in it that’s impossible.”588 Announcement
#3 stresses the vacation aspect: „Once you’re in, you’ll meet new people, women from
all walks of life – students, opera singers, stenographers, housewives and world travelers. You’ll live a new life, an exiting life!”589 In announcement #8 Sgt. Woodard mixed
elements of fashion reporting into his patriotic appeal and perhaps got a little carried
away:
„MAN (whistles, wolf type): Wow! What was that? AN[ou]NC[e]R: That was a
WAC in her brandnew summer uniform! […] MAN: Brother, that outfit defies
description. […] WAC: I’m wearing the cool, new tropical worsted summer tans
– form fitting, with gold buttons and shoulder tabs. I have on these smart off
duty pumps of brown leather, and I’m carrying a matching envelope bag. To set
the ensemble off, there’s the soft chamois colored scarf and gloves, plus a jaunty
586
CBS, „Green Valley, U.S.A” Script #119, broadcast 14 June 1943. NARA. Ibid.
Sergeant Hal E. Woodard: WAC recruiting announcement #1, Public Relations Office Camp
Wheeler, Georgia. Letter Woodard to Hobby, 1 June 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
588
Sgt. Hal E. Woodard: WAC recruiting announcement #3, ibid.
589
Ibid.
587
160
garrison cap trimmed in enchanting moss green. MAN: Terrific, terrific! WAC:
And that’s not all. For off-duty occasions I can switch to my soft rayon shantung
one piece costume of military beige that looks like oyster white.”590
Despite Sgt. Woodard’s enthusiastic and creative advertising, the ensuing All-StatesCampaign relied on more experienced personnel.
3.5.1 The All-States-Campaign
One campaign that worked well with the patriotism motif that Hobby preferred was the
All-States Plan. This campaign was a brainchild of Jessie Pearl Rice, who had been reassigned to WAC headquarters in the summer. Rice had a background as an industrial
sales manager and a year's field experience as Staff Director, Third Service Command.
As the new head of WAC Recruiting and later as Deputy Director, she was along with
Hobby in charge of WAC policy. On September 7, 1943 at a WAC Recruiting Conference in Washington, DC, Rice introduced the plan. She believed that the local elites had
to be included on every level of the recruiting effort. According to Rice, eligible women
and their families would be more likely to listen to community members than to outside
salesmen, expert or not. Her plan included making the success of WAC recruiting a
competitive matter of state pride. Each state to recruit a state company, which would
wear that state’s shoulder patches. Originally, the national quota was to be based on the
war casualties. As Major Robert Brown explained, the total quota of Wacs to be enlisted
WACs by state companies was 70,000 „It is planned to enlist 1 WAC for each Army
casualty – but this must be taken literally.” However, the theme of direct replacements
for local casualties was soon dropped as too offensive. „Human beings don’t react in the
same way to a death in the family from war or some other cause.”591 For the recruitment
period from 27 September to 7 December 1943 – approximately [sic] 70 days – the slogan was to be „70,000 WACs in 70 days”.592 Two weeks before the campaign was
launched, on September 10, 1943, General Marshall personally wrote to the state governors outlining the campaign . Next, the governors were contacted by the commanding
590
Sgt. Hal E. Woodard: WAC recruiting announcement #8, ibid.
WAC Recruiting Conference, 7 September 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
592
Ibid.
591
161
generals of each service and asked to work with WAC recruiting officers to set up
committees consisting of mayors and other prominent citizens coordinated by WAC recruiters in each town. General Marshall also outlined the plan to the public in a national
press release on 15 September.
This concerted effort generated an unprecedented impact. The Office of War Information in October coordinated „17,000 messages broadcast over 891 radio stations, plus
150 plugs on network programs and special, national, and spot programs.“593 The ca mpaign was also supported by the WAC Band, by the Army's Recruiting Publicity Bureau
that printed all kinds of advertising materials and by the War Advertising Council and
others that arranged free sponsored advertising for the WAC on the national as well as
the local level. National civic and business organizations, women’s clubs across the
country as well as businesses in all kinds of trades contributed free publicity in the publications and paid advertising was authorized to supplement it.594
In October, 1943, the Research Department of Young & Rubicam conducted another
investigation of a cross-section of 80 WAC Recruiting Stations. 77 local investigators
visited the recruiting stations in their hometown or a near-by city where they presented
themselves as applicants and went through all preliminary steps of enlistment such as
the MAT but not the physical examination.595 The results were better than expected:
81% of the applicants left the station with the over-all impression that their reception
had been good.; 56% stated their feeling toward the WAC had been influenced favorably.596
593
Examples include General Federation of Women’s Clubs. General Federation Clubwoman
[27-page brochure] 23.5 (February 1943): Washington, DC. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 12.
Oveta C. Hobby. „Portia in Khaki“. Women Lawyers’ Journal 28.3-4 (1942): 5-7. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 12.
595
Research Department, Young & Rubicam, „WAC Recruiting Station Investigation,” October
1943. NARA. 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
596
Ibid.
594
162
All-States Campaign proved more successful than any other campaign before or after in
WWII and the WAC was able to enlist just over 10,000 new recruits. It also succeeded
in overcoming the bad public opinion that was a result of the slander campaign. A new
Gallup survey in the closing months of the year showed that public attitude was now
„definitely favorable to the WAC-more so than at any time since its organization.597
Slowly, the Army began realizing that recruiting women was a service wide task that
would neither take care of itself, nor could it be relegated to some minor understaffed
office. At the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting in February 1944
Maj. General Joe N. Dalton, Director of Personnel of the Army Service Forces, opened
his remarks by greeting his „fellow recruiters”: „I use the term ‘fellow recruiters’ advisedly, for it is definitely the duty of every member of the Army to aid in solving the
problem of providing sufficient manpower for our assault forces by aiding in recruiting
of women.”598 In order to keep recruiters motivated, the Adjutant General's Office in
January started distributing a bi-weekly newsletter, the Recruiters' Review in which it
published progress reports, pep rallies and advice on sales techniques.599 The Adjutant
General also created the Planning Branch, a group of Army officers many of whom had
„civilian experience […] in life insurance sales management. As Edward Witsell, later
to become the Adjutant General himself, stated, this decision was based on „the realization that the problem before us is not only one requiring expert sales technique, but the
intimate personalized technique that is best found in the life insurance field, where
salesmen deal daily with the intimate personal relationships of all types of individuals.”600
597
(Emphasis in the original). Maj. General Joe N. Dalton, Director of Personnel, ASF. Speech
given at the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting, Chicago, IL. 21-23 February
1944, 6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
599
Women’s Army Corps. Recruiters Review 1.1 (15 January 1944). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55,
Box 218.
600
Brig. General Edward F. Witsell, Director MPD, AGO, opening remarks to the Adjutant
General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting. Ibid. Lieutenant Col John F. Johns became Chief of
the Planning Branch, which consisted of three operating sections: The Administrative Section,
the Field Supervisory Section and the Publicity Section. WAC News Letter 1.4 (March 1944).
Ibid..
598
163
The All-States Campaign was succeeded by a special assignment recruiting plan for the
Army Ground and Service Forces, the Station Job Assignment (SJA) Plan.601 The pr ogram, which was in effect from November 1943 until 1 March 1944, allowed for recruits who elected the plan to select for her initial assignment a specific occupational
field, „depending on her aptitudes and skills and need”. The women were also assigned
to a station in the same service command where they signed up. This plan proved problematic for several reasons: According to informal reports from the Service Commands,
most recruiters found that the promises had caused much additional administrative
work, but have not aided recruiting. Instead, the plan has created a „bad morale situation” among the women who had enlisted before the inauguration of station and job recruiting. Additionally, recruiters were surprised to learn that most women did not want
to serve near home.602
3.5.2 The Attitude of Army Men
The attitude of servicemen was extremely important to the image the public had of the
WAAC. Many women who joined the Corps had family members in one of the armed
services – as did many who did not join. Family members’ and friends’ attitudes toward
military service would almost invariably play a role in a woman’s decision to enlist. As
I have shown earlier, it was therefore vital for recruiting to know and positively influence the soldiers’ opinion on the WAAC. The first Survey that specifically explored the
servicemen’s attitude was conducted by the Services of Supply, Special Services Division in January 1943.603 It revealed a decidedly adverse attitude of most servicemen.
The survey covered almost 4,300 men at eight Army camps – four where Wacs were
stationed, four where there were no Waacs. When asked, „If you had a sister 21 years
old or older, would you like to see her join the WAAC or not?“ only 25 percent an601
War Department Circular No. 286, 8 November 1943. „Women’s Army Corps – Area and
Job Recruiting and Assignment. NARA. RG 407, Box 4294.
602
Memorandum Colonel A. P. Sullivan to Director Military Personnel Division, ASF, su: Results of WAC Enlistments under WD Circular 340, 1943, 25 April 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 64.
603
Report No. B-4, Attitudes of Enlisted Men toward the WAAC, Preliminary Memorandum.
164
swered „yes.”604 The same was true when the men were asked whether they would a dvise a girl friend to join - only one fourth would. Those who answered „no” gave as
their reasons: „Women are more help in industry, defense work, farm“; they would be
„better off at home“; the Army was „no place for a woman“; she would have „too close
contact with soldiers“ or „too hard a life“.605 When asked, „How do you think a young
woman without family responsibilities can serve her country best?“ over half of them
named the war industry, others preferred farm or „government work”. Fewer than 20
percent named the WAAC and only two percent the WAVES. These opinions were offered although most men had never seen a Waac. The survey also revealed that the soldiers had little knowledge of what the Waacs were actually doing. One quarter said they
„work for the government,“ and as much as 13 percent said the WAAC was performing
„combat duty.“606
First Officer Martha E. Eskeridge, WAAC advisor to the Film Production Section of the
Army Service Forces’ Special Service Division, conducted interviews with Army officers and enlisted men on the West Coast and came to similar conclusions regarding the
soldiers’ attitude toward the WAAC.607 Apart from the fact that the average soldier
„does not understand the purpose of the Corps, just what the women will do and how
they are to be treated,” he was also not convinced of the need of women’s participation
in the Army. The soldiers expressed as their main objection to their sisters or girlfriends
joining the WAAC that they felt „the Army is no place for a woman.” In Eskeridge’s
604
25 % answered yes, 40 % no, 35% were undecided. The answers of men of different educational background were very similar, though the men of less education were slightly more favorable of the WAAC. Those who indicated that there were WAAC’S stationed at their camp
likewise had a more favorable attitude, and this was true in all education groups. At a conference of training center commandants, however, Captain Edlund gave different figures: he stated
that 55% of the enlisted men answered no and that at camps where Waacs were stationed more
enlisted men did not want their sister, friends, etc. to join the WAAC in comparison with those
Camps at which Wacs were not stationed. Proceedings of conference of training center commandants, March 31- April 1, 1943, 11. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 209.
605
606
Ibid.
607
Martha E. Eskridge, 1st Officer WAAC, Headquarters Brach Office Special Service Division, Los Angeles, CA, su: Report of Technical Advisor, WAAC Film, 21 April 1943. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 54, Box 9. Interviews with officers and enlisted men who had never seen or
worked with Waacs were conducted in Los Angeles and on trains. Officers and enlisted men
who had worked with Waacs were interviewed at the Los Angeles recruiting Station and the
Port of Embarkation at San Francisco.
165
words, the men felt that „the Army is composed of so-called wolves and that his sister’s
or girlfriend’s close association with these soldiers will tend to lower her moral standards.”608 At the same time, „the soldier feels too that the WAAC will de-feminize
women […] and change her.”
Eskeridge’s survey clearly revealed that for officers and enlisted men the category
‘woman|soldier ’ did not yet exist. The officers’ confusion and insecurity toward Waacs
was even greater than that of enlisted men. Eskeridge reported: „Army officers prefer to
treat WAACs first as ladies and then as soldiers. They resent the fact that many Waacs
insist on observing military courtesy after they have indicated by word or gesture that
they prefer to treat the WAAC as they would a woman; that is, allowing the WAAC to
precede them through a door, etc.”609 This ambiguity was not just due to the novelty of
the Corps or the lack of established protocol regarding women in uniform. Rather, it became clear that male officers felt that their own identity was being threatened by women
officers: „When in the presence of a senior WAAC officer, a junior Army officer is
rather self-conscious and is extremely sensitive to any evidence of the WAAC’s consciousness of rank. When this is augmented by a superior attitude on the part of the
WAAC the reaction is that of resentment toward the Corps. This attitude and approach
on the part of a WAAC officer unsells [sic] the Corps quicker than anything else.”610
Although a Waac „prefers to be treated as a soldier while on duty but as a woman when
off-duty,” it was up to her to „realize the WAAC does not wish to change them and
make them masculine […] many of them are under the false impression that they would
have to get a masculine haircut if they joined the WAAC.”611 A „masculine haircut” or
„consciousness of rank” were both considered unfeminine and would thus harm recruiting. Consequently, Eskridge suggested that the most effective approach in WAAC
publicity geared specifically toward Army officers and enlisted men was „the feminine
angle.” Men needed to be convinced that the WAAC would not alter the women but that
608
Report of Technical Advisor, WAAC Film, 2-3.
Ibid.
610
Ibid., 3.
611
Ibid., 4.
609
166
they would continue to „like all the things they did as civilians such as pretty clothes,
perfume, nail polish, curls and most of all they have a desire for a home.”612
The „feminine angle” was also disseminated by less official recruiting aids. The WAC
News Letter, for instance, produced by the Office of the Director, WAC and distributed
by Publications Section of the Adjutant General’s Office, was aimed at WAC officers
but also intended to provide „material of interest to all Army personnel.613 Because of
its informal nature, the newsletter was also a medium for the occasional „human interest
story” such as „They All Serve” in the January 1944 issue: Eleven of twelve children of
Mr. And Mrs. Van Coutren of St. Louis, Missouri served in the military. The story of
the „patriotic family” of „three Wacs, six boys in the Navy, one boy in the Army and
one in the Marine Corps”, each of whom received a letter from Mrs. Van Coutren once
a week, was geared to appeal to everybody who had any influence on a prospective
Wac’s decision to enlist.614 The News Letter generally promoted an ideal of the Waac as
a professional soldier for the duration whose presence in the theater of operation could
nevertheless spice up the dull GI life. After noting the high regard in which overseas
commands hold the Wacs „out of an appreciation for their efficiency, adaptability, selfsufficiency and soldierly conduct”, the News Letter quotes Lt. Col Anna W. Wilson,
WAC Staff Director in the European Theater of Operations: „During a raid it is interesting to observe the effect on GI Joe, or GI Jane, as she is called. There is a natural instinct on the part of the Wac not to let the GI see that she is afraid. The same is true of
him. He couldn’t have a mere woman see that he is disturbed.”615
By 1944 many recruiters were convinced that the cause of the recruiting difficulties lied
largely in the adverse attitude toward women in the armed forces, although few put it as
drastically as Brig. General Henry S. Aurand of the Sixth Service Command: „We are
all convinced that the attitude of the buck private is the reason for slow enlistment of
Wacs. […] Let's take this Command for example. Less than ten percent of the enlisted
612
Ibid.
Editorial, WAC News Letter 1.6 (15 November 1943): 2. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
218.
614
„They All Serve,” WAC News Letter, 1.8. (15 January 1944): 7. Ibid.
615
„The WAC Overseas,” WAC News Letter 2.8 (March 1945). Ibid.
613
167
men are in combat organizations. Just tell those fellows to go out and get Wacs so they
can be sent overseas, and you will see how far you get. [...] You might just as well put
that in your pipe and smoke it.”616 Instead, the Army hastily devised a number of mea sures to influence soldier opinion positively, among them a film and a handbook to provide information on the WAAC.617
By the time the Army recruiters realized that they would have to influence soldiers’
opinion in order to meet the WAC recruiting quotas, enlisted men had „already formed
rather definite opinions” on the WAC. In an orientation program for soldiers of the 4th
Service Command in Savannah, Georgia, Air Corps Captain Morris Abram first addressed the typical questions: „Why don’t we draft women, why don’t we use civilians,
why don’t we use 4-F’s [men rejected for military service].”618 Then, however, Adams
employed a new approach: He pointed out that „in the midst of a decisive war’s most
critical stage” the Army was 200,000 men short of the required strength. „But,” he went
on, „up to a certain point, women can be figured as men in counting the strength of the
army. […] Perhaps up to seven hundred thousand can be counted as men.”619 He went
on to assure the soldiers that the WAC was not designed „primarily to send you overseas [but] to bring as many as possible of our army back alive and unharmed. It was not
established primarily to replace you in the job you are now doing; it was established that
we might, men and women together, pool our efforts to overwhelm the enemy. […] So,
let’s not talk of replacing men for combat.”620
This was a new approach toward the WAC, and it was a double-edged sword: On the
one hand, the War Department position finally recognized Wacs as soldiers in their own
right. Or, as Abram put it: „[T]here are three kinds of jobs in the army: the job for men
soldiers, the job for women soldiers, and the job of the civilians […]. Healthy men are
616
C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 689.
Ibid., 171.
618
Letter Captain Morris B. Abram, HQ AAF Eastern Flying Training Command, Maxwell
Field, Alabama to Lieutenant Col. Jessie Pearl Rice, Assistant Director, WAC. 31 March 1944.
619
Ibid., 2.
620
Ibid., 3.
617
168
to fight; healthy women are to back them up in non-combatant military tasks; and properly classified civilians are to do the least military administrative job.”621 On the other
hand, this new hierarchy of male soldier, woman|soldier and civilian administrative
worker did not come about out of a sudden realization of the value of the WAC’s work.
Rather, as War Department instructions telegraphed to field stations suggested, recruiting was harmed by „antagonize[ing]” soldiers. Consequently, the instructions went on,
„don't imply that women do a better job than men except on work in which men recognize women's superiority, such as stenography.“622 Along the same lines, the WAC D irector added: „The soldier does not like it [Wacs replacing men]. There is not always a
good civilian reaction to it, and we mothers are jealous, perhaps, of our sons […] We do
not like to think that some girl has replaced our son.”623
During the winter of 1943/1944 the ill-fated slogan ‘Release a man to fight’ was at last
replaced. Hobby pointed out that the WAC was not any more only about ‘releasing
manpower’, but „a total part of the man and womanpower of this nation. […] Overseas
[…] each woman felt that she was needed there. […] The Wacs are regarded as soldiers.
They have been given all the orientation courses that the troops are given when they go
to those stations and these women know the picture.”624 A representative of Young &
Rubicam confirmed that the expression had not been used at all for several months. He
confirmed that the expressions ‘releasing’ or ‘replacing’ men „had definitely hurt the
recruiting of women from the first time it went up on posters. […] It is very definitely
out. It is a dead duck as far as publicity is concerned.”625 Finally, Hobby gave in to
Young & Rubicam’s position on the motif of self-interest, rather than self-sacrifice.
After a presentation of the latest Gallup figures to Air Force personnel Hobby stated:
„The story of the need and essentiality has apparently been told. I think we have to do
621
Ibid., 5.
623
Ibid.
624
Colonel Oveta C. Hobby, Director, WAC, speech given at the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting, Chicago, IL 21-23 February 1944, 9. 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
625
Mr. Reeder, Young & Rubicam at the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting,
Chicago, IL 21-23 February 1944, 28. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
622
169
this type of advertising: appeal to people who want to travel, who want vocational
training – self –interest copy.”626
„I think that the day of speaking of the WAC as something new or novel should
be over. We should stop saying what a great job the WAC does. I think it should
be an accepted part of the war effort. We should simply appeal to the womanpower of this nation and the manpower of this nation because all of us know that
the manpower of this nation must be sold on the need for women in the military
service or the women are not going to come in. So let’s stop talking about how
good the WAC is. Let’s just talk about how much our country needs personnel –
whether it is man or womanpower – and I believe we will have reached the
overall thing.”627
3.5.3 „Fighting men and capable Wacs”
Secretary of War Stimson reiterated the new policy in a public speech in May 1944:
„The need at the moment is for fighting men and capable Wacs.“628 This General Staff
decision constituted a change in personnel policy. Against the widespread belief that
male 4-Fs and limited service personnel could be assigned to noncombat Army jobs,
Stimson stated: „We can fit them into the Army with the minimum of training and use
them on jobs where men are seldom as well-trained, as efficient, as well-suited by temperament, or as willing to work as women are.“629 Women’s skills made them valuable
because it minimized the training necessary and their mobility made them preferable to
men who were fathers: „We need women because they have the skills we are looking
for. […] It is not economy [sic] to take men from their families and from jobs in essential industry to do the work in the Army which women who are mobile and without dependents could do with less training.“630
626
Conference to present Gallup survey to Air Forces personnel, 23 November 1943. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 200.
627
Colonel Oveta C. Hobby, Director, WAC, speech given at the Adjutant General’s Conference on WAC Recruiting, Chicago, IL, 21-23 February 1944, 11. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55,
Box 206.
628
629
Ibid.
630
Ibid.
170
The flip side of this new recognition of women’s place in the war was that the special
skills that made Wacs so valuable were often precisely those nurturing and caring skills
that were traditionally assigned to women. To accept Wacs as fellow soldiers now, to
give them proper credit and support, would make them better wives when the war was
over: „After the war, would you like a wife who understands the emptiness at times
which steals over your heart, the sad smile with which you consider the huge importance which people attach to petty things? […] Do you want a wife as close to you as
you are to your buddies from Over There? [sic]”631 For the Wacs as well as potential r ecruits this meant that tasks that they had performed throughout the war out of expedience were now redefined so that for example clerical and stenographic workers in Army
General Hospitals were now doing a „work of healing” in keeping track of patients’
progress and treatment.632
3.5.4 „Comforting Our Wounded Heroes”
WAC recruiting was to be essentially over as soon as the war ended. In the fall of 1944
the defeat of Germany was prematurely expected to occur by the end of the year, so that
after 31 December 1944 the „aggressive WAC recruiting“ should cease. Hobby estimated that the WAC would have attained a strength of 100,000 by November 1,
1944.633 Beginning in January 1945, the WAC should start recruiting for smaller quotas
to procure essential skills as needed and to replace losses caused by attrition.634 Late in
December 1944, the Adjutant General sent letters to all service commands, virtually
631
Letter Captain Morris B. Abram, HQ AAF Eastern Flying Training Command, Maxwell
Field, Alabama to Lieutenant Col. Jessie Pearl Rice, Assistant Director, WAC, 31 March 1944,
6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 2.
632
Public Relations Office, Charleston Recruiting District, Standard Operating Procedure West
Virginia WAC Hospital Unit Campaign. 1 February - 31 March 1945, 32. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
633
Memorandum Oveta C. Hobby to General Stephen G. Henry, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1.
su: WAC Recruiting, 21 August 1944. NARA RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64. See also Jessie P.
Rice, Memorandum for General White, su: WAC Recruiting on Defeat of Germany, 7 August
1944. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64. Lieutenant Col John F. Johns, Chief, Planning Branch for
WAC recruiting, Minutes of War Department Planning Board for WAC Recruiting, 23 October
1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 201.
634
Letters, Maj. General A[lexander] D. Surles to Edwin O. Perrin, War Advertising Council,
and to Edward Kaluber, Deputy Director, Office of War Information, both 26 October 1944.
171
ending active WAC recruiting. Each service command was directed to reduce its personnel drastically and from 1 January on was assigned a quota of only 68 each
month.635
The „Battle of the Bulge” made this directive obsolete even before it was sent out. The
„Battle of the Bulge“, to counter the German Ardennes Offensive between December
16, 1944 and January 25, 1945 was the largest land battle of World War II in which the
United States participated. It was also the costliest in terms of lives: In total there were
81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed. Most of the
casualties occurred within the first three days of the battle, when two regiments of the
106th Division were surrounded and forced to surrender.636
The relief orders were immediately rescinded and the General Hospital Campaign was
launched to recruit Wacs as medical and surgical technicians:637 Sick and wounded men
were coming back to the United States at a rate of 1,000 a day to spend an average of
five months recuperating. The number of American battle casualties that had occurred
in the Army Ground Forces alone during the past six months since D-day, 332,912 men,
was much greater than that of the 30 months up to invasion of France.638 The overall
American battle casualties as reported through January 7, 1945 were 662,399.639 Ge neral Marshall assigned to the WAC the task to recruit 103 medical units, each made up
of several platoons of 15 women each. These 6500 to 8000 additional Wacs were to be
635
Letter Adjutant General to all Service Commands, 20 Dec 44. Treadwell, The Women’s
Army Corps, 697.
636
In addition to the battle casualties, 74 American prisoners of war were murdered by the German 1. SS-Panzerdivision „Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler“ on December 17 in what became known
as the Malmedy Massacre. Weinberg, A World at Arms, 766-767.
637
WAC Recruiting data compiled at conference of officers of WAC recruiting unit, Second
Service Command, ASF, 13 January 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 207.
638
The total American battle casualties during the 2 1/2 years up to invasion of France on 6 June
1944 were 224,693. During the six months between D-Day and 1 January 1945 casualties on the
Western Front were 332,912 (in the ground forces of the Army alone,) of whom 232,672 were
wounded. WAC Medical Technician Program, WAC Hospital Assignments. 30 January 1945.
NARA RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
639
„A report to the Women of America on our Wounded and the Critical Need for more Wac in
Army Hospitals,” WAC Hospital Assignments. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
172
assigned to 60 Army General Hospitals and trained and functional by mid-Summer. The
women could be promised an initial assignment to a specific unit, but the members of
such a unit could be trained as either technicians or medical clerks, according to the
needs of the service. An accelerated training program of six weeks was set up, with the
final four-week period of basic military training given on the job in an Army General
Hospital. The WAC Training Center at Fort Des Moines, which was scheduled to close
down on or about 1 April, was retained and devoted exclusively to the training of WAC
hospital units.640 The majority of these new Wacs were to serve as medical and surgical
technicians as assistants to Army doctors and nurses.
The recruiting campaign was, above all, pressed for time. Again the Chief of Staff wrote
letters to the Governors soliciting their help in setting up civilian recruiting committees.641 Recruiters were given „campaign kits” and advised to comb all available sources
in their communities for eligible prospects. These sources included local Red Cross
Chapters, all hospitals were women could have received nurses training (whether completed or not), lists of eligible women compiled by local women’s clubs, lists of college
graduates, church heads and house to house canvasses.642 Any woman with some med ical training was welcome: Civilian nurses, senior cadet nurses, WAC medical and surgical technicians, male medical and surgical technicians, as well as paid and volunteer
nurse’s aids had been authorized to supplement the Army nursing service at Army hospitals.643After recruiters had „surveyed the possibilities” in their town and given their
„best sales talk,” they were to write the names and phone numbers of women „who
640
Recruiters Report, WAC News Letter 2.8 (March 1945): 7. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box
218.
641
Physical Organization of Committees, Public Relations Office, Charleston Recruiting District, Standard Operating Procedure West Virginia WAC Hospital Unit Campaign 1 February to
31 March 1945, 7. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
642
Sources for Prospect Lists, Public Relations Office, Charleston Recruiting District, Standard
Operating Procedure. West Virginia WAC Hospital Unit Campaign, 1 February to 31 March
1945, 43. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
643
Maj. General J.A. Ulio, The Adjutant General, ASF Circular No. 108, 26 March 1945, Sec.
V. WAC Hospital Assignments. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
173
show any degree of interest” on „qualification cards” which were then sent to show the
women’s qualification „at a glance”.644
The campaign slogan again reflected the patriotism approach, combined with old and
new values of women as nurturers:
„The Need Is Imperative - The Need Is Immediate! Never in the world was a
woman’s war job more clearly defined, more obvious. Sacrifice? To be able to
assist in comforting our wounded heroes…in easing their pain… in speeding
their recovery? No! It’s an honor – a privilege – an experience – for a woman to
cherish forever!”645
Recruiting aids were hastily produced on a local basis. An example from West Virginia
consists of nine typewritten pages, interspersed with sketches. The cover shows a sketch
of a WAC in a tall, tired looking soldier’s arms. Both are clad in uniform and overseas
caps but the only insignia visible are the Pallas Athene collar pieces of the woman. The
caption seemed to be borrowed from one of the popular confession magazines: „Read
the story of wounded G.I. Joe from all over the globe and the medical Wac who sped his
recovery to health and happiness.”646
After almost three years of continuous campaigning there was still no legislative
authorization for a peacetime women's corps, V-E Day and demobilization were at
hand. The G-1 Division of the General Staff hastened to restore the earlier orders to
cease WAC recruiting except for attrition replacements. Effective 15 May 1945, the
WAC Recruiting Service personnel again integrated into the Army Recruiting Service.
Its personnel were cut from 3,600 to 300 and the Planning Branch for WAC Recruiting
was abolished.
644
Six Suggested Steps for Screening Prospects, Public Relations Office, Charleston Recruiting
District, Standard Operating Procedure. West Virginia WAC Hospital Unit Campaign, 1 February to 31 March 1945, 58. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
645
A Report to the Women of America on Our Wounded and the Critical Need for more Wac in
Army Hospitals, WAC Hospital Assignments. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
646
Public Relations Office, Charleston Recruiting District, Standard Operating Procedure. West
Virginia WAC Hospital Unit Campaign, 1 February to 31 March 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry
55, Box 206.
174
When in the early summer of 1945, the demobilization process began to present unprecedented demands for clerical personnel, G-1 Division presented the service commands with the need for 10,000 Wacs in six months.647 75 percent of these recruits were
to be in the scarce clerical skills – clerk, stenographer, typist - and another 25 percent in
other skilled specialist fields – medical technicians, operators and repairmen for teletypewriter, key punch machines and tabulating machine, psychiatric social workers and
airplane instrument specialists.648 The Army Recruiting Service now faced a more than
difficult situation: The Navy had just launched a campaign for 20,000 Waves, the skills
Army and Navy searched for were short nationally, neither service’s pay and advancement offered could compare to industry's and finally, women were generally reluctant to
enlist just as many men were returning from Europe. Nuclear bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki intervened and soon after V-J Day, a telegram to all service
commands ended WAC recruiting.649
In February 1945, a staff study of the employment of Wacs in the reconditioning programs of ASF hospitals came to the conclusion that Wacs were preferable to men. The
document discusses whether combat wounded veterans „due to personality changes”
should be cared for by male personnel with combat experience because the „male enlisted man” was „conditioned to be self-sufficient and to depend on his male comrades.”
650
„By nature and by training, women are not only interested, but suited for restoring the disabled veteran to his proper role as a happy and useful citizen. […] The
wholesome psychological influence on male patients of women has been universally recognized since the days of Florence Nightingale. […] WAC personnel
647
War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, Press Release: „10,000 More Wacs Sought in
New Recruitment Program,” 2 August 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
648
Major Thane M. Durey, Recruiting Plans Section, The Adjutant General’s Office, Memorandum for Director WAC, su: Meeting, 23 July 1945 in the Office of the Director, WAC. NARA.
649
TWX, The Adjutant General to all Service Commands, 29 August 1945, c.i. Treadwell, The
650
Letter Henry B. Gwynn, Major, MC, Reconditioning Consultants Division, Office of the
Surgeon General to the Surgeon General, su: Staff Study of the employment of WAC personnel
in the reconditioning programs of ASF hospitals, 16 February 1945. File: Recruiting, medical.
175
because of availability and psychological factors, could well be used to aid such
agencies [American Red Cross or Special Services Division, M.H] in providing
a high standard of wholesome entertainment for both on and off duty hours of
hospitalized soldiers.”651
On the other hand, the male ego of the returning combat veteran was fragile. Among
other possible objections the plan states: „certain patients who because of physical disability might be unable to accomplish the physical activities as demonstrated by the female instructor might resent their inferiority.”652
3.6 Public Relations
Public relations can be defined as the practice of communicating with the public, or
sections of the public, through the media, with the intention of influencing people’s actions by influencing their opinions. Although the War Department depended on women
to volunteer for the organization, the idea that an active public relations policy specifically for the WAC was needed emerged relatively late. Although a central publicity
agency that would have kept the public informed of the WAAC’s record during its first
year might arguably have prevented the worst phenomena of the „slander campaign”,
there was no agency or individual in the Bureau of Public Relations charged with coordinating WAC publicity on an Army-wide basis. If we define publicity as that communication between an organization and the public that is related to a specific brand or
product, it appears obvious that information on the WAC needed to be managed and
that recruiting depended on an active policy of informing the public (in addition to persuading it through advertising). Yet the only news stories on the WAAC were those
which news media themselves secured and got cleared or released by the BPR’s press,
radio, pictorial and publications branches, each of which handled their own material
without any coordination between the branches. Although a policy concerning the portrayal of the WAAC in the media had been devised when the Corps was established, it
consisted of little more than a few guidelines on what type of publicity was to be
651
652
Ibid.
Ibid.
176
avoided. To make matters worse, most Army station public relations officers in the field
were not even familiar with these.653 From time to time a bulletin or memo informed
Army public relations officers that although it was „to be avoided […] to defeminize
members of the Corps or make them appear mannish, […] Waacs are soldiers.”654 The
earliest publicity policy, agreed upon at a WAAC staff conference on June 5, 1942
amounted to little more than „[r]educing the publicity about the school [the First
WAAC Training Center at Fort Des Moines] by an avoidance of self-initiated publicity,
save in those instances where a specific effect is to be achieved in the furtherance of a
predetermined program, or to offset or correct some misapprehension. […] Exclusion of
reporters and photographers from the school area for a period of about two weeks after
the opening day […] would also prevent the public from receiving an unflattering picture of candidates in an early state of awkwardness.”655
With the Bureau of Public Relations not devoting any resources to a publicity campaign
for the WAAC, Hobby attempted to assemble some WAAC public relations personnel
in the Office of Technical Information (OTI), a small office attached to her own headquarters. This office was not chiefly intended to supply material to news media and
steer them toward desired policies, but merely to check releases for technical accuracy
and security. Other administrative services had similar offices, but Hobby argued that
hers should be allotted more funds on the grounds that the WAAC was the object of
„extraordinary public interest” and was doing its own recruiting.656 These requests were
turned down by the Services of Supply and the Bureau of Public Relations did not allow
the WAAC OTI to handle any publicity, neither inquiries concerning the WAAC received by WAAC Headquarters nor those received by the bureau. Although projects
originated by the OTI or opinions offered on method of presentation were frequently rebutted, the WAAC OTI carefully tried to influence the bureau's policies and decisions.
WAAC recruiters realized that public relations and recruiting were closely tied together.
653
Bureau of Public Relations, Liaison Bulletin, „WAAC Publicity“, [July] 1942. NARA. RG
165, Entry 55, Box 213.
654
Ibid.
655
Memorandum, Oveta Culp Hobby to General [Alexander D.] Surles, su: WAAC Publicity
Policy, June 5, 1942. 165, 55, 192, F. 6, Publicity.
656
177
It was here that the idea originated to use Waacs to influence public opinion in their
hometowns.
„All members of the WAAC, when on leave or furlough, represent the WAAC
[…] Need instructions to be given to Waacs going on leave regarding what to
say regarding the WAAC; would like her to do recruiting job for us. What she
should say could be attached to her orders.”657
The lack of a coordinated publicity policy did not, of course, keep the press from covering the Corps. The WAC file of clippings labeled „Horrible Examples“ gave ample
evidence for a type of reporting that might, at least in wartime, easily have been prevented by a more coordinated and clearer policy. The file contained pictures of „Wacs
in leopard skin sarongs and Wacs in nude-colored bathing suits vied with overweight
Wacs and stern-faced mannishly barbered Wacs for Army publicity pictures.”658 All of
these images and press releases originated with Army station public relations officers,
who generally meant no harm, but were thoroughly unfamiliar with the implications for
the image of the Corps and recruiting.
Another „horrible example” of unwanted publicity was a photograph of three Waacs reviewing a line of young male cadets, one Waac holding a rifle and looking down its barrel.659 Immediately after the photograph had appeared in the press, Congressman John
E. Sheridan of Pennsylvania complained to Hobby that he knew of nothing that had
caused more violent protest among his constituents and inquired whether the officers in
training with combat rifles had not made illegal use of the appropriation of the WAAC
bill.660 WAAC public relation officer Dorothy Donlon requested an investig ation as the
photograph had caused „considerable comment and unfavorable criticism. It seems to
657
Remarks of Lt Thorp at a Conference of training center commandants, March 31- April 1,
1943, 12. 165, 55. 209, F. 13
658
659
WAACS Turn the Tables – Inspect the Boys. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 93.
660
Letter John Edward Sheridan to Director Hobby, January 20, 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 93.
178
connect Waacs with combat arms.”661 The reality, however, was less spectac
ular: It
turned out that the cadet corps of Girard College, a voluntary unit for orphan boys not
approved by ROTC, had held a competitive drill and „as a morale builder” had invited
the WAAC officers to review and inspect the corps. The rifles the boys drilled with and
the WAAC officers inspected were old Krag rifles with the firing pin removed and the
barrel cut short to reduce the weight.662
This correspondence clearly illustrates the different opinions as to the symbolic significance of the rifles image. For the commander of Girard College, the Waacs symbolically upgraded his cadets, precisely by their being „military” as symbolized by their inspecting the rifles. For Hobby, on the other hand, the same dysfunctional rifles symbolized a martial quality that she found extremely harmful to her Waacs’ femininity. Similarly, other Army officers saw rifles, even replicas as symbolic for military virtues the
association with which would in their eyes help WAC recruiting, not harm it. The
commandant of the Atlantic Coast Transportation Corps Officers Training School,
Colonel Bernhard Lentz, in a letter to Hobby regretted that orders forbade the Wacs to
drill with replica rifles. He wrote:
„I, myself, am convinced that drills, such as we had with our ‘replica’ rifles before the issuance of the aforesaid orders, if shown around here, would constitute
a tremendous stimulant to WAC recruiting. […] Would that we, with our detachment still had the authority to drill with our rifles! Then we could give our
demonstrations in connection with WAC recruiting a martial ‘oomph’ and an inspirational ‘it’ that would back the rifle-toting WAVES and the pistol-shooting
SPARS clear off the map.”663
661
Letter Dorothy Donlon, First Officer, Director Technical Information Division to Commanding General, Third Service Command, February 11, 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
93.
662
Letters Colonel J.M. Hamilton, commandant of Girard College to Colonel Frederick Schoenfeld, Recruiting and Induction Officer, March 5, 1943 and Schoenfeld to Hobby, 5 March 1943.
663
Bernhard Lentz, Colonel, Commandant Atlantic Coast Transportation Corps Officers Training School, Letter to Colonel Hobby, 26 November 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 13.
Although Army regulations excluded women from combat training that involved weapons or
tactical exercises and from duty assignments that required weapons, there were some exceptions
to this rule. Commanders could assign women to such non-combat duty positions as disbursing
or pay officers, intelligence personnel who worked in code rooms, or drivers in certain overseas
areas. If the women were assigned these positions, there were issued a pistol (usually a.45-
179
The absence of a coordinated publicity policy not only led to newspaper coverage that
portrayed the Wacs as martial, but also to coverage that threatened to ridicule them on
the basis of being ‘unsoldierly’. When an Air Depot Group from Alaska in early 1944
put on an amateur stage show based on the musical „Ten Thousand Knights in an Igloo”, the press got hold of „horrible (almost obscene) pictures of men impersonating
Wacs in burlesque show.”664 The men had performed the show at an 8 th Army Air Force
show in Europe and Life photographers had taken photographs that were cleared by the
Base Censor, ETO. Hence, when Hobby and other WAC officers saw the photographs,
they were beyond recall by the War Department BPR. The pictures show a chorus line
of ten men in wigs and WAC uniforms. One caption read: ”THEY NEVER
CAME…But the WACs did come to Alaska in the form of twelve husky GI’s who
donned wigs and skirts for the „WACs That Never Came” scene in the smash-hit musicale [sic], „Ten Thousand Knights In An Igloo”, produced recently by an Air Depot
Group in Alaska.”665 Hobby’s letter of complaint stated: „The uniform of the WAC is
worn by men masquerading as women. Neither the pictures nor the captions identify the
participants as men.”666 Mattie Treadwell’s later account echoes this perception: „In this
month public relations officers in the European theater released to a national pictorial
magazine in the United States a series of pictures of grotesque mannish-looking ‘Wars’
[sic] in obscene poses and engaged in soliciting men. The captions did not make it clear
that the subjects were men dressed in WAC uniforms.”667 Photographs such as this were
equally disastrous as the image of Wacs inspecting rifles. In order to harmonize publicity with recruiting policy the Director in February 1944 proposed the establishment of a
specialist group to coordinating WAC publicity:
caliber automatic pistol) and given training with the weapon. Morden, The Women’s Army
Corps,14.
664
Memo JPR [Jessie Perl Rice] to DWAC, su: Important Events 7 January to 31 January 1944,
31 Jan 1944
665
Back of photo stamped „Made by U.S. Army Air Forces, Feb, 1944“. NARA. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 02.
666
Letter Hobby to Commanding General, Army Air Forces, su: Material Detrimental to the
Women’s Army Corps, 2 February 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
667
180
„A group must be established whose primary mission is to prepare plans and
follow through. […] This must be a professional job, competing in a wellorganized field for the attention and interest of the public against professional
attempts to attract the same people in other directions.668
The new WAC Group with which the Chief of Staff augmented the Bureau of Public
Relations' over their objections, consisted of six male and six female officers and was
headed by Colonel J. Noel Macy, formerly the WAAC's first deputy and public relations
officer. Its tasks included devising proper approaches, surveying camp newspapers for
suitable material, gathering material for radio, newspapers, magazines, photographs and
other news media, writing releases, reviewing copy, and guiding field public relations
officers toward the original idea of the WAC as a „serious and dignified organization.”669 The group wrote copy for paid advertising as well as for „tie-ins” in radio
shows, worked with sponsors to arrange essay contests on „Why I like the WAC” and
„ghosted” story for officers who returned from overseas theaters.670 At last Army r ecruiters and Army public relations officers were no longer employing contradictory approaches and the first real public relations campaign, „based on an entirely new WAC
public relations policy” was launched in the summer of 1944.671 Photographs of Wacs
in the new winter uniform was placed in fashion magazines such as Collier’s, McCall’s,
Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar. Other photographs were made for rotogravure process
and released to newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune. The WAC Group also „analyzed the effect of syndicated cartoon strips now appearing on the WAC” and supplied
authors with „specific objectives and material intended to aid all-over public opinion on
WAC.”672 In the early period of the Corps, cartoonists had often portrayed WAAC off i-
668
Ibid., 701. Document A Plan for Increasing the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC in duplicate
in, Entry 55, Box 212 and NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 199. Brochure A Plan for Increasing
the Rate of Enrollment in the WAAC, 3.NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 64.
669
Charlotte T. McGraw, Captain, WAC Group, Memo for the Acting Director, su: Report of
Activities of the WAC Group, 11 December 1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 58.
670
WAC Group, Bureau of Public Relations, WD, Bulletin of Public Relations Activities Pertaining to Women’s Army Corps June 1 to 30, 1944, 3. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02. See
also Edgar F. Swasey, Lieutenant Col, Chief WAC Group, Memo to Hobby, su: Activities report 1 November to 15 November 1944.
671
WAC Group, Bureau of Public Relations, WD, Bulletin of Public Relations Activities Pertaining to Women’s Army Corps June 1 to 30, 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
672
Ibid. The „Winnie the Wac“ cartoons drawn for the camp newspaper at Aberdeen Proving
Ground, MD were collected and published in 1945: Herman Victor J. Winnie the Wac. Philadelphia: David McKay Company, 1945. Winnie is portrayed as dim-witted and rather frivolous.
181
cers and enlisted women alike as „overweight, buxom, overbearing, and, in general, inept socially and militarily.”673 Parade Magazine was to print a story „to overcome a
misimpression on the part of the public about Wacs engaging in combat.674
The rules for presenting the WAC to the public that were laid down in classified bulletins to field public relations officers included elements of Hobby’s own policy:
„1. Wacs are just as feminine as before they enlisted. They gain new poise and
charm. They do feminine jobs much like those of civilian women. They have
dates and are good friends with Army men.
2. The Women's Army Corps is no longer an experiment. It has public acce ptance and prestige. ‘Present it as a success story.’ Parents are proud. Requirements are high. Only attractive pictures should appear.
3. Army jobs performed by Wacs are necessary to the war effort. Dramatize the
job. Show Wacs working with men. Avoid pictures of kitchen police.
4. ‘Uncle Sam provides for the welfare of his Army nieces.’ Emphasize adva ntages of travel, new friends, medical care, recreation.
5. Adopt an affirmative approach. Don't be on the defensive. The WAC has a
right to be proud of its record.”675
The „do's“ and „don'ts“ included:
„Say women, not girls. Show the proper uniform always except in sports pictures. Show attractive women but not cheesecake. Avoid pictures of Wacs
smoking or drinking. Do not put Wacs on radio programs in competition with
male personnel, nor as stooges, nor as romantic interest. Avoid using Wacs in
off-the-post theatricals.”676
An example of the type of production that was deemed appropriate for Wacs to appear
in was the 1944 ”WAC Christmas Greeting Show.”677 The show, arranged by the
Northern California WAC Recruiting District was produced by KGO in San Francisco,
distributed by the Blue Network and through the Armed Forces Radio Service via short
673
WAC Group, Bureau of Public Relations, WD, Bulletin of Public Relations Activities Pertaining to Women’s Army Corps June 1 to 30, 1944, 2. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
675
676
Ibid.
677
Radio Script, Women’s Army Corps Christmas Greeting Show, KGO – Bue, 25 December
1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
674
182
wave to all theaters of operations.678 The program consisted of a WAC Choral Group
performing „Adeste Fidelis”, „Silent Night” and „Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and
organ solos and solo selections of „Ave Maria” and „The Lord’s Prayer”.679
In the fall of 1944 the WAC Group devised a new system of mailing press releases concerning overseas Wacs to their local recruiting districts for use in newspapers.680
„Background material”, which was released to hometown and national papers and often
printed in its entirety, included items such as „Christmas with the Wacs”, that described
to the folks back home how „resourceful Wacs” made „Christmas decoration in places
where there is none to be bought.” Once the „trees will glisten in WAC dayrooms with
the strangest ornaments of all-scraps of polished metal from downed Japanese airplanes,
[…] practically every Wac overseas will spend part of her Christmas Holiday at an
Army hospital bringing […] words of good cheer to the wounded and ill G.I.s.”681
A true asset for the Corps was former Hollywood photographer Capt. Charlotte „Oneshot“ McGraw who had joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Sept. 1, 1942. She
set up the first photographic facility at Fort Des Moines, organized a photographic section for the training center and taught trainees. McGraw volunteered for an assignment
as official WAAC photographer to North Africa April 16, 1943. During her 48 days intheater, she took and processed more than 4,600 photographs. McGraw was later sent to
the European Theater of Operations, worked in the Southwest Pacific Theater and on
the China mainland. Her pictures (73,660 total) were used for recruiting campaigns,
public relations purposes and in many publications, including National Geographic,
Life, Collier’s, Saturday Evening Post and Time magazine.682 When the writer Anne Mc
Ilhenny and McGraw went to North Africa, they received detailed instructions from
Hobby, Capt. Eglund and Capt. Fowler and a huge workload for a few weeks. Among
678
Letter Dorothy P. Frome, 1st Lieutenant WAC Asst PR Officer to Lieutenant Col. Harry R.
Lawton, Chief, WAC Recruiting Branch, Fort Douglas, Utah, su: World Wide WAC Radio
Broadcast. 19 December 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
679
Ibid.
680
Edgar F. Swasey, Lieutenant Col, Chief WAC Group, Memo to Hobby, su: Activities report
1 November to 15 November 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
681
Interesting Items Concerning Wacs Overseas. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 02.
682
Wise, Ted. WAAC "One-Shot" McGraw Was Army's First Woman Photographer. 2005.
Web Page. URL: http://www.gordon.army.mil/AC/WWII/MCGRAW.HTM. 31 July 2005.
183
other things they were to find out about „soldier attitude toward WACs” and get war
correspondents, particularly Ernie Pyle, who was already a famed columnist before he
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1944, to write favorable stories about the WAC.
McIlhenny was to write copy herself, portraying overseas service as „adventurous, fun,
a great opportunity and a great experience. At the same time, she was to „play up [the]
safety angle:” „Parents attitude – Is there adequate protection for my daughter” „200
WACs in midst of hundreds of thousands of soldiers – strange land – moral and physical dangers, etc.”683
At Allied Forces Headquarters Office in Algiers, however, WAC Public Relations did
not have top priority. The WAC company was quartered in two different billets, both
miles away from the PR office or the Signal Corps darkrooms that McGraw used which
created transportation problems. Although Lt. McGraw took the theater driving test the
first day in Algiers so the team would not need a driver, the Public Relations Office was
short on vehicles and many interviews scheduled in one of the offices scattered
throughout the city had to be cancelled. The Signal Corps insisted that „the WAC project was not vital” and that with the scarcity of supplies and the facilities inadequate for
their own use, McGraw could only use the darkroom and labs after they had finished
their work. Wacs worked shifts „round-the-clock” and had little time for photo shootings and interviews. Due to „friction in [the] company” some were „not interested in
cooperating”. It took „heroic work requiring four days”, as McGraw ironically remarked, to „persuade the Commanding General [Eisenhower] to give terrifically valuable time to pose again with the women soldiers.”684
After four days of „liason [sic] work”, negotiating passes and rehearsal, the team managed to get selected Wacs participate in a parade review with a French Zouave Regi-
683
Report on NATO Public Relations-Recruiting Publicity. Writer-picture assignment of Capt.
Anne McIlhenny and 2d Lieutenant Charlotte T. McGraw to Director Hobby, [May 13 to July 1,
1943]. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 207.
684
Report on NATO Public Relations-Recruiting Publicity, Ibid.
184
ment.685 McGraw was eager to secure pictures of Wacs with Zouaves, a FrenchAlgerian light infantry regiment clad in traditional kabylic style of gaiters, baggy trousers and a short and open-fronted jacket. McGraw pointed out that they were „the most
colorfully uniformed troops in Algiers aside from Spahis [..] both making excellent
color-film art.“686 Frequently, McGraw remarked that the „sloppy appearance of Wacs
prevented release of pictures“ or that „negatives had to be destroyed [because] many
silver bracelets and rings detracted from a military appearance.“687 Among the material
sent back were portraits of several WAC officers, pictures and stories of Wacs at work,
in „sight-seeing shots“, „brother-sister reunions“ in North Africa, Wacs at Casablanca
Conference“, „WACs with camels and Arabs“ as well as „Native Arab woman and
WACs“.688 The two officers also promoted an „International Tea Party” inviting officers
of all French and English „women-in-uniform groups” to the WAC convent billet. This
invitation „to promote friendly relations and valuable interchange of ideas” was at once
reciprocated by the British Wrens [Women's Royal Naval Service, WRNS], general
staff officers praised the idea as „valuable to international relations“ and it yielded „174
prints of 14 negatives“ mailed immediately to the War Department’s Bureau of Public
Relations.689
One „particularly happy representation of the subject [which] showed a fine understanding of the spirit of our Corps,” as the Deputy Director of the WAC assured the
author Arthur Bartlett of THIS WEEK Magazine, was the article „When She Comes
Home”: Under the subtitle „Women returning from the wars have earned your help as
they face civilian life again,” Bartlett portrays „Sgt. Shirley Angel” who just got discharged. First, the photographs suggest, she goes shopping for shoes. Next on her list is
685
During the conflict 1939-45 (WWII), the colonial troops of the African Army formed 16 Algerian, five Tunisian and five Moroccan regiments who had left France for Northern Africa. The
same is true for the Zouave regiments, especially for the mobile infantry of the First Armor Division and the regiments of the indigenous cavalry („Spahis”) and the Armored Rangers (reconnaissance regiments), as well as the tank regiments, the Foreign Legion of the Fifth Armor Division (First Cavalry Regiment and Infantry Regiment of the Foreign Legion). Rodier, Léon. Les
troupes coloniales dans la Grande Guerre: L' armée d'Afrique. 2005. Web Page. URL:
http://www.stratisc.org/TC_6.htm. 12 August 2005.
686
Report on NATO Public Relations-Recruiting Publicity, 2.
687
Ibid., 4-5.
688
Ibid., 9.
689
Ibid., 13. In total McGraw developed 4661 photos.
185
a hat, „one with lots of flowers and veils, please.” Finally, the author quotes a discharge
counselor: „The average man is thinking of a job as a long-range proposition […] But
the average woman, if she is not already married, thinks of a job in short-range terms.
She wants something to do until the important thing comes along – namely, marriage.”690
3.7 „Petticoat Soldiers”: Ego-Documents from the Field
3.7.1 Camp Newspapers
The final class of sources in which the above-mentioned formation of discourses and
practices can be tracked consists of newsletters, camp papers and songs. These documents are interesting for a number of reasons. Camp newspapers like „Petticoat Soldiers,”691 „WAAC-TIVITIES”
692
and „Dear Folks”
693
were largely produced by the
Auxiliaries themselves. The content included articles written by Waacs in the field, but
also material supplied by the Camp Newspaper Service of the War Department.
Although the Special Services offices ostensibly intended these newsletters „for and by
the personnel of the WAAC […] for the sole purpose of promoting better entertainment
and recreation,” they also served a number of other purposes: Firstly, they served as
newsletters in that they contained announcements of recreational activities on the post
or in the region. Secondly, they were at the same time a semi-official forum for the dissemination of War Department policies and guidelines and thus served as an alternative
to the official circular. Thirdly, the camp papers served as a recruiting medium. The
newsletter „Dear Folks” and several other publications contained an address label so
that they could be folded, stapled and mailed to families at home, provided that Waacs,
690
The Sunday Star, This Week Magazine, 9 Sept 1945. Letter Helen H. Woods, Deputy Director, WAC to Arthur Bartlett, This Week Magazine, 23 September 1945. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 54, Box 58.
691
History 4th WAC TC Fort Devens, MA. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 220.
692
Petticoat Soldier. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 212.
693
Ibid.
186
who did not enjoy the Army mailing privileges, were willing to buy the one-and-a-halfcent stamp themselves. Lastly and most interestingly, because of their niched existence
and the limited and low-tech production, these camp papers were a forum for Waacs
themselves to test various gendered roles of the woman|soldier .
In the following I shall give a few examples for each of these aspects to highlight the
complexity of the discursive structure. On all levels, different concepts of the
woman|soldier , of femininity, of soldiering etc. were negotiated. In the newsletter mode
the news of a Waac marrying a soldier „in the solemn beauty of a full military wedding”
was circulated,694 the „All-WAAC musical variety show Petticoat Soldiers On Parade”
was advertised,695 and the fate of the two cats „Reveille” and „Retreat”, mascots of
Company 5 was being followed.696 As a forum for War Department and WAAC hea dquarters announcements, the „Petticoat Soldier” informed the women of the implications of the conversion to Army status,697 but also reminded them, „just between us
Waacs,” not to engage in gossip and rumors - just a week after the O’Donnell column
was published.698 These admonitions were typically expressed in the first person:
„The WAAC is barely over a year old. Many people are accepting us slowly –
waiting to see what kind of girls we’ll prove to be. It’s terribly important that we
make a good impression upon everyone with whom we come in contact. That
doesn’t mean being stiff, formal and unnatural. It means being lady-like. Feminine.“699
Additionally, recruiting material was reprinted in almost every issue in case any issues
of the „Petticoat Soldier” made it into the Waacs’ hometowns. Sardonically, one could
also speculate that this information was intended for Waacs who for several months
awaited their assignment so that they could read about the „purpose of the WAAC” or
„Some of the jobs the Waacs do.”700
694
History of 4th WAC Training Center, Fort Devens, MA. Petticoat Soldier 1.7 (7 June 1943):
695
Petticoat Soldier 1.3 (22 June 1943): 4. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 220. History of 4th
WAC Training Center, Fort Devens, MA.
696
Petticoat Soldier 1.6 (13 July 1943): 8. NARA. Ibid.
697
Petticoat Soldier, 1.6 (13 July 1943): 1. NARA. Ibid.
698
Something to Think About, Petticoat Soldier, 1.2 (14 June 1943): 8. NARA. Ibid.
699
Petticoat Soldier 1.2 (14 June1943). NARA. Ibid.
700
Ibid.
187
Recruiting themes were also dealt with ironically: Occasionally, the women sketched an
„advertisement” for a „Vacation at Famous Ft. Devens – Your Home Away from Home.
Why sizzle in a sweltering suburb when you can spend the summer in spacious Ft. Devens? […] Drilling, Swimming, Studying, Softball, Scrubbing, KP, PT, CQ, BP, Gas
Drill, etc.”701 Similarly, the following: „Dine at Devens. Enjoy the hospitality of a Ft.
Devens Mess Hall. All food is strictly G.I. So is the atmosphere. Pork in tasty, tantalizing forms is our specialty.”702
The most interesting function of these papers, however, was that of a testing and proving ground for concepts of the female soldier. In the first issue of „Petticoat Soldiers” an
enlisted woman recalled the „unforgettable scene” when at a party that Training Center
Company 3 had thrown, „bars and barriers [were] forgotten.”703 The company co mmander and two First Lieutenants „in a 25-mile trudge toward in imaginary front, [gave]
their version of how not to get there. [T]he officers decked with pot and pan helmets
tagging after each other in anything but formation.”704
In the very next issue, an article that sounded much more like the language of WAAC
Headquarters, explored „[t]his Business of Being Lady Soldiers.”
„Although we wear sever [sic] looking clothes and do men’s work, let’s never
for a moment lose sight of the fact that we are ladies. We have so much to gain if
we remember this – and so much to lose if we forget. Our brothers, our husbands
and boy friends have gone to war. In the blaze and stench of the battlefronts they
are remembering us as the kid sisters – the little women – the girls at home. Because they are men, they prize our femininity. Let’s not lose it. Let’s not destroy
their ideals of us. We women are fighting with men to preserve our way of life,
but we must also fight to retain the traditional ideals of womanhood. They are a
steadying factor when man’s faith falters. They are an anchor in a sea of world
chaos. [...] Let[‘]s WORK at this business of being LADY soldiers.“705
701
Petticoat Soldier 1.8 (3 August 1943): 5. NARA. Ibid. [The abbreviations stand for „kitchen
police”, „physical training”, general call to all stations and „charge of quarters”.]
702
Petticoat Soldier 1.9 (27 July 1943): 4. NARA. Ibid.
703
Petticoat Soldier 1.1 (7 June 7 1943): 5. NARA. Ibid.
704
Ibid.
705
Petticoat Soldier 1.2 (14 June 1943). NARA. Ibid.
188
For those who were attempting to expand the „traditional ideals of womanhood“ there
were articles that clearly originated not in the office of the director, but in the motor
pool of Fort Devens. Here, the „grease monkeys“ „Skipper, Drip, Jeep, Butch, Wimpy,
Lu, Buzz, Skinner, Slim and Trouble“ explored alternative concepts of patriotic womanhood. They got „greasy...but who cares? We’d as soon have that on our faces as cold
cream. We’re here to get the job done, not to look pretty.“706 During breaks, the women
„hunt four leaf clovers,“ but „after noon mess we’re back to work. More grease and
maybe a smashed finger. No, we don’t cry, nor do we swear. (We count ten very very
slowly.)“707
Another episode that involved non-traditional gender roles was made less threatening
under the title „Laff of the Week“. It relates the story of a Waac who had won her first
stripe, but had difficulty sewing it onto her blouse. When she sought the „sewing advice“ of a male soldier, he took the blouse back to his barracks „and returned the next
day with a perfect job.“ But lest anybody thought of such threatening stereotypes as an
effeminate man taking orders from a bossy career woman, the accompanying sketch
showed the Waac sighing „My hero!!!“708
On the other hand, traditional concepts of femininity, which are seen as contradictory to
positions of authority, were carefully guarded. The WAAC MPs at Fort Devens, for example spend their off duty hours planting flowers, thereby „transforming a drab barracks into [something] as different from a guardhouse as possible.“709 In an eulogy for
„the girl in khaki“, the Waac is portrayed to „possess a trove of personal Army anecdotes“ but she is certainly not „one of the boys”. Rather, „[s]he has danced with soldiers
and listened to military conversation that would not be discussed before her, were she
not of their fraternity.“ Waacs are listening, not speaking, they are not soldiers but have
706
„The Grease Ball Waac.”Petticoat Soldier 1.2 (14 June 1943): 4. NARA. Ibid.
Ibid.
708
„Laff of the Week.”Petticoat Soldier 1.3 (22 June 1943): 4. NARA. Ibid.
709
„WAAC MPs Keep Busy in Spare Time.”Petticoat Soldier 1.2 (14 June 1943): 6. NARA.
Ibid.
707
189
„jobs alongside soldiers“ and they „add his strength to the armies on firing fronts.“710
The Waacs’ war, to juxtapose two articles in the same issue, is a „war of flowers“.
Training Center Company 3, who „believe[d] that one of the best morale builders is
beauty of surroundings“ had planted „lovely rock and flower gardens,“ whereupon a
„friendly ‚war of flowers’ developed between Co. 3 and Co. 2.“711
The story of an Iowa WAAC and her husband, both of whom were promoted to staff
sergeants on the same day was immediately qualified by the sketch next to it that
showed a Waac swearing an oath in front of a star-spangled banner with a caption that
said „For the duration + 6 months!“712 For the duration of the national emergency,
women could be staff sergeants, according to this mixed message, even captains, as the
Washington Post suggested, but by no means should they dream of making the military
their career. The following poem that was printed by the Washington Post, illustrates
the widespread fear of American men that „their“ women could „pull rank on them“.
Oh Captain, My Captain713
It seems, from the best information
(From qualified sources, of course)
That war was a man’s occupation
In the days of rowboat and horse.
For instance, a guy like Ulysses
Could take half a lifetime to roam,
And when he returned to his missus
Be sure to find her at home.
[...]
710
„The Girl in Khaki.”Petticoat Soldier 1.4 (29 June 1943): 2. NARA. Ibid.
„War of Flowers.”Petticoat Soldier, 1.4 (29 June 1943): 2. NARA. Ibid.
712
„No Rank-Pulling Here.”Petticoat Soldier 1.7 (20 July 1943): 6. History of 4th WAC Training Center, Fort Devens, MA. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 220.
713
H.C. Kincaid, M.D. „Oh Captain, My Captain.”Washington Post [February 1944]: editorial
page. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 90. The title id borrowed from Walt Whitman’s 1865
tribute to Abraham Lincoln. For poetry written by Wacs see also Sound Off: A Collection of
Verse Written by the WACS of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, which contains poetry, collected and distributed by the WAC Public Relations Office, MTOUSA, [1944]. One
WAC sergeant published her poems that deal with various aspects of army life – inspections,
physical training and furlough: Taggs, Margaret Jane. We Solemnly Swore. Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, 1946.
711
190
But I have enlisted too late.
For gone is the glory of fighting,
And lost is the glamour of Mars,
And war is no longer exciting,
Since women wear officers’ bars.
Oh shades of Macaulay’s Horatius:
Of Wellington, Pershing and Lee:
My Captain says „Dear Me“ and „Gracious!“
And asks her Lieutenants to tea!
Instead of the time-honored issue
Of rifle and full bandolier,
The Army supplies her with tissue,
Silk pants and a snug-fitting brassiere.
[...]
My wife has a Captain’s commission—
I’m a private, not even first class,
While I will be glad to salute her
When we have a moment alone,
I don’t think My Captain is cuter
In Government garb than her own.
Camp newsletters such as the above mentioned were eliminated in 1943, when Lt. General Somervell, the commanding general of the Army Service Forces ordered the
„elimination of non-essential publications and the improvement of those that are essential.”714
3.7.2 Songs
Songs also provided a way of inventing a military tradition for the Wacs, their units and
the Corps itself. As in the Camp papers, this production was multidimensional and involved a complex discursive formation. The following song highlights the women’s
contribution to the war effort. Waacs are fighting for victory and thereby justify their
laying claim on citizenship rights in the „home of the brave”:
714
Lt. General Brehon Somervell, Commanding General Army Service Forces to Adjutant General, su: Policies Governing Army Service Forces Publications, 8 April 1943. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 212.
191
The WAAC is in Back of You715
All you soldier men, Keep on fighting to win
For the WAAC is in Back of You!
If a plane you fly, keep it flying high!
For the WAAC is in Back of You!
Spread the news around that we’re victory bound
With our hearts we pledge anew
That our flag shall wave o’er the home o’ the brave,
And the WAAC is in Back of You.
Pallas Athene, Goddess of Victory
History tells her part in War,
And our own statue of Liberty
Shows what we’re fighting for,
Spread the news around that we’re victory bound
With our hearts we pledge anew
That our flag shall wave o’er the home o’ the brave,
And the WAAC is in Back of You!
Running a close second to the earlier favorite, „The WAAC Is In Back of You,“ was a
new original at Des Moines, entitled the „G. I. Song“. The „G.I. Song” also invokes the
powerful connection between the nation, military service and „glory”. Just like the
Army has been the „school of the fatherland” for men, this ‘rookie with a girdle’ is educated and disciplined by the hardships of army life. If she ever leaves the staging area,
she will march on to glory and, listeners might have added, citizenship rights.
Once her Mommie made her bed,
Cleaned her clothes and buttered her bread.
And her favorite dress was redOh me, Oh my, that ain't G.I.
Hats and shoes and skirts don't fit,
Your girdle bunches when you sit,
Come on, rookie, you can't quit
Just heave a sigh, and be G.I. . . .
715
Words and Music by Lieutenant Ruby Jane Douglas, copyright 1942. Lieutenant Ruby Jane
Douglas was special services officer and formerly vocal music supervisor of the Bristol, Oklahoma public schools. William Brennan, New York World-Telegram, 20 January 1943. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210. See also Stansbury, Jean. Bars on Her Shoulders: A Story of a
WAAC. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1943.
192
In the Mess Hall she now stands
Buried 'neath the pots and pans
Getting pretty dishpan hands,
Oh me, Oh my, gotta be G.I.
Then she came to camp one day,
Quickly learned the WAACKIE way,
Underwear cafe au lait
Oh me, Oh my, strictly G.I.
Winter, summer, spring or fall
Should you try to end it all
You can’t die until sick call
You see, if you die, you gotta die-G.I.
We're in the Staging Area
And we soon will go away
We've finished all our basic
Glory be and happy day
Glory Glory we are staging
Before we travel on.716
The early WAAC Songs like this one by Ruby J. Douglas, which was written at the
Training Center in Daytona Beach in late 1942, were more light-hearted than later
songs. In many cases, popular songs were adapted, for example „Stout-Hearted Girls”,
after the song „Stout-Hearted Men” from the 1928 Broadway show 'The New Moon' by
Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II.717 The WAAC Songbook also contained
songs that re-appropriated popular nicknames like „I Fell in Love with A Waac-y in
Khaki”.718 Company songs like „The Women’s Army Corps”, where Wacs inserted the
716
Words and music by Lieutenant June Morhman, c.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps,
143.
717
WAAC Song Book, compiled and edited by Special Services Branch 2nd WAAC Training
Center, Daytona Beach, FL, February 1943, 25. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210. This was
distributed to members of the WAC.
718
WAAC Publications Office, Ft. Des Moines, May 1943. Song Book, 21. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 210.
193
name of their company were often written by a Waac and sung to an existing tune, in
this case „The Army Air Force Song”.719
Other songs explicitly took up elements from advertising to construct a positive selfimage, even though the reality was experienced quite differently. „Wait Till You See
Nellie” is a case in point:
„Seems as ev’rybody raves about them gals
They call the WAVES. So boys you better get set
You haven’t seen nothing yet.
Oh, wait till you see Nellie in a soldier’s uniform.
Wait till you see Nellie with her shiny buttons on.
It’s tailor made and goodness me
It’s sharp as any tack. A little WAAC all dressed in „KAAK”
She’s Yankee doolie sweet […].”720
Some of these songs were sent in by civilians as part of the baskets full of unsolicited
advice on recruiting that poured into the Office of the Director.721
In the 1944 version of the WAC songbook, more GI songs had been adapted and reflected the WAC’s being and feeling part of the Army.722 Examples for adapted G.I.
songs include: „Marching Along Together”, written in 1932:
„Marching Along Together / We're the Women's Army Corps / Marching Along
Together / U. S. A. or foreign shore / We are the Women's Army / For all the
world to see [...].“
Likewise, Irving Berlin's „This is The Army, Mr. Jones“ was altered to „This is the
Army Mary Jones“ with new words by Aux. Lillian M. Darcy:723
719
WAAC Song Book, 28. NARA. RG 165, 55, Box 210. The Army Air Force Song was composed by Robert M. Crawford in 1939. Holsinger, M. Paul. War and American Popular Culture:
A Historical Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999, 231.
720
Tommy Jordan, Charlie McCord and Franklin Rockwell, „Wait Till You See Nellie.”WAAC
Song Book, 14. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210.
721
Letter to DWAC, 9 September 1944, c.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 448.
722
Women's Army Corps Song Book. Washington, DC: GPO, 1944.
723
WAAC Song Book, 29. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210. On the original stage production see Laurence Bergreen, „Irving Berlin - This Is the Army” Prologue 28.2 (1996).
Holsinger, War, 212.
194
This is the Army, Mary Jones,
No private rooms or telephones;
You had your breakfast in bed before
But you won't have it there any more.
This is the Army, Susie Green,
We like the barracks nice and clean,
You had a housemaid to clean your floor,
But she won't help you out anymore.
Do what the buglers command
They're in the Army and not in a band.
This is the Army, Betty Brown,
You and your baby went to town,
He had you worried, but this is war
And he won't worry you anymore.
A particularly good example for this appropriation of a military tradition is the song
„Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” originally about a legendary episode in
which a chaplain is said to have uttered those words after manning one of his ship’s gun
turrets. The song was stripped of its first four lines and published in the WAAC songbook: 724
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
[Down went the gunner, a bullet was his fate
Down went the gunner, then the gunners mate
Up jumped the sky pilot, gave the boys a look
And manned the gun himself as he laid aside The Book, shouting]
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we'll all stay free!
Praise the Lord and swing into position!
Can't afford to sit around and wishin'
Praise the Lord we're all between perdition
and the deep blue sea!
Yes the sky pilot said it
You've got to give him credit
for a son - of - gun - of - a - gunner was he,
Shouting;
Praise the Lord we're on a mighty mission!
724
Written by Frank Loesser. WAAC Song Book, 28. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210.
195
All aboard, we're not a - goin' fishin;
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we'll all stay free
On the other hand, this discourse is counteracted by songs that reflect and affirmed
popular stereotypes of femininity such as „Petticoat Soldiers” or Wacs as „little soldier
girls”:
Yes, By Cracky725
Yes, By Cracky, I'm a little WAC-y
I'm a little soldier girl,
I live in barracks, best you've ever seen,
March to mess, and always keep my shoes clean.
Yes, By Cracky, I'm a little WAC-y
I'm a little soldier girl.
I fall in! I fallout !
I fall asleep in class, no doubt-but
Yes, By Cracky, I'm a little WAC-y,
I'm a little soldier girl.
Petticoat Soldiers’ chorus is „We don’t tote guns or bayonets, our powder comes in
compact sets, we’re petticoat soldiers, wacky Waacs.“726 Carol Burke has observed that
it was fairly typical for these training songs to begin with a „spirited celebration of female professionalism” and end with a „sharp diminution of women’s role.”727
Many of these songs more or less humorously depicted the female soldier as incompetent. Tillie, a chronically inapt Wac, continually failed to pass inspection and perform
the simplest assignments:
Tillie joined the Army;
She enlisted in the WAACs
And soon to Fort Des Moines our Till was making tracks,
725
WAAC Publications Office, Ft. Des Moines, May 1943. NARA. RG 165, 55, Box 210.
Petticoat Soldiers, WAAC Song Book, 13. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210.
727
Burke, Carol. „’If You're Nervous in the Service...’: Training Songs of Female Soldiers in
the '40s.”Visions of War: World War II in Popular Literature and Culture. Eds. Paul Holsinger,
and Mary Anne Schofield. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press,
1992, 127-37, 131.
726
196
They issued her a uniform, her name was on a tag,
And with the other stuff she got,
They gave her a barracks bag.
They demonstrated how to place equipment in a trunk,
And said to her, „Aux. if you don't want to flunk
Your civies must be out of sight
Or we will surely nag.
All your personal things must go
Under your barracks bag.“
Tillie went to mess hall, but the poor girl couldn't eat,
Exactly what the reason was our Till would not repeat,
But later on it all came out,
She really hit a snag,
Tillie left her false teeth
Under her barracks bag.
And then our Tillie drew K.P, in Mess No. 8,
Every time she turned around, she broke another plate,
The Sergeant said, „Now this won't do,“
Her head began to wag
So Tillie hid the wreckage
Under the barracks bag.
At Saturday inspection her hair was still too long,
The General scowled at her and said
„See here, your hair's cut wrong.“
Now Tillie had a wig she wore to every ballroom shag,
Where do you think she kept it?
Tillie went on sick call when she caught the G.I. cold,
They gave her shots on top of that
That was worse than she'd been told.
They gave her pills and medicine that made her pockets sag,
Where do you think she put it?
At last Tillie died, it really was a shame,
Her funeral was military, and everybody came.
And Tillie's last request was that,
She really was a hag.
Comrades, will you bury me,
Under my barracks bag?728
728
Ibid., 127-137, 136-137.
197
Other humorous songs dealt with daily life in the WAC, so for instance the song „The
K.P.s Are Scrubbing Away,” sung to the tune of „The Caissons Go Rolling Along,” or
commenting on phenomena such as „latrine rumor” [L.R.]: „When a Rumor Meets a
WAAC“ by Kathryn K. Johnson:
„Oh the Army has a thousand rumors / of a sort to satisfy your slightest humors.
/ How they start we never know/but they grow and grow and grow/as they’re
magnified by goggle-eyed consumers./You may think our lives are ordered by a
whistle,/or a duly authorized H.Q. epistle,/but we’re always sure to act/ on a
highly garbled fact/ or on information labeled unofficial. Chorus: Yes, we believe he old L.R. has proven more effective far/ than the tactics of the Army Signal Corps [...]“.729
729
„When a Rumor Meets a WAAC“ by Kathryn K. Johnson. WAAC Song Book, 3. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 210.
198
4. Dress Codes: Uniforms for the WAAC
Despite the successful institutional integration of the women’s corps into the U.S.
Army, the women remained the constitutive outside of the organization. The uniforms
with their symbolic as well as material aspects highlight the contradictions in the process of integrating women into the military. In this chapter, I will attempt to show how
military and societal discourses on women and soldiers materialized in the design of the
women’s uniforms.730 Likewise, the way the uniforms were procured and distributed by
the Army reflects the reluctance with which the Army regarded the women’s Corps as a
military institution. This brings the power structures into view, within which the construction of the category woman|soldier took place. At the same time, the construction
of the woman|soldier was determined by the use(s) the women themselves made of the
uniform. In order to account for the complexity of the formation of power with its discursive and non-discursive elements that materialize in the (uniformed) body of the
women soldiers, we need to look not only at discourses, but also at material „things” as
objects of government. Foucault’s model of the dispositive as a strategic apparatus of
power takes into account „the said as much as the unsaid,” and thus helps us to incorporate the institutional as well as the subject perspective, the symbolic as well as the material aspects of the uniform.731
4.1 Military Uniforms
Military uniforms are part of a complex semiotic system. To the outside, even to the
uninitiated observer, the uniform stands for the association of its wearer with the military. Since the armed forces, together with the police forces, exert violence and deadly
force in the name of the nation state, its members carry a special responsibility and for-
730
A shorter version of this chapter has been published in Hampf, M. Michaela. „The Uniformed Body as Interface: Institutional Integration and Discursive Exclusion of Women Soldiers.” The Body as Interface: Dialogues between the Disciplines. Eds. Elisabeth SchäferWünsche and Sabine Sielke. Heidelberg: Winter, in print. See also Hampf, M. Michaela.
„’Streng, aber anmutig’: Frauenuniformen der US-Armee im Zweiten Weltkrieg.” beiträge zur
feministischen theorie und praxis 27.65 (2004): 73-86.
731
Foucault, Le jeu de Michel Foucault, 299.
199
feit certain individual rights. The uniform also identifies members of the collective visà-vis each other, which is important for a modern army that is dependent on the loyalty
of all members, their mutual trust and adherence to common rules. On the syntagmatic
level uniforms and the attached insignia denote the branch and other sub-classifications
within the military, while on the paradigmatic level they specify the wearer’s position
within the organization’s hierarchy.732 Simultaneously, the uniform replaces the sem iotic system of civil garment, which historically marked one’s position in a social order
as well as specific occasions. Military uniforms visually abolish class distinctions or,
more accurately, replace them with the distinction between officers and enlisted personnel. By choosing to wear a uniform, a person does away with the choice of clothing as a
means of expressing one’s individuality and identity. The uniform as a regulative apparatus for the body serves to synchronize the outward appearance with the social order of
the military. The sign system of the uniform-clad body, through which meaning is produced, organized and conveyed, is not an absolute one, but it is part of heterogeneous
network of discourses and practices.733
I will focus on three aspects of the women’s uniforms developed and used in the
Women’s Army Corps: Their symbolic and material characteristics as well as some aspects of their use as experienced by the Wacs. The symbolic character is highlighted by
the choice and design of the uniform and insignia during the initial period of the
WAAC. During the planning phase questions of how „feminine” and how „soldier like”
Waacs were supposed to look in order to comply with both societal expectations and
military expediency were negotiated over the design of the uniform. The enormous
amount of advertising for the uniform that was thought necessary in order to convey the
notion of a „respectable femininity” further emphasizes the symbolic significance. The
732
Patrizia Calefato points out that a uniform functions like a password in that it performs what
Roman Jacobson calls the phatic function of language that focuses on the channel of communication. Calefato, Patrizia. „Signs of Order, Signs of Disorder: The Other Uniforms.”Uniforms:
Order and Disorder. Eds. Francesco Bonami, Maria Luisa Tonchi and Stefano Frisa. Milano:
Edizioni Charta, 2000. 195-204. 199.
733
According to Charles Peirce’s typology, symbols, unlike icons or indices, are signs established by habit that represent their objects independently of resemblance or any other connection. Peirce, Charles Sanders. Peirce on Signs: Writings on Semiotic. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991, 30, 64.
200
constant changes in the appearance of the uniform during the war also express the importance and fragility of this concept.
The material quality of the uniform is exemplified by the Army’s logistic problems that
reveal the rejection that women experienced in the Army. The Army’s Quartermaster
Corps, that had designed, produced and distributed men’s uniforms for almost 200
years, had considerable difficulties providing adequate women’s uniforms.734 Women
eventually performed many chores that were different from the ones that they were initially assigned by the Army. Many of these jobs could not be executed in the inappropriate and dysfunctional, yet „lady-like” uniforms that had been designed and distributed for office work.735 The norms of heterosexuality, femininity and respectability the
uniform-clad bodies of the Wacs were subjected to were spelled out, for example, in a
manual for woman officers:
„The woman in uniform in the military setting is often doing a man’s work. Yet
she must constantly remember that her effectiveness is going to be decreased if
she tries to imitate the man or if she tries to trade on her sex. She must remain
feminine in her personality; be military in the performance of her duty. She
should not be afraid to accept gracefully the courtesies which American men
naturally accord to women [...].”736
734
On American military (men’s) uniforms see: Elting, John Robert, Michael J McAfee, and
Company of Military Historians. Military Uniforms in America from the Series Produced by the
Company of Military Historians. 3 Vols. San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, 1982. Davie, James C.
„Evolution of the Military Uniform.”Quartermaster Review 22 (1943): 61-62, 122-24. Jeffries,
Olen C. Military Uniforms: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography. Ft. Sill, OK: The Artillery
& Guided Missile School Library, 1955. Marshall, Max L. „From Homespun to Army
Green.”Army Info Digest 9 (1954): 10-26. Meyler, David W. „Dressed to Kill: The Role of
Uniforms in Military History.”Cmd Mag (1993): 42-47. Risch, Quartermaster Support. Windrow, Martin, and Gerry Embleton. Military Dress of North America, 1665-1978. New York:
Scribner's, 1973. Rankin, Robert H. „Story of Army Uniforms [4 Parts].”National Guardsman
8.3-6 (1954): 6-10. On Uniforms during WWII: Redlegs, Captain. „Clothes for Combat.”Infantry Journal 60 (1947): 19-20. Stanton, Shelby. U.S. Army Uniforms of World War II.
Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole, 1991. Sylvia, Stephen W., and Michael J. O'Donnell. Uniforms,
Weapons and Equipment of the World War II G.I. Orange, VA: Moss, 1982. U.S. War Dept.
Personnel: Wearing of the Service Uniform. Army Regulation 600-40, Aug 1941 and ed. of
March 1944. U.S. War Dept. Personnel: Prescribed Service Uniform. Army Reg 600-35, Nov
1941 and ed. of March 1944.
735
Risch, A Wardrobe.
736
War Department, WD Pamphlet 35-2, „The WAC Officer – A Guide to Successful Leadership.”Washington DC, 1 February 1945, 50; NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 222. The concept
of a „natural femininity” is also often found in today’s militaries. According to Foucault, the
201
Whereas the symbolic and material dimensions reflect the conflict-ridden positions of
the Army and the WAC Director from an institutional perspective, uniforms also offer
an opportunity to study the subject perspective of women soldiers. Donning the uniform
often proved to be a liberating and empowering experience for many women. Hence, we
can also observe the formation of new identities as women as social actors assumed and
embodied newly available subject positions of the female soldier. The disciplinary regime in the military was not only capable of producing docile, masculine citizen soldiers, but it also helped to produce very different and very diverse subject positions in
women soldiers. They, in turn, changed the institution considerably by expanding military and societal notions of proper women’s work. The uniforms were an object of very
creative, partially subversive displacements, performances and misappropriations by
women soldiers.
4.2 Symbolic Aspects: Planning and Design of the Uniform
4.2.1 The Pre-planning Process
In January 1942 the War Department appointed the Cavalry Officer Gilman C. Mudgett
to coordinate the establishment of the new corps while the WAAC Bill was being debated in Congress. Mudgett had the title of „Pre-Planner, WAAC” and his orders from
G-1 were to „build a fire under WAAC planning.”737 The WAAC uniform, its design
and procurement as well as the corps’ equipment and insignia came under the responsibility of the Quartermaster General. The future WAAC Director was added to the preplanning group on 23 February 1942. The uniform proved to be one of the most difficult
problems for the pre-planners. Procurement could not begin before the passage of the
bill, but in order not to lose any more time and have the contracts with manufacturers
naturalized gender is one of the core strategies to legitimize different forms of oppression. It
creates an „artificial unity“ of various disparate biological functions, sensations and pleasures,
enforces the repressive ideal of a „natural heterosexuality“ and thus cloaks and reverses the constitutive relation between power and sexuality. Foucault, History of Sexuality, 154.
737
202
ready when the bill became law, the group had to reach an agreement on the design and
number of articles before that date. Representatives of three agencies attended the planning sessions: The Quartermaster General’s Office, the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, and WAAC Headquarters. The low priority the Army accorded the group was made
evident by the fact that none of the staff were authorized to make any decisions.738 The
responsibility for the WAAC uniform program was delegated to Colonel Letcher O.
Grice of the Standardization Branch.
The Insignia for the WAAC were modeled after the Greek goddess Pallas Athena. Pallas Athena, also known by her Roman name Minerva, was „wise in industries of peace
and arts of war”, also the goddess of storms and battle, who led through victory to peace
and prosperity, but she was also associated with a variety of „womanly virtues“: „The
arts of spinning and weaving were her invention; she taught how to tend and nurse
newly-born infants and even the healing art was traced back to her among other
gods.“739 The virgin goddess Pallas Athena sprang fully armed from Zeus’s head, a
l-
though she is often depicted without her helmet or with an open visor.740 In contrast to
Ares (Mars), she finds no pleasure in rushing to battle. Rather, she is associated with defensive warfare and often portrayed as a schemer and strategist. These qualities, as well
as the fact that she had „no vices either womanly or godlike,” made her the ideal symbol
for the WAAC, according to the Heraldic Section of the office of the Quartermaster
General. Together with the designs of Pallas Athena’s head, they submitted their rendering of „the story”:
Her character was complement to Zeus', the god of heaven and supreme ruler of
the universe, brought into existence for the purpose of doing what he would plan
but could not carry out. She is at once fearful and powerful as a storm, and, in
turn, gentle and pure as the warmth of the sky when a storm has sunk to rest and
738
Ibid., 36.
Heraldic Section, Office of The Quartermaster General. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 214.
740
„In the Martianus glosses, Pallas Athena, the armed virgin goddess of wisdom, portrays a
monastic ideal, an androgynous figure who in her ontology transcends the singular issue of gender. This issue, which surfaces consciously in mythography for the first time in the Carolingian
commentaries on Martianus, elevates to greater prominence the Stoic physical rationalization of
the gods; it also fleshes out the female deities previously depicted in somewhat marginal roles.”
Chance, Jane. Medieval Mythography: From Roman North Africa to the School of Chartres,
A.D. 433-1177. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1994, 4.
739
203
an air of new life moves over the freshened fields. [...] She presides over battles,
but only to lead on to victory, and through victory to peace and prosperity. When
war has been fought out and that peace established, which is always the result of
conflict and war, then it is that the goddess Athene reigns in all gentleness and
purity, teaching mankind to enjoy peace and instructing them in all that gives
beauty to human life, in wisdom and art. If the two sides of her character are
kept clearly before our minds, the inseparable union of both, we shall see that
this goddess Pallas Athene is the ideal symbol of the WAAC.741
Before Hobby’s arrival, Colonel Grice of the Standardization Branch had several designers make sketches for a uniform in two different shades of blue that honored the
word distinctive in the legislative authorization of a WAAC uniform, as it was distinct
from that of the Army or any other organization, including the Army Nurse Corps.
Oveta Hobby, on the other hand, was convinced that the „WAAC uniform should be
identical in color with that of the Army and as much like it in design as possible, especially in view of her pending attempt to place the WAAC in the Army”.742 After a
lengthy debate, the question was finally settled by the Philadelphia Depot, which
pointed out that olive drab and khaki material was already procured and that it would be
nearly impossible to start procuring two more shades of blue.
In a next step, the planning group considered sketches by various designers: The jacket
included elements from all of these designs. „A belt for the jacket was on, off, and on
again: it would help faulty female figures, said [the representative of] Mangone; it
would rub holes in the jacket, said the Quartermaster General; it should be leather, said
[designer] Maria Krum; cotton was cheaper, said the Quartermaster General.”743 Colonel Grice pointed out „while belts are attractive, they wear on the material.”744 Mrs.
Hobby felt that „no upper pockets created a long and matronly line from shoulder to
waist.”745 For conservation purposes the final decision was made for the cloth belt.
746
A
decision on the skirt was no easier to reach. On April 1, a suit made of enlisted serge
741
Heraldic Section, Office of The Quartermaster General. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 214.
743
Cited in Treadwell 37. See also WAAC Meeting, 27 April 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55,
Box 213.
744
WAAC Conference, 15 April 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 213.
745
Ibid.
746
742
204
cloth was modeled. „The skirt was favored for its grace and style”.747 However, War
Production Board restrictions on the use of material dictated a narrow six-gore skirt
without any pleats. While the original plan had included slacks, they were eliminated
„as too troublesome to fit”; at least, it may be speculated, for a group of designers of
men’s clothing.
Hobby had already decided that the women wear skirts instead of slacks wherever possible, in order to „avoid a rough or masculine appearance which would cause unfavorable public comment”.748 Now she ruled out culottes, which she found unsuitable for
mechanics. At this point the only outdoor work that Waacs were expected to perform
was in motor transport. Consequently, the planning group believed that no trousers except for coveralls would be necessary. A shirt with a tie was agreed to look more „military and dignified” than an open collar, and a khaki tie was chosen instead of the ascot
that some of the designers would have favored.749 The choice of WAAC headgear
proved to be controversial: Hobby called for identical hats for officers and enlisted
women. More importantly, the overseas cap that the Quartermaster General had suggested for enlisted women was then being adopted by many women’s volunteer groups
and private service organizations and Hobby wanted to avoid any confusion of Waacs
with civilian women. Instead, she opted for „something with a visor [but] not too military a visor.”750 From designs the firms of Knox and Stetson produced the group chose
the visor cap, which would later be dubbed „Hobby hat”. A heavy topcoat, similar to
men’s overcoat, and a light utility coat that resembled a hooded raincoat (in place of
men’s field jacket) were designed and agreed upon. A handbag with a shoulder strap
was authorized after „experiments with carrying necessities in breast pockets quickly
produced a rule against even so much as a pack of cigarettes in that location”.751 With
this quite unmilitary piece of equipment, certain misunderstandings occurred between
the contractors and Army personnel. One manufacturer, who was unaware that the
WAAC was to be an unarmed auxiliary corps, suggested a „two-in-one” solution: A
747
Ibid.
749
Ibid.
750
WAAC Conference, March 25, 1942, 2. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 213.
751
748
205
smaller bag with a shoulder strap instead of an ordinary handbag and a „toilet kit, which
could hold any item for refreshing purposes.” The latter should hold a stainless steel
mirror and, as the manufacturer’s representative suggested, could be made with two
loops so it could „be carried on a pistol belt.”752
It appears as if the women were blamed for many of the mistakes in the design and
planning process, and not only by misogynist Army men. In her official history of the
WAC, historian Mattie Treadwell explained why the handbag could not been worn on
the left hip with the shoulder strap over the right shoulder and across the body, as it had
originally been designed: The handbag had originally been worn on the left hip with the
shoulder strap over the right shoulder and across the body. This was abandoned, as
Treadwell notes, because „when worn by women of heavier build, it cut beneath the
bust line to produce an undesirable profile.”753 This proved even worse as „most women
did not have large enough shoulder muscles to prevent it from slipping off,” many
handbags were snatched Wacs who hunched the left shoulder to keep the strap on „were
rapidly becoming deformed.”754
4.2.2 A „neat and military appearance”
In the uniform’s design the gendered symbolism of military clothing played a large role.
Uniforms generally idealize the representation of a male physique.755 The question of
752
WAAC Conference, 1 April 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 213. At another meeting,
a sample bag was tested and filled with the following items: „2 Jars (Face Powder and Cleansing Cream), 1 Small Nail Brush, 1Whisk Broom, 3 Bottles (Mouth Wash, Skin Cream, Astringent), 1 Container for Saturated Pads, Sewing Kit (Housewife), 1 Case for Sunglasses, Comb,
and Emery Board, 1 Wash Cloth Pocket, 1Hair brush and a large Comb, 1 Novelty Tooth Brush,
1 Tooth Powder, 1 Container with Soap Tissue, 1 Mirror, 1 Change Purse.” WAAC Meeting, 27
April 1942. NARA. Ibid.
753
754
Ibid.
755
See also Buckley, Richard. „Eros and Uniform.”in: Bonami, Tonchi and Frisa, Uniform. 20511. 205. Many of the uniforms worn by women during WWI displayed styles and forms that
were imitating men’s uniforms. Among these features were „trouserettes” in military or monochrome colors, affixed pockets, military-style insignia, and belts. Whereas it was highly desirable for most of these civilian voluntary organizations like the American Red Cross or the
206
how feminine and how soldierly the members of the women’s corps should look and
sometimes the question whether women belonged in the Army at all, were sometimes
disguised as discussions on the conservation of material and of the established structures of the Quartermaster Corps. The following example illustrates the symbolic charge
even seemingly matter-of-fact arguments on conservation requirements and the design
of the buttons carried: Colonel Grice suggested to make the gold „WAAC” and „U.S.”
insignia and the tongue of the belt-buckle the same olive color as the plastic buttons and
stated, „he would not like to start a new organization with any brass whatsoever.”756 It
was, however, unanimously favored by the group to leave the insignia in gold.
Two irreconcilable rationales became apparent as to the type and number of garments to
be issued and there was no precedent in the military to resolve them. The Army had to
furnish its members all articles it required them to wear. In Hobby’s opinion, the Waacs
clothing had to be judged according to accepted civilian customs for women. Most
quartermaster representatives, on the other hand, thought the choice should be most
fairly based on the amount and type of clothing received by men. Tan oxfords, tennis
shoes, and bedroom slippers were authorized, but not the plain pumps that Hobby had
wanted for dress shoes, which were deemed too expensive. In addition, on the grounds
of economy it was decided against her choice of lisle stockings for dress and ribbed
cotton stockings for work and rayon and plain cotton were chosen instead.757 During the
discussion on gym shoes and the availability of rubber, a remarkably uninformed Colonel Grice „suggested that Mr. Mormon make contact through A.G.O. [Adjutant General’s Office, M.H.] and find out what the Army is doing about gym shoes and sport
shoes of all types for the men in the Army.”758
YWCA to allocate to themselves signs of military organization and discipline, inclusion of
women during WWII was much more problematic for the military. In 1942 and 1943, the issue
was the penetration of women into a hitherto exclusively male sphere, in which military masculinity was discursively created by the exclusion of women and their containment within the limits of femininity.
756
WAAC Meeting, 27 April 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 213.
757
758
207
In order to present a „neat and military appearance” the group noted that some women
should be required to wear „foundation garments”, but could not be directed to do so
unless the garment was issued as part of the uniform. Although the group did not want
to authorize nude appearances in military installations that did not have connecting latrines, it noted that men were not issued pajamas and bathrobes. Under these circumstances Hobby preferred to discuss the „accessories” issue at first informally with a few
women staff members. Brassieres with small, medium and large cups and two long sizes
should be issued; rubber had been reduced to a minimum and „conforms to the newly
[sic] corset ruling.”759 Panty girdles were not issued because of inadequate washing f acilities. Hobby suggested cotton panties with a leg length of 10 inches, which could be
worn over the top of the stocking. Pajamas, a slip made of cotton or rayon, Hosiery, and
socks were agreed upon. For exercise, a one-piece Seersucker dress was to be issued, as
well as gloves, a V-neck sweater and handkerchiefs. As it was the policy of the Requirements Division’s to eventually delete all items that men were not issued, summer
and winter pajamas, galoshes, handkerchiefs, dress shields, athletic shoes and summer
and winter bathrobes were eventually cancelled. In addition, the Quartermaster General
subsequently reduced the number of several items to that authorized for men.760
Months later, according to „personal investigations at Fort Des Moines” made by a
Quartermaster committee, only 25 percent of the women were wearing the issue girdles,
others purchased them commercially or preferred to wear none. In order to make the
women wear these items, the Quartermaster Corps and WAAC Headquarters would
have liked the Wacs to receive money in lieu of the issue to purchase their own brassieres and girdles. This would have required amendatory legislation which the Army’s
Legislative and Liaison Division did not want to pursue at this time, but one colonel did
not spare the Waacs his advice that „the proper physical appearance of Waacs [should]
be attained by exercise and good posture, and not by the use of ‘surgical contraptions’.
If the government was to issue brassieres and girdles to women, then such devices could
759
760
WAAC Meeting, 13 May 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 213.
208
well be considered for the officers and enlisted men.”761 While some Army officers
opined predominantly on military aspects of the women’s appearance, others concentrated on aspects of femininity: Lieutenant Stark of the Signal Corps, who joined the
planning group in April 1942, stated that he „did not favor tailoring the garments to
conform to a man’s style, [...] although consideration should be given to the fact that the
W.A.A.C. is a military organization, the women should not be made to look masculine.”762
4.2.3 Prêt-a-porter the Army way
Due to the rapid build-up of WAAC personnel, early mistakes in the uniform were not
corrected before production on a mass-scale was required. Soon after the opening of the
First Training Center, a number of complaints were recorded, according to which almost all garments were cut with wide collars and narrow hips as if for men. Consequently, skirts, shirts and jackets were ill fitting and uncomfortable. Hats were out of
shape before they were even issued, raincoats leaked, hems could not be easily lowered
or raised. Because the War Production Board had allotted insufficient elastic, the suspenders of girdles were too short and pulled runs in stockings.763 It turned out that the
Philadelphia Depot had never made a model of the entire uniform, but instead had based
several items on a rough pattern cut by a manufacturer to estimate the cloth needed.
This pattern was henceforth called the „master pattern” from which each contractor had
developed a set of sized patterns.
All manufacturers who received a contract were in the men’s-wear industry because the
manufacturers of women’s clothing were too expensive. In order not to lose any time
for development, the correction of the defective patterns was delegated to the Philadelphia Depot, which developed a new jacket without a belt. When the contractor delivered
the new jackets, they were too flat around the bust and in addition to omitting the belt,
the depot had also re-spaced the buttons so that it was impossible to sit down without
761
Ibid., 166.
763
762
209
unbuttoning the lowest button. The skirt pattern was also modified, but because no other
material was available than the original cotton twill that was also used in men’s uniforms, but had proved entirely unsatisfactory for women’s, the original khaki skirts had
to be retained. In May it turned out that the depot had not made several of the requested
corrections, had ignored recommendations and had never given a pattern to a tailor of
women’s clothing as directed. The Quartermaster General now took back on him some
of the development and finally called in representatives of four firms manufacturing
women’s clothing. For the first time, the designers of women’s patterns developed patterns in women’s sizes, but despite this the Quartermaster’s Storage and Distribution
Division insisted on still designating the new sizes the Army way – long, regular and
short - because the storage and issue system could only handle these categories.
A satisfactory uniform design was not developed until late in 1943 and 1944 but as
Treadwell quotes the Quartermaster General, they were then „merely a matter of academic interest” as large stocks of the earlier pattern had been ordered due to the expansion programs and new procurement could not be authorized until these uniforms were
worn out.764 A newspaper syndicate release reported in May 1943 that Waacs were „so
unhappy with their lot that they are grousing openly.” […] Their uniform, the Waacs
complained, was not nearly as attractive as that of the other women’s services and must
have been designed „not by Mainbocher […] but by some tyro tailor with a grudge
against women.”765
764
c.i. Ibid., 158.
McClure Newspaper Syndicate „National Whirligig” release, 18 May 1943. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55. Box 203. Main Rousseau Bocher (1891–1976) was an American fashion designer,
who was known for his expensive, elegant evening clothes. He opened his Paris house of couture in 1929 and his New York house in 1939. He designed war uniforms for the WAVES and
SPARS and made costume designs for stage productions. He also introduced the strapless evening gown, and made the wedding dress for the Duchess of Windsor. His signature fashion designs included pearl chokers and short, white gloves. Owen, Bobbi. Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1985. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987, 103.
765
210
4.3 Material Aspects
4.3.1 New Jobs – New Work Clothing? „Women’s work” Put to the Practical
Test
The WAAC pre-planners had only anticipated clothing for the four kinds of jobs originally authorized – clerks, drivers, cooks, and telephone operators. Clerks and telephone
operators worked in the A uniform. The only work uniforms issued was coveralls to be
worn over the uniform for motor repairs and white dresses for cooks. The seersucker
exercise dresses, of which each woman was issued two, were also worn for kitchen police and barracks fatigue duties as well as for physical training. With the expansion of
the Corps, more and more Waacs worked as full time mechanics, welders, pier checkers, gas pump attendants or messengers. They worked in hospital wards, laboratories, in
aircraft maintenance and drove staff cars as well as light trucks. Many of these jobs involved activities such as climbing in and out of aircraft or up and down control towers.
Other jobs made it necessary to wear protective clothing. Requests for trousers kept
pouring in from the field. Although the WAAC Director acknowledged she had been
mistaken in rejecting them in the preplanning process, the requests were refused. In the
spring of 1943 Hobby again appealed to the Army Service Forces that a „trousered
garment for exercise, fatigue, and other heavy work is vitally necessary.”766 The result
was that the herringbone twill coveralls were now to be issued to every Waac in the
field and the exercise dress was deleted from authorized issue except for use in the
training center.767 Although only one, instead of the requested two coveralls were i ssued
each Waac, some training centers had difficulties providing even this number and many
units, such as the drivers at Daytona Beach who wore men’s (Class B) blue denim, were
forced to improvise.
Waacs who were assigned to hospitals as medical technicians usually worked in one of
the two exercise dresses they used also for physical exercise, kitchen police, recreation
or cleaning the barracks, provided they had received any before the issue was discontin766
767
Ibid.
211
ued. Laundry service took ten days at most stations so that this practice was unsanitary
even if the women washed the dresses nightly. Again Requirements Division, ASF and
the Surgeon General overruled the office of the Quartermaster General and proposed the
Waacs wear either the coverall or surgical gowns, which were cut for men’s heights and
were open in the back. Work dresses for hospital Wacs were not authorized until 1945,
just before V-E day.768
4.3.2 Procurement and Supply
The difficulties of the rapid build-up of the WAAC resulted in severe supply problems
that worsened with every new expansion plan and were never more than temporarily
remedied. According to the Office of the Quartermaster General, the time customarily
allowed for the procurement of men’s clothing and equipment was six moths if the
items could be procured ready-made and twelve months if cloth had to be purchased.
However, expansion plans at the end of 1942 poured in so rapidly that figures based on
which plans were made and contracts were let were often outdated as soon as they were
completed. The estimates furnished the Quartermaster General in March 1941 were
12,000 in a year were replaced by estimates of 53,000 for 1943, then 113,000, then
150,000.769
In April 1943 an investigating committee sent to Fort Des Moines by the Quartermaster
General determined the need for wool shirts and knee length wool stockings for all
Waacs in colder climates and long-sleeved undershirts, wool drawers, trousers with a
wool liner and an outer windproof cover, field jackets with liners and covers, leggings
and a wool cap for outdoor workers. Wile men were issued long winter underwear and
wool trousers to wear underneath their cotton coverall, Waacs had nothing but winter
panties, one fourth as heavy as the men’s, and the wool shirts issued to drivers. Of the
items recommended by the Quartermaster, however, the Requirements Division ruled
768
769
Ibid., 537.
Ibid., 152.
212
out the field jacket, winter underwear, and leggings and considered only the trousers for
drivers favorably.
When a cold spell struck Fort Des Moines, Iowa in September and covered the post
with snow, temperatures inside the newly constructed, unheated barracks and classrooms were near the freezing mark. The supply of summer uniforms had become erratic
and almost no winter clothing of any sort was available. A health crisis arose within a
few days. When Hobby hastened to the training center, she wore the summer raincoat
the Waacs were wearing and immediately caught a bad cold . Apart from telephoning to
Washington to expedite the shipment of clothing, she secured several thousand enlisted
men’s overcoats from a neighboring station’s surplus stock. The overcoats not only provided warmth to hands and feet, but were also a source of amusement to the Waacs,
who could not refrain from taking pictures of each other in the grossly oversized coats
that covered the hands and trailed on the ground. We can only speculate whether the
prospect of having these pictures circulate in the US has expedited the shipment of
winter uniforms, but the Deputy Chief of Staff, Lt. General Joseph McNarney, immediately backed the Director’s request to the Services of Supply.770
While the „supply debacle” at Fort Des Moines unfolded in October and November,
Colonel Hobby and the Quartermaster General were still fighting with the Requirements
Division over the WAAC overcoat. Meanwhile, temperatures at Des Moines were between zero and -20˚ F (-18˚ to -29˚ C) so that even if full winter uniforms had been
available, additional cold-weather items would have been necessary. The commandant
of the post wired to Washington on November 3, 1942 that „15,000 arctic overshoes,
nurses’ lambskin-lined mittens, and wool-lined trousers” were „urgently needed to safeguard health of this command.”771 The agencies involved, the Office of the Quarte
r-
master General, the Distribution Division of the Services of Supply and the Requirements Division, thereupon agreed to hold a conference on 25 November. When Hobby
returned from England in mid-November and threatened her resignation, 3,000 winter
uniforms were shipped to Des Moines.772 General Styer, Chief of Staff of the Services
770
Ibid., 76.
Ibid., 151-2.
772
Ibid., 153.
771
213
of Supply had agreed to the Quartermaster General’s recommendation of 6 or 12 moths
notice in „ignorance of the fact that the women were already at Des Moines”.773 He now
reversed his decision and in order to procure the cloth for the woolen items and not diverting standard material from men’s uniforms, the Philadelphia Depot had to secure
various odd lots of different colored woolen materials, which were then re-dyed in the
shade for enlisted personnel. The result, as one Quartermaster historian observed, was a
„grotesque combination [...] of the chocolate brown barathea and the mustard shade
olive-drab”.774
After the Corps’ first winter, half of the women in some training centers went through
their entire training without uniforms; others had to make do with summer uniforms.
For many recruits, the WAAC was unable to provide even one set of military outer
garments. An entire WAAC company was transferred from the training center at Daytona Beach to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where they arrived in the midst of a snowstorm
dressed in summer cottons. Other Waacs were issued one or two shirts and sent to desert airfields with averages in temperature around 110˚ F (43,3˚ C). Ill-fitting garments
and, worse, wrong-sized shoes were issued and the women were sent to stations that had
obviously no more supplies of WAAC clothing than the training centers. Fort Oglethorpe had to report, „[f]ifty percent of personnel departing this station during the week
of March 21-28 will not be uniformed”775 In the same month, the Fourth WAAC
Training Center opened in Massachusetts without any clothing supplies whatever. After
an emergency conference with Waac Headquarters the Quartermaster General took to
makeshift measures to supply the Training Center: His office obtained green blanketcoats (mackinaws) from the Civilian Conservation Corps were, issued Army officers’
serge shirts to be used instead of winter jackets and distributed 20,000 off-shade skirts,
as well as shoes and raincoats. A WAAC officer was now assigned to the Office of the
Quartermaster General to work full-time on supplying the WAAC.
773
Ibid.
Ibid.
775
Letter 3rd Training Center to DWAAC, 20 March 1943. C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army
Corps, 154.
774
214
Supply to field stations was virtually nonexistent. Even in March, many Army supply
officers did not know what depots stocked WAAC uniforms, what the supply channels
were or how to schedule maintenance allowances for Waacs. According to numerous
reports from hospitals and stations in semitropical climates, the Waacs’ warm-weather
clothing was equally deficient. Instead of the heavy A uniform, many Waacs wore the
short exercise dress for many types of jobs, including highly visible desk jobs in headquarters. Just when the decision was rendered to substitute coveralls for exercise
dresses, many stations were pleading for four or more of the exercise dresses instead of
two. The Army Air Forces, for which at one time almost one sixth of all WAAC personnel worked, had the majority of its airfields in the southern states and the southwestern desert. A study by the AAF Training Command showed that on many of these fields
temperatures never fell below 90˚ or 100˚ F for months at a time and sometimes
climbed as high as 135˚ F. (32˚-38˚ C, peaks of 57˚ C). Enlisted women wore two shirts
a day and washed them at night since there were no laundries on the fields. The study
called for the issuing of at least five additional short-sleeved shirts, three exercise
dresses and cotton anklets instead of the wool socks then issued. Not only was the
AAF’s request denied, the Waacs were also informed that the exercise dresses would be
taken away and replaced by a heavy coverall. Although the Quartermaster General had
begun to „study the problem” of developing a short-sleeved work dress in 1943, no such
universal summer dress was produced before the end of the war.
The conversion to Army status brought with it a set of new problems regarding the new
WAC regulations. It was the Army’s policy that standards for the WAC approximate
the standards for male personnel, varying only „where the differences between men and
women necessitate changes and adjustments”.776 It was not before early 1944 that reg ulations for the WAC uniform could be agreed upon, and frequent amendments were
necessary thereafter. The mismatched uniforms women had received during the early
days of the expansion program were still being used and another 15,000 the Waacs who
had left when the Corps was converted to the WAC had turned in were also being reissued. These had been repaired and issued to new recruits. As the mismatching uniforms
were a major source of criticism, Hobby submitted a plan to ASF in December 1943 to
776
215
eliminate them by applying a liberal salvage policy that would allow for an exchange
before an item was irreparably worn. Requirements Division, ASF again reiterated standard Army policy that „earlier procurement must be worn out, and reissued as long as
repairable, before new stocks were issued.”777
The conversion also brought with it that Wacs were no longer allowed to wear civilian
clothes when on leave or off-duty. Since Hobby believed that there existed „some universal psychological need of servicewomen for feminine-type attire for social occasions”, another one of her proposals called for the authorization for Wacs to buy an offduty dress similar to that authorized for the Army Nurse Corps.778 The request, which
addressed to the General Staff as a matter of well being, never even reached the War
Department, but was returned disapproved by General Somervell’s office.
Although many of Hobby’s requests for the authorization of new items such as garrison
caps, lighter summer uniforms, cotton scarves and other items were turned down on the
grounds that surplus stocks of uniforms were on hand, stations continued to report that
they were unable to obtain maintenance stocks and replacements so that many Wacs left
the training centers for their field station without even one complete uniform issue.779
Reports by the Inspector General noted that in the WAC’s second winter the clothing in
units inspected was still of poor quality cloth, secondhand and showing signs of much
wear even when first issued. He recommended „at least one complete outfit of outer
garments suitable for appearance in public.”780
4.3.3 Overseas Experience
Overseas assignments were much in demand. Beginning in January 1943, Waacs, and
later Wacs, served in climate zones as different as North Africa and the Mediterranean
theater, England, France and Germany as well as the South West Pacific, China, Burma
777
Ibid., 527.
Ibid., 528.
779
Ibid., 529.
780
Ibid., 529.
778
216
and India and the Middle East. Numerous requests for slacks poured in, many of them
backed by medical officers who pointed to health risks, such as insufficient protection
in the cold European climate, the malaria control restrictions in New Guinea that required wearing of slacks after 6 p.m., or the necessity of protection against chemical
warfare.781 The Wacs in the Southwest-Pacific Area arrived in winter uniforms and
heavy twill coveralls issued in Australia while en route. The coveralls proved too hot for
the climate and the number of evacuations for health reasons subsequently jumped from
98 per thousand to 267 per thousand, which was significantly higher than that for men.
According to historian Judith Bellafaire, this rate was directly related to the theater's
supply problems.782 Among the leading causes of illness was dermatitis, a skin disease
aggravated by heat, humidity, and the heavy winter clothing the Wacs wore in the theater. The malaria rate for women was disproportionately high because Wacs lacked the
lightweight, yet protective clothing issued to the men and often failed to wear their
heavier uniforms properly. Pneumonia and bronchitis were aggravated by a shortage of
dry footgear.
One of two items added to the service uniform after 1944 was the battle jacket, which
was extremely popular with men and women. It had first been procured in England and
issued to European theater personnel. The standard winter uniforms the Wacs had
brought from the US were inadequate, especially in the Air Forces where many Wacs
worked night shifts in unheated buildings and underground operation centers. The
situation was declared an emergency and the issue of some warm items designed for
enlisted men was authorized and extra items were requested. The Quartermasterdesigned trousers and jackets when finally received overseas were bulky and shrank and
faded when laundered in the field. A three-piece wool uniform was finally designed in
the field, slacks, skirt and battle jacket that was durable, warm and suitable for field
conditions as well as off-duty and in the cities. When soldiers and Wacs brought the
battle jackets back to the US, „it proved impossible to stem the tide of their popularity
781
782
Ibid., 396, 416, 168 and 536.
217
and it was necessary to authorize their wear by men in the zone of the interior.”783 When
women officers began purchasing them, Hobby, who found „nothing wrong with that
jacket for men,” consulted with a New York manufacturer who said: „A battle jacket is
a battle jacket, you cannot make it ‘fem-looking’.”784 The Quartermaster General found
it had an „unbecoming appearance when worn by short or plump women,” a design for
women was quickly produced that lacked the pockets of the men’s version.
4.4 Publicity Crisis
In mid-1943, the WAC struggled with a severe publicity crisis, which together with the
conversion led to a significant drop in recruiting as pointed out earlier. Gallup polls
showed that eligible prospects for enlistment rated the uniform last in attractiveness after all of the other women’s services’ uniforms.785 The uniforms were also criticized in
numerous letters to editors, newspaper columns and letters to the War Department.786
Hobby and Army recruiters were convinced that a woman’s decision to join a military
service depended to no small degree on the attractiveness of that service’s uniform.
Consequently, several advertising campaigns praised the „smartly tailored dress uniforms“: „They’re meticulously fitted for each individual, to assure trim appearance, [...]
and are provided in sufficient number to allow frequent change.“787 „When a Wac a rrives at the Training Center she is issued 34 items of clothing and equipment – from her
underwear to her toothbrush. If you were to buy these things at a store, at retail prices,
they would cost you about $ 250.”788 The War Department advocated wearing the un i783
Authorization for optional purchase and wear by officers and enlisted women in the continental United States (CONUS) was given in April 1945. Army Regulation 600-37, 16 April
1945.
784
Telephone conversation between Hobby and Ms. Shaver, 12 November 1944. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 78.
785
George Gallup. A National Study of Current Public Opinion toward the WAC. September
1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 204.
786
Letters from Susan Butts, New York, 7 December 1943; from Christopher Cole, Baltimore,
MD, 3 December 1943; from Margaret Boyle, 5 December 1943 all to Maj. General J. A. Ulio,
Adjutant General. NARA. RG 407, Box 4294.
787
„Private Smith Goes to Washington”, NARA. RG 407, Box 4293.
788
„Facts You Want to Know About the WAC”, Army of the US - Women's Army Corps [24.
Aug 44]. NARA. RG 407, Box 4292. Additional ads: „73 Questions and Answers About the
218
form „for the duration”, despite stereotypical ideas about the type of clothing women
would prefer in times of peace: „A Wac says: ‘Of course I like frilly dresses and flower
hats as much as any other girl. But until this war is over, I’m proud and happy to wear
the Army uniform.’“789 In the WAAC, the women needed not worry: „WAAC uniforms
are neat, attractive, and practical – yet they are feminine.”790
„Your uniforms are tailored like a dream. And they’re fitted to you by experts.
You get winter and summer uniforms. Clothes for working. Fine shoes. A
swank-looking handbag. Even your well-cut, soft-feeling underwear! And everything’s of a quality you’d find hard to match in any store today! Wacs could
even get a real kick out of wearing them. Here’s how one girl put it – ‚As a
Waac, I feel like somebody.’”791
A „feminine” appearance was as important to many Wacs as it was to the WAC Director who was predominantly concerned with those situations where Wacs were visible in
public. Hobby suggested in July 1942 that the women be allowed to purchase individually tailored white dress uniforms which could be worn for public appearances and
leave instead of the ill-fitting uniforms issued. Requirements Division, however, turned
down the request, as it served no useful purpose for the war effort.792 In a survey co nducted in June, 1943 almost two thirds of the Waacs stated, that they would be in favor
of the authorization to purchase a white dress uniform at their own expense. Only 19%
were opposed to the idea. Over half of them would have preferred a white dress over of
the suit-type uniform made of white material.793
WAAC,“ and „Back of the Fighting Front...Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, United States
Army,” 6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 212.
789
Facts You Want to Know About the WAC. NARA. RG 407, Box 4292.
790
Back of the Fighting Front, 6. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 212.
791
„73 Questions and Answers about the WAAC.”NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 212.
792
793
Report No. B-44: „Answers of 348 WAAC Enrolled Women to Questions on Desirability of
Authorizing a White Uniform for Dress Wear; based on two questions asked in a pre-test conducted at Fort Meade and Fort Belvoir, June 21 and June 23, 1943.”NARA. RG 330, Entry 93,
Box 991. By way of comparison, the Navy gave the WAVES a clothing allowance with which
they could purchase their uniforms at department stores, which offered expert fitting. For the
Army this would have required Congressional action to amend existing Army legislation. Army
women, however benefited from the free maintenance and replacement of worn out items they
received whereas Navy women with their maintenance allowance of $ 12.50 every three months
could hardly afford stockings. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 161.
219
Interestingly, the only request for change the Army Service Forces granted was the
authorization for WAAC recruiters to receive an extra summer jacket, skirt and cap in
August 1943, because recruiters had to wear the full uniform daily and could not wear
fatigue clothing while their jacket was being cleaned.
„Recruiters must present the best possible picture of the Wacs to the public at all
times. Neat, matched, tailored uniforms are essential. [...] Male recruiters have
always had extra clothing allowances [...] it is doubly important with female recruiters. [...] Recruiters cannot present a model appearance unless their uniforms
match. Although it is understood that present original clothing issues match,
most recruiting personnel were equipped with non-matching uniforms.”794
Early in January 1944, members of Congress publicly blamed the uniform for the lag in
enlistments. A senator stated, „a woman need not look like a man to make a good soldier”.795 Hobby added: „I believe every effort should be made to obtain respect for
women in the uniform of the Army not only as a group but as individuals. I believe immediate action should be taken to make the uniform as attractive as possible and that the
Army uniform and all it means should be „sold” as „Navy Blue” has been sold to the
public.”796 A Representative from New York released to the press that the uniform
lacked „military pertness,” and should be „piquant yet dignified, stern, yet charming”.797
He urged that New York stylists be allowed to redesign the entire uniform and stated:
„From a strictly military and economic point of view it may be argued that there
is a stock pile of half a million old WAAC uniforms. What of it? They should be
used for junk. They are utterly valueless. It is worth putting this stock pile on the
scrap heap if you can appreciably recruit your full quota of Wacs”.798
Since discarding stockpiles of old uniforms was out of the question, General Marshall
approved several of Hobby’s proposals that could be put in effect without too much
794
Memo J.A. Ulio for Director, Stock Control Division, ASF, 4 March 1944. See also correspondence su: recruiters uniforms and off-shade uniforms etc between July 1943 and March
1944. NARA. RG 407 Box 4282.
795
„Recruiting Drive Failure is Laid to Wac Uniform” New York Herald Tribune (3 January
1944). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 203.
796
Oveta Culp Hobby, Memorandum for Director, WD Bureau of Public Relations, su: Problems and Deterrents in Connection with WAC Recruiting, 18 February 1944, 11. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 64.
797
798
Ibid.
220
cost. These included issuing a pale yellow cotton scarf and gloves and, very popular
with the Wacs, a garrison cap instead of the much despised „Hobby hat”.799 Additionally, the lighter, non-wrinkling summer uniforms made of tropical worsted that had
been procured earlier for WAAC officers, but arrived too late to be distributed before a
monetary allowance for officers was authorized, was finally issued to enlisted women
during the summer of 1944. The difference from the stiff men’s weight cotton was so
remarkable, that the Chief of Staff directed that all cotton uniforms be replaced by this
tropical worsted. Although the Office of the Quartermaster General protested, the Chief
of Staff did not change his mind and subsequently authorized the issue of one off-duty
dress and the procurement of more for resale to Wacs at cost. At General Marshall’s
urging, the Quartermaster even managed to get the summer off-duty dresses out by
summer, despite his protests that he needed more time for procurement. This was the
first garment for which women’s instead of men’s sizes had been used and which corresponded to civilian women’s sizes. The dress proved so successful, that other nation’s
women’s services requested samples and much competition arose in the United States
for issue of the dress. First priority was given to the Military District of Washington,
where Wacs were exposed to the view of the War Department; second, to recruiters,
who were highly visible to the public, third to the Fourth and Eighth Service Command
areas, which were exposed to the hottest summers; all others followed in order of receipt. General Marshall also directed that the mismatched winter uniforms be replaced
and that secondhand outer garments be no longer issued.
The last of these changes was approved in May 1944 and the WAC now had a wardrobe
comparable to that of other women’s services. After new complaints were received from
members of Congress, that „soldiers receive less clothing than Wacs”, the War Department stated its final policy: „As a result of two and a half years experience with women
799
The cap and the Wacs’ dissatisfaction with it had been subject to numerous newspaper articles and columns. See for example in August 1943 alone: Marshall, MI Chronicle, 6 Aug 1943:
St. Louis, MO Post-Dispatch, 13 Aug 1943; Torrington, CT Register, 14 Aug 1943; Prescott,
AZ Courier, 16 Aug 1943; Waltham, MA News-Tribune, 17 Aug 1943; St. Marys, OH Leader,
18 Aug 1943; VanWert, OH Times-Bulletin, 31 Aug 1943.
221
personnel in the Armed Services, the Army has found that just as in civilian life women
require more clothes than men”.800
4.5 Technologies of the Self
The uniform exemplifies not only the institutional perspective of the Army towards the
new women soldiers but it also illuminates the construction of this new category from
the subject perspective of the Wacs. For Michel Foucault subjection involves the turning into a subject and subjugation of an individual on the one side; on the other side, it
denotes the creative process of becoming a subject, becoming tied to one’s own identity.801 The subject is always constituted, prefigured and performed by power. It is s
i-
multaneously an effect and a tool of power relations. Power, according to Foucault, is a
„productive network“ that „penetrates bodies, produces objects, creates desire, and procreates knowledge and discourses”.802 Power, as well as resistance, is „capillary“, and
ubiquitous „not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere“. Foucault accordingly advocated an ascending analysis of power relations.803
Examples of the „infinitesimal mechanisms” of power, from where Foucault suggested
starting such an analysis, are found in the ways the women used their uniforms, coped
with the lack of proper ones or expressed their dissatisfaction, even within the rigid hierarchy of the military. Publicity campaigns of the Pentagon were of secondary interest
for Wacs who worked shifts in hangars, tents or air shelter bunkers in London or New
Guinea. In the interest of their own health, they improvised appropriate clothing, often
with the tacit agreement or knowledge of their superiors. While the official policy on
trousers was not changed until October 1944, when it was too late for the items to be
produced and shipped to the field, the Wacs took to improvising. Early in 1945, with the
prospect of victory in Europe and increasing war weariness, WAC uniform violations
800
c.i. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 535.
Foucault, The Subject and Power, 327.
802
Foucault, Michel. Dispositive der Macht. Michel Foucault über Sexualität, Wissen und
Wahrheit. Berlin: Merve Verlag, 1977, 35.
803
Foucault, Two lectures, in: Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 99.
801
222
became quite common and officers were frequently the worst offenders. In one of her
admonitions Hobby could only helplessly state: „[I]t is manifestly unfair to require and
expect enlisted women to abide strictly by Uniform Regulations when the officers of
their Corps are guilty of flagrant abuse thereof.”804 Wherever affordable, Wacs pu rchased their own cotton pants in local shops or, as a unit historian stationed in Australia
noted, secured men’s trousers. „Gifts of flowers and candy were scorned, and the successful applicant for a date was one who came carrying, as well as wearing, khaki trousers.”805 In many instances, women soldiers created facts, which then had to be taken
into consideration by the Army.806 The following sketch by an enlisted woman appeared
on her company’s bulletin board.807
804
Ibid., 421.
806
Another example was the overseas cap, which was much favored over the regulation „Hobby
hat”. As the camp newspaper of the 4th Waac Training Center reported, „overseas caps invaded
this post and have temporarily overthrown the regulation WAAC hat.”Within the week, the caps
were verbally authorized and instructions of how to wear them properly were circulated. „Overseas Caps Blitz Ft. Devens Waacs.” Petticoat Soldiers 1.2 (14 June 1943). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 220.
807
Sketch by T/5 Jane Smith, Los Angeles, CA. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 58. Foucault
defines technologies of the self as practices „which permit individuals to effect by their own
means or with the help of others a certain number of operations on their own bodies and souls,
thoughts, conduct, and way of being, so as to transform themselves in order to attain a certain
state.” Cited in Best, Steven, and Kellner, Douglas. Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations.
1991. Web Page. URL: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/pomo/ch2.html. 13 March
2002.
805
223
The Wacs’ resistance to skirts could not manifest itself outside the discursive formation
in which knowledge|power constitutes the archive of available subject positions. This
sketch takes up elements of this discourse, namely the Army’s need for efficiency and
readiness of its soldiers and the WAC leadership’s need for feminine neatness. It plays
with the male soldiers’ gaze („oops, my garter broke”), the ridicule the Wacs often
faced, and reflects it back on the image of Wacs as soldiers. This had to take place inside the space defined by discourse in which speaking subjects exist and in which a
certain spectrum of speech acts, makes sense/can be taken seriously.808 At this historical
moment, the speech act „Why We Don’t Like Skirts” by a Wac who worked as a Signal
Corps draftsman at General MacArthur's headquarters succeeded in „turning the tide
[...] the General took one look and decided the Wacs might keep their slacks a little
longer,“ the company commander wrote.809 „We don‘t mind climbing in and out of
808
Foucault, Michel, and Sylvere Lotringer. Foucault Live: Interviews, 1966-84. New York:
Semiotext(e), 1989, 76.
809
224
Army trucks but we do mind having to do it in skirts,“ commented one Wac. Some of
the skirts, however, were quite creatively put to use, as the following image illustrates:810
The WAC-uniforms reflect the apparent contradiction between institutional integration
and simultaneous discursive exclusion of women into the military. Along with military
drill and „soft” disciplinary measures such as „posture contests”, the uniform plays a
decisive role in the disciplining of military female bodies and helps to inscribe complex
power relations literally onto women’s bodies.811 Every aspect was been taken care of
within the total institution of the military – whether and which women had to wear brassieres, which buttons could be opened when and which haircut was admissible. This
810
Williams, Vera S. WACs: Women’s Army Corps. Osceola, VI: Motorbooks International,
1997, 78.
811
„Correct Posture Specialty of WAAC Corporal Weber.”Des Moines Register (3 August
1943).
225
subjection turned women into soldiers. At the same time, the Army tried to turn Wacs
into women and thus into non-soldiers, by carefully adapting the uniforms to various
hegemonic concepts of femininity and to deprive them of the insignia of military masculine authority. The logistic problems of the Army in conjunction with the WAC uniforms exhibit the discomfort of the brass with the idea that women in the Army could
become a permanent phenomenon.
Foucault suggested „grasp[ing] subjection in its material instance as a constitution of
subjects.812 The uniformed bodies of the Wacs are not only a product, but also a tool of
power relations. Women soldiers opened up new areas for their agency and their subjectivity that did not exist before or right after WWII. Harold Ickes, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Interior, „warn[ed] men that when the war is over, the
going will be a lot tougher, because they will have to be compared with women whose
eyes have been opened to their greatest economic potentialities”.813 The issue of the uniform with its significance in the symbolic as well as in the material realm highlights the
fact that, even in an institution where power relations seem so asymmetrically distributed and solidified, there is power in its capillary form that is exercised, for example,
through a cartoon on a bulletin board. Each effect in and of the apparatus – positive or
negative, intentional or unintentional, even entirely unforeseen – enters into resonance
or contradiction with others and thereby calls for a readjustment or a re-working of the
heterogeneous elements that surface at various points. The body of the female soldier
emerges within the Wacs’ uniform through a complex interaction of techniques of the
self and techniques of power. This body is neither simply the origin nor only the passive
product of societal power relations.
812
Foucault, Two Lectures, 97.
C.i. Gluck, Sherna Berger. Rosie the Riveter Revisited: Women, the War, and Social
Change. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987, 16.
813
226
5. „Subjected to the Colored Race”
5.1 African American Wacs: Fighting on Two Fronts
5.1.1. African Americans and the War Effort: Some Socio-Economic Aspects
During the depression years African Americans had suffered disproportionally from
political exclusion, social injustices and unemployment. Structural racism and the JimCrow system continued to place them at a disadvantage in the racial-caste society of the
1940s.814 African American leaders hoped that the rapidly growing war industries
would create new job opportunities and help overcome discriminatory practices in the
civilian labor market as well as the segregation of the armed forces. After A. Philip
Randolph, the organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, planned a march
on Washington, DC to protest the exclusion of African American workers from defense
jobs, President Franklin Roosevelt reacted and on June 25, 1941 signed Executive Order
8802, which outlawed racial and ethnic discrimination in the defense industry and established the Fair Employment Practice Committee to handle discrimination complaints.815 Only now could African American men and women profit from the enormous
wartime rise in productivity and employment. Thousands of new jobs brought mass migration from the agrarian South to the industrial centers of the North and West, and for
the first time, there were also jobs for black women in great numbers. Eventually,
roughly 12 percent of the federal work force would be African Americans. 16.3 million
men who became soldiers in World War II left about 6.5 million jobs that were filled by
women hoping for economic independence and upward social mobility. Many African
814
On African Americans before World War II see Finzsch, Norbert, James Oliver Horton and
Lois E. Horton. Von Benin nach Baltimore. Die Geschichte der African Americans. Hamburg:
Hamburger Edition, 1999, 412-46. Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve my Race, 11. See
also Wilson, William J. The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American
Institutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Lieberson, Stanley A Piece of the
Pie: Blacks and White Immigrants since 1880. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
1980.
815
Randolph also founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, which in 1948 helped forcing President Harry Truman to end racial segregation in the
armed forces.
227
5. “Subjected to the Colored Race”
American women left their families to work in the defense industries or in domestic
jobs that white women had given up in favor of the better paying defense jobs.
Before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, African Americans were divided over the
question of whether or not the United States should get involved in the war. While some
were eager to serve in the military, others felt that „the responsibility of the Negro is to
fight fascism in Mississippi rather than in Berlin.“816 The New York Daily News carried
ads asking „Should We Fight to Save the World While These Things Continue at
Home?“ and „Negroes have No Freedom of Speech, No Freedom from Terror in the
South.“ „Tell your president, senators, and congressmen, that you want democracy to
work properly at home before you fight for it abroad.“817
After President Roosevelt had declared war on Japan, it was clear that the participation
of groups previously excluded such as African Americans and women would be vital
for the war effort. African American organizations such as the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), newspapers and press associations and
groups of World War I veterans had for some time queried the war department about
their opportunity to participate in the war effort on the same basis as other Americans.818 In 1938, the Pittsburgh Courier, then one of the largest and one of the most i nfluential African American papers of national circulation, started a campaign for Negro
Participation in the National Defense.819 Black newspapers were able to exert some
pressure and concern arose over potential „fifth column activities among a disaffected
Negro population“. The New York Review warned „Negro Yanks Ain't Coming EitherRemember 1917“, the more isolationist press made use of the „Negro issue“ and leaders
816
Speech given by Edward E. Strong, national secretary of the National Negro Congress, 10
April 1943 in New York City, cited in Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve my Race, 32.
817
New York Daily News (4 June 1941). C.i. Lee, Ulysses Grant. The Employment of Negro
Troops. 2002. Web Page. URL: http://www.army.mil/CMH-PG/books/wwii/11-4/chapter3.htm.
8 April 2003.
818
Finzsch, Horton and Horton, Von Benin nach Baltimore, 441.
819
Dalfiume, Richard M. Desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces: Fighting on Two Fronts,
1939-1953. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1969, 26. Pittsburgh Courier, February 19, 1938 to September 28, 1940. Lee, Ulysses Grant. The Employment of Negro Troops.
Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. GPO, 1966, 52
228
such as A. Philip Randolph and others were openly criticized for being too conservative
and ineffective.820
5.1.2. The Mobilization of African American Men
Neither political pressure nor the wartime industrial boom alone could open the doors
for African American women in the Army. Their entrance was contingent on black
men’s overcoming limitations to their service before 1940. The War Department was
cognizant of the fact that African American manpower was needed in order to build up
an effective fighting force while at the same time there was a strong tradition of racial
segregation which the War Department did not intend to disrupt. African Americans
who were aware of this had been fighting for full integration before the war and would
not be content with any auxiliary status.821
There were three political prerequisites before African American soldiers could be mobilized in large numbers. In a 1937 plan, the War Department Personnel Division established that black personnel should be mobilized in accordance with their proportion of
the population, i.e. between nine and ten percent, in order to „avoid the development of
a racially unbalanced army in time of war.“822 This policy would form the basis for the
subsequent mobilization of both black men and women. The policy also required that
the ratio of African American combat troops to service troops be the same as that of
white troops.
820
The Review (1 February 1940). Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 65. The New York
Daily News for example, carried full-page pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and of Southern sharecroppers. The captions read, „Should We Fight to Save the World... While These Things Continue at Home?“ and „Negroes have No FREEDOM OF SPEECH, No FREEDOM FROM
TERROR In the South.”The paper also asked its readers to „Tell your president, senators, and
congressmen that you want democracy to work properly at home before you fight for it
abroad.”New York Daily News (4 June 1941). Cited in Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops,
65.
821
„We will be American soldiers. We will be American ditch diggers. We will be American
laborers. We will be anything that any other American should be in this whole program of national defense. But we won't be black auxiliaries,“ declared Dean William H. Hastie of the
Howard University Law School. Walter White. „It's Our Country, Too: The Negro Demands the
Right to Fight For It.” C.i. Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 68.
822
Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 38.
229
The Selective Service Training Act of 1940, establishing the first peacetime draft,
opened the armed forces to black men and prohibited racial discrimination against draftees and volunteers.823 In October 1940, three weeks after the act went into effect, a
seven-point statement specified War Department policy that would remain in effect until the end of the war. While most points only reiterated issues discussed earlier, points
one and seven proved the most controversial: The first point fixed the projected strength
of the black personnel of the Army based on the proportion of the African American
population of the country. The last point spelled out the policy of racial segregation:
„The policy of the War Department is not to intermingle colored and white enlisted personnel in the same regimental organizations. This policy has been proven satisfactory
over a long period of years, and to make changes now would produce situations destructive to morale and detrimental to the preparation for national defense. [...] It is the
opinion of the War Department that no experiments should be tried with the organizational setup of these units at this critical time.824 Assistant Secretary Patterson submitted
this statement of policy to the White House with the comment „as the result of a conference [with African American leaders, M.H.] in your office on September 27.“ It was
then released to the press with the President’s „O.K.“ and initials penciled on the
memo. The White House in releasing the statement implied that the participants of that
conference had endorsed the announced policy.825 Despite African Americans protesting
specifically the last point, the War Department referred to this document as the „Presidential directive on the use of Negro troops“ sanctioning all policies that would be derived from it.826
The first and the last point of the seven point plan were adapted for the Women’s Army
Auxiliary Corps, so that here too, the proportion of African American Waacs must not
exceed 10,6 percent and the policy of racial segregation would also be followed in the
823
Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 73-4.
Memo, Asst. Secretary of War for President, 8 October 1949, distributed to Army by Letter,
16 October 1940. C.i. Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 75-6.
825
Pittsburgh Courier (19 October 1940); Time (28 October 1940); White, A Man Called White,
186-89. C.i. Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 76.
826
Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 76.
824
230
WAAC. The authorized number of black personnel was in actuality never even approached. The highest percentage was 8.7 percent of all men and women in 1944.
Within the WAC the strength of African American Wacs was roughly 4 percent.827
Among WAC officers the percentage of African Americans was even smaller than
among enlisted women. In 1943, only 2.6 percent of the WAC officers were black. Because black company commanders could only command black units, their opportunities
were limited in the WAC. White officers, on the other hand, could command African
American units if no black officers were available.828 The highest rank African Amer ican Wacs held during the war was that of Major, attained by Harriet West, WAC HQ
und Charity Adams, the commander of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.829
5.1.3 Political Pressure for the Integration of African American Women
Even before the WAAC Bill was signed into law, African American organizations such
as the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), demanded integration and equality
for black service women. The NCNW had been founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod
Bethune and consisted of several black women’s organizations. In 1941 the Council invited delegates of 43 such organizations to a conference in Washington, DC to find
ways to improve the social, economic and political status of black women through their
participation in the nation’s defense. As early as 17. Mai 1942, Jeanetta Welch of the
National Non-Partisan Council of Public Affairs of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority wrote
to Secretary of War Stimson und Oveta Hobby to propose an African American Assistant Director and „that Negro women shall be integrated in the WAAC from the top
827
Binkin, Martin, and Mark J. Eitelberg. Blacks and the Military. Washington, DC: Brookings
Institution, 1982, 20, 24; Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race, 26.
828
Maj. General M.G. White, Assistant Chief of Staff, Directive of the Secretary of War.
Memorandum for the Commanding General, Army Service Forces, su: Officers for Negro
troops, WAC. 4 November 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 40.
829
Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race, 64; Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps,
776.
231
ranking officer down.“830 Her organization sponsored a Conference at Howard Unive rsity, titled „Defense Planning for the Future: A Five Day Institute“ in July 1942.831
When the Fifth All-Southern Negro Youth Conference convened at Tuskegee Institute
in April 1942 to discuss „Negro women and the nation’s war effort”, Esther V. Cooper
of the Southern Negro Youth Congress spelled out the goal of „Double Victory“: „[...]
the speedy victory of our country over the fascist axis and towards the realization of full
citizenship rights for Negro youth.”832
According to Cooper, African Americans had always been „ardent antifascists because
they saw in the obnoxious race theories and brazen acts of subjugation which characterized the Axis powers a threat to themselves and to all minority and disadvantaged
peoples.” Why then, asked Cooper, were African American youth not more enthusiastic
about the armed forces and the war effort? Why was there a contradiction „natural inclination and actual performance”? The answer, according to Cooper and the delegates,
was racism:
„[The answer] lies in the thousands of adverse circumstances that prevail in the
every-day life of Negro youth simply because of the color of their skin. It lies in
the fact that in still far too many cases our preferred services to the nation are rebuffed or shunted into menial and undignified channels, our high patriotism
subjected to insult. It lies in the continuation of the flagrant practices of unAmerican discrimination in all phases of the war effort – in the armed forces,
production, and the civilian defense program.”833
The „Double V Campaign“, originally launched by the Pittsburgh Courier, pushed for
loyalty towards the war effort and for victory over Jim Crow segregation on the home
830
Letter Walsh to Secretary of War Stimson and Director Hobby. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 10.
831
National Non-Partisan Council of Public Affairs of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. „Defense
Planning for the Future: A Five Day Institute.” 6-10 July 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
10.
832
Letter Esther V. Cooper, Southern Negro Youth Congress, Birmingham AL, to Oveta Culp
Hobby, 22 May 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 13.
833
Memo Esther V. Cooper, Southern Negro Youth Congress, Birmingham AL, 8 June 1942, p.
232
front as well as for victory over the Nazis and Japanese.834 The motto of „Democracy:
Victory at Home, Victory Abroad“ proved very successful, especially since the black
press had been criticized for pursuing their own agenda over that of the nation.
5.1.4 Recruiting of African American Women
The Advisory Council to the Women’s Interest Section of the War Department
(ACWIS) was composed of the presidents of over thirty national women’s organizations, one of whom was the black educator Mary McLeod Bethune. On June 1942, Director Hobby informed the members of ACWIS about the plans for the WAAC and
urged them to support the WAAC publicly.835 Bethune had been appointed Director of
the Negro Division of the National Youth Administration (NYA) in 1935. In 1942, she
was asked to assist in the selection of the first WAAC officer candidates and as Special
Consultant to the Secretary of War became a member of one of the selecting committees
called the Director's representatives. The second committee, the Evaluating Board, was
made up of eleven psychiatrists. Among the roughly 4000 candidates interviewed, there
were six black women whom Mrs. Bethune had named.836
Even before applicants were interviewed and medically examined they had to pass a
Mental Alertness Test (MAT). Mental tests had been developed in Europe first and then
moved to the US, partly because of the Social-Darwinist ideology that was rampant in
the decades after 1900. The speed with which mental tests moved from their creation in
France to their use on a mass scale in the United States is quite remarkable. In 1909, the
1908 version of the French Binet test was translated, published, and administered for the
first time by Henry Goddard. Goddard was a social Darwinist, who administered the test
to 400 young inmates of a home for the „feebleminded“ in Vineland, New Jersey. In
1910-1911, the first Binet test was conducted, comparing white and African American
834
In February a logo was introduced: DEMOCRACY on top of two interlocking Vs with a
crest that included „Double Victory“ and AT HOME - ABROAD at the bottom of the logo and
an eagle perched across. Double V clubs emerged all over the country and the Courier featured
a new Double V girl in every issue, sometimes on page 1.
835
Résumé of the Meeting of the Advisory Council on June 15 [1942] at the War Department,
Records of the NCNW, Series 5, Box 37, Folder 522 Bethune Museums and Archives.
836
WD, Press release, 20 June 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
233
schoolchildren in Vineland, NJ and Philadelphia, PA. Only a year later, in 1912, the US
Public Health Service commissioned Goddard to test new immigrants at Ellis Island.
Goddard and his test confirmed racist stereotypes, by claiming that the vast majority of
Russian, Jewish, Hungarian and Italian immigrants were „feebleminded”.837 As the
United States entered WWI, Dr. Robert Yerkes, a Harvard psychology professor, president of the American Psychological Association, and a leader of the eugenics movement, constructed two IQ-type tests, the Alpha Test for literates and the Beta Test for
nonliterates. These tests were based on such standard educational materials of the time
as McGuffey's Readers and Poor Richard's Almanac and were performed with 1.75
million soldiers.838
Mental Alertness Tests (MAT) such as the Otis Mental Alertness Test or Thorndike's
Mental Alertness Test had been in use since the 1920s.839 T he most notable of these
tests was developed by A. S. Otis. Shortly before the United States became involved in
the World War, Otis had prepared a set of tests that could a) be administered to a large
number of subjects at the same time and b) which could be scored, by means of stenciling almost in real time. When WWI broke out, psychologists of the armed forces found
themselves confronted with the problem of testing great numbers of men with considerable accuracy in a very short time. When they took stock of tests already available, they
found many of their most difficult problems already solved in the Otis MAT. Otis made
available to the government all of his materials. Within very short time the army psychologists under the direction of Robert M. Yerkes had evolved the famous group tests
for military aptitude.840 In 1941 MATs constituted a widely accepted tool for the sele ction of personnel, although there were critics who denounced the MAT as content-
837
Mensh, Elaine and Harry Mensh. The IQ Mythology: Class, Race, Gender, and Inequality.
Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991, 25-26.
838
Mensh and Mensh, The IQ Mythology, 26.
839
Pintner, Rudolf. Intelligence Testing: Methods and Results. New York: Henry Holt, 1923,
378. See E. L. Thorndike, E. L. „The Selection of Military Aviators.”U. S. Air Service 1.5
(1919): 19-20.
840
Hull, Clark L., and Lewis Madison Terman. Aptitude Testing. Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY:
World Book Company, 1928, 17.
234
biased and invalid.841 Apart from arithmetic questions, tests of language skills and those
asking for historical and geographic knowledge questions included the following, which
reflect a distinct white middle-class bias:
„82. Madame Curie carried forward her husbands work on (a) radium, (b) enzymes, (c) cancer or (d) X-rays. […]
87. A composer of the Impressionistic School is (a) Debussy, (b) Tschaikowsky
[sic], (c) Beethoven or (d) Wagner.”842
It was this racial bias, against which some of the psychologists protested. One member
of the evaluating board, Helen Peak, who was the head of department of psychology at
Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and a member of the National Research Council,
stated in an „off the record conversation“ that there was „excellent leadership material
among the colored applicants.“ She and an other psychologist were „much impressed by
negro applicants“. Nevertheless, Peak also commented on the mental alertness test. In
her opinion, it was unfair to the African American applicants „because it called for general information which was not part of their particular background.“843
The recruiting campaigns by the Office of War Information (OWI) were at first also
geared exclusively toward white middle-class women.844 Consequently, recruiting of
African American women proved problematic: „Considerable difficulty is being encountered throughout this Service Command in enrolling colored applicants,” com841
Greene, Edward B. Measurements of Human Behavior. New York: Odyssey Press, 1941,
615. Brigham, Carl C. A Study of Error: A Summary and Evaluation of Methods Used in Six
Years of Study of the Scholastic Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board.
New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1932. In 1950, a handbook of applied psychology cautioned: „In the field of racial comparisons, the influence of cultural background
upon mental-test performance is more clearly apparent. The test often demands specific information, which the individual has had little or no opportunity to obtain in his own environment.
Thus the use of such objects as bicycles, electric bulbs, postage stamps, and mirrors in picture
tests may place individuals in certain cultures at a considerable disadvantage.”Guilford, J.P. et
al. Fields of Psychology, Basic and Applied. Toronto, ON, New York, London: D. Van Nostrand, 1950, 384. Anastasi, Anne. Psychological Testing. New York: Macmillan, 1954. For a recent discussion of content bias see Jencks, Christopher and Meredith Phillips, eds. The BlackWhite Test Score Gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1998, 56.
842
War Department, The Adjutant General’s Office, Mental Alertness Test Booklet, March
1942. NARA. RG 165, 55, Box 216.
843
Comments of Dr. Helen Peak, Randolph-Macon College (Lynchburg, VA), Head of Department of Psychology, and Dr. Loula Dunn, Commissioner of Public Welfare, State of Alabama
(Montgomery, AL). NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 189.
844
Honey, Creating Rosie, 117-20; Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 187.
235
plained one officer. Because „approximately eighty-five percent of colored WAAC applicants” failed to succeed in the Mental Alertness test, the Second Service Command
could not meet its quota.845 Only after massive lobbying of the African American press
did the War Department include black newspapers and specific campaigns to reach African American women. Nearly every major city had a black-owned press. In 1940 there
were about 230 black newspapers publishing on a regular basis.846 For almost a year, no
black newspapers carried ads for the WAAC and it was only after William G. Black,
sales manager of the Interstate United Newspapers, had provided a list of 101 black papers that were interested in „carry[ing] news releases and pictures showing the activities
of the WAACS“ that the first advertising and features appeared in African American
papers. In March 1943, The Call finally featured a number of photographs of African
American Wacs in an article titled „You are vital to victory“ and a month later the Pittsburgh Courier printed an ad sponsored by the „Beauty Shop Owners‘ Association and
Friends” that welcomed the Waacs to Pittsburgh. In October the first black paper, the
Atlanta Daily World, was apportioned a share of the advertising budget on a regular basis.847 The Office of War Information also placed ads in the
Amsterdam News (New
York), the Chicago Defender, the NAACP’s The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races
and others and conceived posters such as „Women Answer America’s Call” that were
specifically addressing African American women.848
Although Army officers denied any racist background and blamed the failure to recruit
African American women in significant numbers on misinformed local recruiters, internal documents speak a different language. In a report that analyzed the reasons for the
845
Letter 1st Lieutenant D. F. Taylor, HQ Second Services Command, SoS to Adjutant General,
11 September 1942. su: Colored WAAC Applicants. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50. On 15
September Lieutenant Col. Tasker refused to lower the minimum requirement in the Mental
Alertness Test, but promised four new black Recruiting Officers. Letter Lieutenant Col. Tasker,
15 September 1942. NARA. Ibid.
846
Neverdon-Morton, Cynthia. „Securing the „Double V“: African-American and JapaneseAmerican Women in the Military During World War II.”A Woman's War Too: U.S. Women in
the Military in World War II, ed. Paula Nassen Poulos. Washington, DC: National Archives and
Records Administration, 1996. 327-54, 328.
847
Correspondence between William G. Black, sales manager of the Interstate United Newspapers and Maj. General J.A. Ulio. March - October 1943. NARA. RG 407, Box 4300.
848
Johnson, Jesse J. Black Women in the Armed Forces 1942-1974: A Pictorial History.
Hampton, VA: Johnson, 1974, 21.
236
recruiting difficulties, Maj. General William Bryden wrote: „Another feature which has
not helped the program is the fact that we had several negro WAAC officers recruiting
negro Waacs in the Service Command. This gave rise to inquiries as to whether or not
negro and white Waacs would serve in the same units; and while everything was done
to combat the unfavorable ideas which arose from these inquiries, I am convinced that
that feature had a derogatory effect on the program. Negro WAAC recruiters have now
left this Service Command.”849
5.1.5 Segregation in the WAC
Despite the racist recruiting practices, the WAC offered more opportunities than any of
the other women’s services or the civilian sector. The Navy only began to enlist women
into the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) when Roosevelt
directly ordered it to enroll and integrate black women.850 The Marine Corps did not a ccept black women until 1949.851 With the sole exception of the 6888th Central Postal
Directory Battalion, the only black women to be sent overseas were Army nurses who
tended to sick and wounded soldiers in Africa, Australia and, beginning in 1944, in
England.
After the first forty handpicked and extensively photographed black officer candidates
had begun their training, the prospects for African American women began to look
bleaker.852 Many found they were subject to racist practices as soon as they set foot in a
recruiting office: Eva Trezevant of Columbia, South Carolina, was not even given an
application form, but was told that „they were not for Colored people.”853 Some recruiters apparently took it upon themselves to deny applications to African American
849
Letter Maj. General William Bryden to Lt. General Brehon Somervell, 7 April 1943. NARA.
RG 407, Box 4296.
850
Horton, Mildred McAfee. „Recollections of Captain Mildred McAfee, USNR
(Ret.).”WAVES Officers in World War II. Ed. [U.S. Naval Institute] Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute, 1971.
851
Ibid., 41.
852
Charity Adams Early, herself a member of that first class, recalled that only 39 women reported for training, Earley, One Woman's Army, 22. On media attention, 18-19 and 31-32.
853
Letter E.P. Trezevant to „U.S. Army Recruiting Corps” 29 May 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50.
237
women. Although the WAAC’s policy of recruiting black Auxiliaries had long been
made public, there was much confusion as to who would be eligible to enroll. „We are
being told that no provision has been made in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for
Negro women,“ reported G.F. Porter of the NAACP branch in Dallas, „Is that true, or is
it a local attitude toward the situation?”854 Two applicants in Dallas were told by „off icials at the recruiting station,“ that „Negroes could not be accepted until later, possibly
in the fall.“ Similarly, S. Vincent Owens of the St. Paul Urban League: „[N]o applications were taken for Negro women in St. Paul, Minnesota. [...] Negro citizens in this
section were not permitted to register, and this was contrary to information that you had
released, that Negro applicants would be accepted in the WAAC.”855
For the new recruits who had made it through the application process, racial segregation
began even before they had taken their oaths in the induction centers. „Negroes on one
side! White girls on the other!“856 Chinese-American Waacs, Native Americans and
others served together in integrated units.857 For women from the north, this was a new
experience. Lanora G. Robinson from Buffalo, NY wrote to President Roosevelt:
„[A]s I await call to active duty in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, [...] I
am told that because of my pigmentation, I shall now be subjected to new experiences both embarrassing and demoralizing. I hear that when I arrive at the post,
I shall be discriminated against, that I shall be segregated in barracks, service
clubs, and recreation facilities.“858
Bernadine Flannagan from New England also recalled, „we [black Waacs] had our own
barracks and white Waacs had their own barracks. We had our own training facilities
and they had their own training facilities. I was surprised because in New London, Con-
854
Letter G. F. Porter, Secretary Dallas Branch NAACP to William H. Hastie, Attorney and Civilian Aid, [sic] to Secretary of War. 29 May 1942. Letter Porter to Truman K. Gibson, Asst.
Civilian Aide, 1 July 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 206.
855
Letter S. Vincent Owens of St. Paul Urban League to Hobby, 17 July 1942. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 206.
856
Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 4. Charity Early Adams added, „after the ‚colored
girls’ had been pushed to the side, all the rest of the women were called by name“ to be led to
their quarters. Earley, One Woman's Army, 19-20.
857
Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 5.
858
Letter Lanora G. Robinson, Buffalo, NY to President Roosevelt, 25 December 1942. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
238
necticut, where I grew up, everything was integrated. I left New London with white
girls to travel to Fort Des Moines. We got on the train going south and we were separated when we got down to the Mason-Dixon line. [...] The whole military service was a
shock to me because I had no idea it was segregated.“ 859
Because of its high visibility as the first of the WAAC Training Centers, the black press
and women’s organization closely watched Fort Des Moines. Numerous complaints
against racial segregation reached WAAC headquarters and Eleanor Roosevelt’s office.860 Emily Hickman of the YWCA wrote to Hobby in „sincere protest“ regarding the
segregation at Des Moines, which „negates the democratic philosophy and Christian
tradition of the United States.“861 An investigating committee sent by the NAACP listed
several complaints, racial segregation in classes just being one of them. Opportunities
for African American Waacs were said to be generally more limited than those for
whites and this was allegedly misrepresented by recruiting. The investigation did find
the opportunities for black enlisted women to attend specialist schools limited to „administrative, motor corps and the cooks and bakers school.“862 If and when commi ssioned, a black officer was usually assigned to recruiting and company work. Organizations such as the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA), the National Council of Negro
Women (NCNW), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), the National Urban League (NUL) and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
(DST) were campaigning for a clause that would prohibit racial discrimination in the
WAAC.863 Congress deemed such legislation unnecessary and the War Department was
reluctant to implement any changes. Racial segregation was considered „a practical
matter that must be handled in coordination with accepted social customs. For the War
Department to attempt the solution, by regulation or by experiment, of a complicated
859
Letter Bernadine Flannagan, Ibid.
„WAAC Segregation [of service clubs in Des Moines] Slackens.” Guide, Omaha, NE (28
November 1942); „Mrs. Bethune Scores WAAC Segregation – Alarmed Over Reported Approval Of Army‘s Discrimination.” Chicago Defender, Louisville, KY. Press clippings: NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
861
Letter Emily Hickman, YWCA, to Hobby, 15 December 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 50.
862
Report of NAACP Investigating Committee On WAAC Complaints, 12 May 1943. NARA.
863
Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race, 56.
860
239
social problem which has perplexed this country for a number of years, can only result
in diminishing or endangering the effectiveness of the war effort.“864 Racial segregation,
the War Department argued, was a long established social practice and any experiments
with integrating the Army would be detrimental to morale and readiness. The Army was
simply not the place and wartime not the moment to conduct any tests in social policy.
At the time when newspaper editor and lawyer Charles P. Howard was sent to the
Training Center in August 1942 by Mary McLeod Bethune, there was one platoon of 39
black officer candidates at the Training Center. Together with two white platoons, they
formed the First Company. According to Howard’s report, segregation at Fort Des
Moines seemed to have worked without ‘colored’ signs. For the first few days of the
school the tables assigned to the Negro Waacs had indeed been marked „Reserved C.“
After numerous complaints Colonel Faith had the signs removed. This did not mean
however, that the mess hall was now integrated or segregated by platoon. Howard noticed that the African American Waacs were still sitting „at special tables in the southeast corner of the dining room. As the third platoon of the First Company, they [the Negro WAACs] do not in their proper order fall into this seating arrangement.“865 Another
informal visit confirmed that, although the „facilities [were] equal,“ the „arrangement in
eating facilities is a more conspicuous segregation than the segregation of barracks and
is more keenly resented by the colored group.“866
According to Colonel [Don C.] Faith, „Negro girls [were] given absolute equality of
opportunity.“867 Classes were integrated if they were taught to more than one platoon.
Howard’s conclusion was that „Colonel Faith is administrating his post with the mini-
864
Letter Maj. General J.A. Ulio, Adjutant General to George M. Johnson, Asst. Executive Secretary, Office for Emergency Management, War Manpower Commission, 22 August 1942.
865
Howard’s Report. A letter by Harry McAlpin of the Chicago Defender also supports this. He
wrote that after the signs reading „Reserved C“ had been removed, „the girls have been given
military orders to use no other tables, and the white girls have been given similar orders not to
sit at the reserved tables.” Harry McAlpin, Chicago Defender, letter to Col. Tasker, 25 August
1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50.
866
Report of Informal Visit to Training Camp for WAAC’s, Des Moines, Iowa Made by Edwin
R. Embree in Company with W.W. Alexander, 21 September 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54,
Box 50.
867
Charles P. Howard Report to Mary McLeod Bethune, su: Handling of Negro Officer Candidates, 26 August 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50.
240
mum of segregation consistent with his interpretation of „army policy.“ Before Howard
concluded his report, he added the following „observation“:
„I know of no Federal Law that requires the segregation of Negroes in the Army.
The State Laws of the State of Iowa directly prohibit the segregation of Negroes
in eating places. There is no State Law [sic] in Iowa, requiring the separate
housing of Negroes nor is there any State Law in Iowa, requiring separate recreational facilities for Negroes. It is to be noted that the army purports to justify
its segregation of Negroes in southern training camps to conform to State Law. It
is difficult to understand how violation of State Law in this camp is justified. I
do not have access to complete army regulations, but seriously doubt that there
are any Federal Laws that justify segregating these Negro girls at Fort Des
Moines.“868
Howard was correct, there were no laws in the state of Iowa requiring racial segregation. In fact there had not been any such Jim Crow laws enacted since the Civil War. To
the contrary, Iowa barred segregation of public facilities in 1884 and expanded this law
in 1892 with additional statutes passed in 1931 and 1946.869 Despite this, the First
WAAC Training Center in Fort Des Moines, Iowa was segregated. The African American bi-monthly magazine The Crisis commented on segregation:
„The first implication of segregation is inferiority. [...] We believe this inescapable feeling of inferiority, and the shame and resentment of Negro soldiers and
civilians that their government should force it upon them as a national policy in
a war against racial bigotry and barbarity, are the underlying causes of all the
headaches the War Department has had over Negro soldiers in training this past
year.”870
Several weeks after Howard’s visit at Fort Des Moines, an anonymous black WAAC officer informed Bethune about an official memo dated 22 October 1942 which prohibited
African Americans to use Service Club No. 1, except „on business”, when they had to
868
Ibid.
Iowa was one of 15 states that did not have any segregation laws at the time. See map „The
History of Jim Crow: Jim Crow outside the South.” 2003. Web Page. URL:
http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/geography/outside_south.htm. 9 August 2003. Schultz, Jeffrey
D., et al. Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics. 2 Vols. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press,
2000, Vol 1, 244.
870
The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races 49.2 (February 1942): 47; c.i. Moore, To Serve
My Country, to Serve My Race, 30.
869
241
use the back door.871 When the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) pr otested
this, Harriet West, the only black officer on Hobby’s staff, was sent to Iowa. In accordance with WAAC headquarters policy she was successful not in ending the practice of
segregation, but in having its signs removed. J.A. Hoag, Commandant, WAAC Training
Center des Moines wrote to Hobby after West had left:
„With regard to the questions put to me by Mrs. West, the memorandum on use
of the two Service Clubs has been withdrawn from all offices and from all bulletin boards. Its intent was plain but I believe the wording was unwise. [...] There
are no signs or notices anywhere in the Post indicating any difference between
colored and white enrollees.“872
Harriet West had been Bethune’s administrative assistant as a civilian and was strongly
opposed to the Army’s policy of segregation. As the ranking African American officer
and a member of WAC headquarters, however, she was forced to act in accordance with
Army policies and minimize racial tensions while keeping the segregation policy intact.873 In recommending that all „reference to white and colored personnel be co
m-
pletely eliminated” she hoped to minimize „embarrassment to the colored personnel”
and further the „feeling that a forward step has been made toward democracy.”874
The War Department’s main concern was that „incidents” could occur. After the references to race had been removed from the bulletin board, black Auxiliaries started to use
the Service Club No.1, which was formerly for whites. White auxiliaries protested their
presence, and the African American women „were not requested to leave but were
871
Report on segregation in Fort Des Moines, field trip, 2 November 1942. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 211.
872
Letter J. A. Hoag, Commandant, WAAC Training Center des Moines to Hobby, 18 November 1942. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50. First Officer Harriet West, Report on Field Trip to 6th and
7th Service Commands, 17 May 1943. File: Negro. NARA. RG 165, Series 55, Box 211.
873
Major Harriet West was chief of the Planning Bureau, Control Division at WAC Headquarters in Washington, DC Berry, Mary Frances and John W. Blassingame. Long Memory: The
Black Experience in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982, 325.
874
First Officer Harriet West, Report on Field Trip to 6th and 7th Service Commands, 17 May
1943. File: Negro. NARA. RG 165, Series 55, Box 211.
242
asked if they were aware that there were equal facilities in the Service Club No. 2.“875
Commandant Hoag commented:
„I have the feeling that there is no objection on the part of certain of the new
auxiliaries to create an incident or incidents and I would not be at all surprised if
there has been instruction from certain sources. As you know, I feel that this is
no time to bring up or to solve the Negro question. However, I realize that it is
being pressed by outside sources“.876
In November 1942, partly because of political pressure, partly because the small number
of African Americans did not seem to warrant segregation any longer, the living and
recreational facilities at Fort Des Moines were desegregated.877
The War Department received letters protesting integration as well as segregation. Numerous letters directed to congressmen, the Secretary of War or the President display
outright racism: An anonymous letter to Henry Stimson protested
„[…] the way the white girls that have joined the W.A.A.C. organization at Des
Moines, Iowa, are being subjected to the colored race; the white girls are being
forced to dine with and share their room with them. If they protest, they are told
they have a strong (aryan flavor) [sic] and they are trying to sabotage the war effort. [...] Many are young and afraid to protest, and are ashamed to write home to
relatives of how they are subjected to negro equality. [...] Why should white
people have to accept negroes as equals socially? Will the white race have to
fight to free themselves of the negro in the future?”878
Similarly, John C. Leissler, Jr., editor and publisher The Southwest Insurer from Dallas,
TX wrote he was „shocked beyond words,“ when he visited Des Moines.
„I learned that at intervals, the commanding officers of the Women’s Army
Auxiliary Corps require crews of white women to kitchen police duties for the
negro women who also are in training there. They have two mess halls, one for
the white women and one for the negro women, and it is logical to assume that
there are enough negro women there to take care of their own needs. Yet under
875
Letter J. A. Hoag, Commandant, WAAC Training Center des Moines to Hobby, 18 November 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50.
876
Ibid.
877
Letter Hobby to Reverend Palfrey Perkins, Secretary Boston Urban League, 17 November
1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50. Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race, 71;
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 591. Neverdon-Morton, Securing the „Double V”, 335.
878
Letter to Secretary of War, 29 May 1943, not signed. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 93.
243
the plan, the white women must go into negro quarters, serve the food, wait on
the negro women while they eat, which means fetching and carrying water, coffee, and other necessities [sic] during the course of the meal and then must clean
up after the negro women. Remember there are numerous women from the
South. [...] [Does] Col. Oveta Culp Hobby, a Texan, [...] believe that humiliation
is conducive to good morale? Does she think that the white women who are thus
forced to perform chores wholly foreign to their upbringing and training, will
contribute to making good soldiers? [...] It is bad enough that both white and negro women should be quartered in the same post at the same time, but when
white women are required to perform menial tasks for negro women that is carrying the authority of the military too far.”879
Hobby’s answer to Sumners once again revealed the ambivalent attitude of WAAC
headquarters. She points out that „every effort is made to form at least a platoon of Negroes“ so that African American women within a company may be housed and deployed to the field separately. Almost apologetically she goes on to explain that since
the number of black officer candidates is so small, they will have to be placed in „regular officer candidate companies.”880
In a telephone conversation between Hobby and congressman Joe Starnes of Alabama,
who had been forwarded a letter from Belvedere, South Dakota, Hobby assured the
Congressman: „Mr. Starnes, I just come back from there [training center]. I know exactly what the situation is. There is complete segregation. No white woman sleeps in the
same barracks with a negro woman.”881 Apparently, the honorable Starnes was not co nvinced, so Hobby went on to reveal some inside information:
„Now, I want to tell you something completely off the record. You know as well
as I do what the situation in the South is. We did get complaints. There is nothing on paper in the War Department any where that relates to this, but actually
what is happening – the girls from the South are now being sent to Fort Ogle879
Brief von John C. Leissler, Jr. Editor und publisher The Southwest Insurer, Dallas, TX to
Hatton W. Sumners, TX, Chairman Committee on the Judiciary, 78th Congress, 24 April 1943.
Sumners forwarded the letter to Hobby on 28 April to Hobby. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
93.
880
Letter Hobby to Sumners, 5 May 1943. NARA. Ibid.
881
Transcript of telephone conversation between Hobby and Representative Starnes, 8 June
1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 78. Joe Starnes was strong promoter of xenophobic immigration laws, served on the Dies Committee and was labeled a “negro hater” by contemporary
author Henry Lee Moon. Moon, Henry Lee. Balance of Power: The Negro Vote. Garden City,
NY: Doubleday, 1948, 23.
244
thorpe, Ga., training. There are no negroes training there. So I think we have,
without announcing any War Department policy, cured something that was
causing…Starnes: I think that’s a very smooth and fine way to handle it. It’s a
delicate problem.”882
This telephone conversation with Representative Starnes suggests that neither the War
Department nor the WAAC Headquarters were interested in desegregating any WAAC
units or posts. Like the Southern Democrat Starnes, Hobby was rather interested in
avoiding any racial incidents. It was understood that announcing any WAAC policy different from that of the War Department would cause violent protest in the South. Hence,
Hobby’s approach was to avoid conflict by appeasing both sides and keeping them apart
from each other. Black women from the North like Bernadine Flannagan and Lanora
Robinson were best trained at Fort Des Moines while Representative Starnes’ white
constituents would not have to share the barracks with black women when trained at
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
5.1.6 African American Wacs Overseas
When African American Wacs were finally deployed to European theater, it was to no
small degree due to political pressure by African American organizations and individuals.883 Black Wacs had once been requisitioned in 1942 Director Hobby „refused to let
the women be scattered in uncontrolled small field units near male Negro troops.“884 As
directed by the War Department, the European theater submitted a requisition for approximately 800 black women to set up a central postal directory in September 1943. At
882
Ibid.
Letter, Malvina Thompson to DWAC, 1 Nov 44, included letter from city editor of AFROAmerican (26 October 1944) and reply (4 November 1944). C.i. Treadwell, The Women’s
Army Corps, 599. See also Letter Mable Alston, Washington Afro American to Mrs. Roosevelt,
26 October 1944. Alston asked the First Lady to help with overseas assignments for African
American Wacs: „They are a grand bunch of young women, but are heart broken because they
can not serve overseas like their white G.I. sisters. I have exhausted every effort to contact the
right person or persons but I am always stuck with the reply that the Commanding Officer of
that area requests the amount and types of WAC’s they want. I am sure that this is not a true
statement as they are too busy winning the war to worry about the color of ones skin.” NARA.
884
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 599
883
245
its peak strength in late March 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory consisted of
thirty-nine officers and almost nine hundred enlisted women.
Major Charity Adams, the designated commander and Captain Abbie Noel Campbell
traveled to England late in January 1945. As soon as the women set foot into the city of
London,
„a funny thing happened [...]. Suddenly, our minority status disappeared. London was filled with representatives of all the Allies and neutrals, and every conceivable kind of uniform could be seen on the streets, worn by all races, colors,
shapes, sizes, sexes, and religious persuasions.“885
The 6888th Central Postal Battalion arrived in Europe in February of 1945. Before it
went on to Rouen and Paris, it was stationed in Birmingham, England, and billeted in a
discarded boys’ school building. The battalion was a separate Table of Organization
(T/O) unit with its own headquarters company for administrative and support functions.
All workspace, barracks, offices and recreational areas were housed in one building. Its
function was the redirection of mail to U.S. personnel in the European Theaters of Operations (ETO). This included not only military service personnel, but also civilian specialists and technicians, and Red Cross workers – their total number was estimated to be
about seven million. The handlers of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion kept an address
card for every person in the theater. When they started in February, there was a large
backlog of over three million pieces of mail and undelivered Christmas packages. The
battalion’s members worked three eight-hour shifts, seven days a week. As Anna W.
Wilson, WAC Staff Director in the European Theater of Operations lauded them later,
the unit „broke all records for redirecting mail. Each [...] shift averaged more than
65,000 pieces of mail. Long-delayed letters and packages reached battle casualties who
had been moved too frequently for mail to catch up with them.“886
Despite the commendations, racism was all but absent on the other side of the Atlantic,
as the emphasis illustrates that Adams placed on the physical appearance of her troops.
When she requested Special Service supplies to set up a beauty parlor, the commander
885
886
Earley, One Woman’s Army, 135. Putney, When the Nation was in Need, 97-108.
Earley, One Woman’s Army, 151.
246
commented: „How in the world could we keep morale up if the women did not feel that
they could look their best?“887 With the help of Major Margaret Philpot, the necessary
items could be secured: „straightening combs, marcel [curling] irons, special gas burners, and customer chairs.“888 Adams knew that the first black WAC unit in the European
theater would be under constant surveillance not just with regard to their duties. Army
historian Treadwell noted, „the unit was congratulated by the theater on its ‚exceptionally fine’ Special Services program. Its observance of military courtesies was also pronounced exemplary, as were the grooming and appearance of members and the maintenance of quarters.“889
Before African American women soldiers had arrived with the 6888th, there had been no
racial segregation in the Red Cross clubs and other Birmingham recreational facilities
for military personnel. At the Red Cross Club for enlisted personnel the staff was „at
least receptive if not cordial to Negro troops. Apparently the social activities were successful, under controlled racial tension.”890 This changed with the arrival of black
women and, without any ‘incident’, the Red Cross attempted on several occasions to set
up separate facilities „just for Negroes”.891 According to the battalion’s commandant,
none of these attempts were successful.892
5.1.7 Assignment and Mal-assignment
Black Wacs were disproportionately employed in low skilled work. This mirrored the
Army caste system stratified by race and class as well as unequal access to economic
887
Ibid., 145.
Ibid.
889
890
891
Ibid.
892
Ibid. On one occasion, the Red Cross ‚donated’ a truckload of recreational equipment in order to set up a segregated recreational facility in the school building where the 6888th was
housed. Major Adams ordered the Special Services officer to send all of it back to the Red
Cross. Another attempt to create segregated facilities was the leasing of a hotel by the Red
Cross, which was to be exclusively for „colored girls“. Adams considered it „very nice, but very
segregated“, „the most blatant segregation and discrimination“ and persuaded her troops not to
use it. Instead, she made adjustments in curfew hours arrangements to facilitate the women’s
R&R without having to use the hotel. Earley, One Woman’s Army, 163-4.
888
247
opportunities among women in the civilian job market. The Army rating system that
was also used for the WAC designated grades based on the women’s score on the Army
General Classification Test (AGCT). Women in the higher grades, I through III, were
usually assigned to clerical and office job while grades IV and V were considered unskilled and the women were assigned more menial duties. African American Wacs, who
had been denied the same access to education and higher skilled work before their entry
into the corps, were overrepresented in the lower grades. In addition, WAC policy required that Army commands and posts explicitly requested African American personnel. If not specifically marked „colored” personnel, the request would be considered
„white only”. One result of these difficulties to assign black women was that there was
a significant backlog of African American Wacs at all of the training centers awaiting
assignment. At Des Moines, it became necessary to house the women in the company
day rooms, with fifty Waacs in each.893 The few assignment requests that came in were
mostly for jobs where segregation could be maintained and for unskilled personnel, or
basics could be used.894
Opportunities for specialist training for blacks were more or less limited to attending
one of the specialist schools at Fort Des Moines for either motor transport or cooks and
bakers. Several of the Army specialist schools that also admitted women, such as the
cryptographic courses of the Signal Corps and the Army physiotherapy schools, were
closed to black women.895 In July 1943, 600 African American Wacs at Des Moines and
240 at Ft. Devens had completed basic and specialist training and were awaiting assignment.896 At the Fourth WAAC Training Center Fort Devens, MA, the situation was
similar. In June 1943, more than half of the enrolled African American women at the
post (295 of 518) were unassigned basics with nothing to do.897 After the Fourth Trai ning Center at Fort Devens closed in August 1943, all African American Waacs, 21 officers and 589 enlisted women, at Ft. Devens were transferred to Fort Des Moines and
893
Ibid..
895
Neverdon-Morton, Securing the „Double V”, 336.
896
NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 43. First Officer Harriet West, Report on Field Trip to 6th and
th
7 Service Commands, 17 May 1943. File: Negro. NARA. RG 165, Series 55, Box 211.
897
Report of inspection of 4th WAAC Training Center Fort Devens, MA. June 20-23, 1943.
NARA. Ibid.
894
248
further aggravated the situation there.898 This did not at all help to keep up morale. Ha rriet West and other officers repeatedly toured the country to inform and persuade commandants to request „colored” personnel as well.899 West reported back to Hobby that
„post commanders are at a loss to determine how Negro personnel (WAAC) can be used
other than in laundries, mess units, or salvage and reclamation shops.“900 She went on to
recommend, „the most hopeless cases […] be formed into companies for unskilled work
in hospitals, messes, and salvage depots.“901 This would not have worked for several
reasons: Firstly, WAAC tables of organization had too few slots for unskilled personnel
so that there was no way to form entire companies of them; secondly, such assignments
would have to be made equally for whites according to War Department policy, and
thirdly, most of such jobs were civilian and could not have been staffed with Waacs.
If black Waacs were requested, their assignment within the lowest grades of IV or V
was based on racial stereotypes. After her field trips to the WAAC companies at Williams Field, Higley, AZ, where 53 of 154 black Waacs were classified as grade V, and
Victorville, CA WAAC Staff Director Helen H. Woods reported: „So low grade mentally or so uneducated as to be assignable only to the simplest form of menial work. [...]
The assignments consist mainly in „grease-monkey” work around the aeroplanes [sic]
which calls for no mental effort and is under constant supervision.”902
898
Letter Lula Jones Garrett, editor The Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) to OWI, 6 August
1943; and reply from Col. Hobby on 18 August: NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
899
Report Harriet West of Field Trip to 6th and 7th Service Commands May 1943: Situation in
Des Moines; West also visited HQ 7th Service Command in Omaha, Nebraska, Fort Riley, Kansas, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Fort Sheridan and Fort Custer, Michigan, to give talks on the
requisition of African American Wacs. File: Colored Personnel in WAAC. NARA. RG 165,
Entry 55, Box 211. Memorandum for the Director, su: Enrollment and Assignment of Negro
Personnel, 24 May 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
900
First Officer Harriet West, Report on Field Trip to 6th and 7th Service Commands. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
901
Memo Harriet West, 19 April 1943 on Progress Report on Motor Transport School (Colored), Possibilities at Fourth Training Center Fort Devens. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 211.
See also Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 593.
902
Letter Helen H. Woods, First Officer, WAAC Staff Director toColonel T. B. Gatron, Executive office, WAAC HQ 3 June 1943: Requested report on the WAAC Company at Williams
Field, Higley, AZ, and Victorville, CA. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 60.
249
African American WAC officers were also often assigned in a discriminating way. Unlike white officers after their graduation from Officer Candidate School, black officers
often found themselves in assignments usually reserved for noncommissioned officers.903 Despite exceptions to the segregation policies had to be made in the case of
black enlisted women who were trained at specialist schools (often because of their low
numbers that did not warrant segregation), black officers could never command a white
unit, whereas the opposite was quite frequent. Although the segregation policy ironically allowed black officers to develop military leadership skills, their career was hampered by racial stereotypes.
5.1.8 Protest: Sit-Down Strike or Disobedience?
In some instances, African American servicewomen resorted to acts of resistance in order to protest racial discrimination. One of these occurred before the WAAC was part of
the regular Army. Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, was a post commanded by a „devout
racist”, who felt he had to remind Captain Myrtle Anderson, the WAAC company officer and her executive officer, Margaret Barnes Jones, that although they might both be
from the north, his post was in the South.904 African American Waacs at Camp Brecki nridge, KY were assigned to a laundry after they had protested their original assignments
of stacking beds and scrubbing floors in a salvage warehouse. On the afternoon of June
25, 1943, 21 Waacs did not return for duty. In protesting the discriminatory malassignment, segregation and the fact that they replaced civilian workers, not soldiers and
had to work under a civilian’s supervision, the women organized „what amounted to a
strike which is absolutely contrary to military customs or regulations.”905 Colonel Clyde
Parmelee went on to have the group lectured about what constituted mutiny. „When you
get involved in insubordination, it is mutiny and next to murder, it is possibly the most
serious thing in the service.”906 A board of investigation, however, could find „no ev i-
903
Neverdon-Morton, Securing the „Double V“, 336.
2nd Lieutenant Margaret Barnet Jones, cited in Moore, 20.
905
Testimony Colonel Clyde D. Parmelee, Report of Preceedings of Board of Officers, 3562nd
Service Unit, Section #2, WAAC, Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. June 26, 1943. NARA. RG
407, Box 4281.
906
Ibid.
904
250
dence supporting any attempt to create or begin, excite, cause or join in any mutiny or
sedition, […] leaving their jobs was [merely] simultaneous.” Six auxiliaries who were
leaving the service and had not planned to reenlist in the WAC were given summary
discharges.907
At the Lovell General Hospital Fort Devens, MA, Wacs who were trained as medical
technicians were assigned duties as hospital orderlies, for which they were clearly overqualified.908 Private Alice Young, one of the four Privates, whose case received natio nwide attention, had had some nurses’ training and other members of this black company
assigned to Lovell had experience in hospital work. The division of labor at Lovell was
such that the members of the black unit were assigned orderly duties, regardless of
training or previous experience. African American Wacs had to „wash walls, scrub
floors, cook and keep the wards clean.”909 „The girls are very disgusted because they
were not drafted into the organization but volunteered so that they could help to get the
war over soon. These girls have become so disgusted that three have tried to commit
suicide as they thought it was the only way out.”910 The WAC Director’s office did not
see any immediate need to act.
„The fact that enlisted women were asked to perform such duties as cleaning the
wards and cooking does not signify discrimination [...]. [T]here is no evidence to
prove conclusively that the attempted suicides were the result of the conditions
described in the letter of complaint.”911
When the commander of the hospital, Walter H. Crandall, saw Young taking a patient’s
temperature (which is part of the job of a medical technician as the supervising nurse
907
Ibid and Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 60-61.
The duties of MOS 657, medical aid man, were included in those of MOS 409, medical technician. Additionally, medical technicians took patients’ temperature, pulse, monitored respiration, charted notes and kept ward records.
909
Letter William T. Granahan (House of Representatives, Philadelphia, PA) to Stimson, 13
March 1945. Granahan quoted from the letter of a WAC Private, possibly Pvt. Harriet Warfield,
who had enlisted on 26 January 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 91. Warfield was classified as 409, medical technician, but was assigned MOS 657, medical aid man, and did not report
for work the next day. On 14 February, Warfield was reported „surplus in kill“ to be assigned to
another station.
910
Ibid.
911
Letter Major Kathryn K. Johnson, Executive Officer, ODWAC, 16 March 1945. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 91.
908
251
explained to Crandall), he made it clear that in his hospital, no black servicewoman
would be „taking temperatures”, that is, working with patients.912 Their job was, rather,
to „scrub and do the dirty work”.913 Young then asked to be assigned to the m otor pool,
Colonel Crandall told her, black Wacs were not wanted there, either.914 The next mor ning, most of the 60 African American Wacs did not report for duty.915 A lthough the
unit’s commanding officer and other black WAC officers were present at the post, the
Army brought in the commanding general of the First Service Command, Maj. General
Sherman Miles. He ordered the women back to duty under the authority of the Ninth
Article of War, prohibiting the willful disobeying of a lawful command or order.916
Eventually, all but four returned to duty.
In contrast to the Waacs at Camp Breckinridge, who could just leave the Corps at the
time of conversion, the four Wacs were ordered to stand trial before a general courtmartial. This was one of the most visible and publicized cases of resistance against discriminatory practices during the war. The NAACP hired Julian D. Rainey, a Boston attorney, black WWI veteran and Professor at the Suffolk Law School to represent the
four Privates.917 Tenola T. Stoney, the commanding officer of the black unit, testified
before the nine-member court of which none was a black WAC officer. The verdict was
guilty and the four were sentenced to one year at hard labor and dishonorable discharge
from the service.
The NAACP, the ACLU and Mary McLeod Bethune’s NCNW were sympathetic to the
Wacs, although most had been reluctant to support any extralegal activities such as the
912
Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 97.
Major Herman and Captain Chance, WAC, transcript of conversation on situation at Fort
Devens. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49. Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 97.
914
Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 61
915
Ibid., 62; Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 97.
916
„Any officer or soldier who [...] shall disobey any lawful command of his superior officer,
shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall, according to the nature of his offense, be
inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial.” United States. Articles of War: An Act
for Establishing Rules and Articles for the Government of the Armies of the United States.
Washington, DC: [n.p.] 1806, Art. 9.
917
Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 63. Johnson, Charles. African American Soldiers in
the National Guard: Recruitment and Deployment during Peacetime and War. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1992, 124.
913
252
strike during the war, the verdict was followed by a storm of protest. In view of the
conditions at Lovell Hospital, Bethune and Charles H. Houston, a civil rights lawyer,
pushed for the formation of an investigating committee to posts where black Wacs were
stationed to improve their situation.918 African American Congressman Adam Clayton
Powell Jr. and other Congressmen from New York petitioned the War Department to
bring Colonel Crandall up on charges and reverse the verdict against the four Privates,
which, in view of the racist hostility on the post, seemed unduly harsh.919 Hundreds of
individuals wrote letters in which they protested the „decidedly excessive punishment,”
which seemed „grossly out of proportion. One cannot but feel that strong racial prejudice influenced the decision of the military board. The fact that two Negroes were sitting on the Board argues nothing against this impression for reasons, which are too obvious for me to state.“920 The War Department did not charge Colonel Crandall for di sobeying Army directives against racial discrimination. In view of the storm of protest,
however, the War Department had the case reviewed by the Judge Advocate General
and reversed the verdict of the four Wacs and restored them to duty. Colonel Crandall
was placed on terminal leave in April 1945, and then retired.921
5.2 Japanese American Wacs
The history of Japanese American Wacs’ enrollment and service provides a different
angle at the intersection of race and gender.922 If, as has often been the case in the
United States before WWI, race is constructed between two poles, black and white, it is
entirely a function of powerlessness on one side versus privilege on the other.923 Asian
918
Memo for Hobby, su: Request by Bethune, Lovell Hospital, 20 March 1945. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 191.
919
920
Letters Ellen A. Kennan, New York, 28 March 1945 and Dorothy Leon, New York, 1 April
1945. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 91.
921
Putney, When the Nation Was in Need, 63 for newspaper accounts.
922
See Moore, Brenda L. „Reflections of Society: The Intersection of Race and Gender in the
U.S. Army in World War II.”Beyond Zero Tolerance: Discrimination in Military Culture. Ed.
Mary F. Katzenstein and Judith Reppy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. 125-42.
Moore, Serving Our Country. Hirose, Japanese American Women. Neverton-Morton, Securing
the „Double V”.
923
Examples for the use of the black/white paradigm for Asian Americans include Okihiro,
Gary Y. Margins and Mainstreams: Asians in American History and Culture. Seattle, WA: Uni-
253
Americans have historically been placed somewhere between black and white in the racial hierarchy. As Brenda Moore argues, at certain times Japanese Americans have been
regarded as being „near whites”, while at other times they were considered „just like
blacks.”924 However, this approach of placing Asian Americans on a black|white co
n-
tinuum fails to address issues specific to non-white and non-black groups:
„The racial experiences of Asian Americans (…) diverge fundamentally from
the experiences of blacks. Subordination falls along a separate axis. (…) The
axis is not white versus black, but American versus foreigner. [T]he color dichotomy that operates to cast blacks as inferior to whites differs from the citizenship dichotomy that operates to cast all Asian Americans (…) as foreign-born
outsiders.“925
During WWI, Japanese Americans, immigrant Isei, or second generation Nisei have occupied an ambiguous position. They were neither black nor white, but rather located
somewhere between American and alien. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese
American men were drafted under the Selective Service and Training Act and had been
assigned to white units. When the United States declared war on Japan, most Nisei soldiers were summarily discharged and their induction into the services was discontinued.
Although Americans by birth, many Nisei soldiers were stripped of their weapons and
some were forced into prison compounds or reclassified as „enemy aliens”, undesirable
for service.926
On February 10, 1942 Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote in his diary: „The second
generation Japanese can only be evacuated either as part of a total evacuation, giving
access to the areas only by permits, or by frankly trying to put them out on the ground
that their racial characteristics are such that we cannot understand or even trust the citizen Japanese. This latter is the fact but I am afraid it will make a tremendous hole in our
versity of Washington Press, 1994. Loewen, James W. The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black
and White. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.
924
Moore, Serving Our Country, 3.
925
Ancheta, Angelo N. Race, Rights, and the Asian American Experience. New Brunswick:
Rutgers University Press, 1998, 64.
926
Moore, Serving Our Country, 4-5. An exception was made for Nisei soldiers who were assigned to the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) and those who worked as
military translators, interrogators and spies.
254
constitutional system to apply it.“927 Many shared Stimson’s racist bias against Asian
Americans. Brenda Moore argues that „it may appear, because of the extreme form of
racial oppression they were subjected to, as though [their] position shifted toward that
of blacks. Upon close inspection, however, it becomes evident that Japanese Americans
became racialized during World War II, occupying a racial identity separate from that of
whites or blacks.”928
At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, nearly 113,000 people of Japanese
ancestry, two-thirds of them American citizens, were living on the West Coast in the
states of California, Oregon and Washington. The west coast had a long history of antiAsian sentiment.929 Widespread feelings of suspicion and fear led to accusations of
sabotage and fifth column activity by the press and Congressmen. Two months after
Pearl Harbor, on February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No.
9066, allowing for the Secretary of War and Military Commanders to designate areas,
so-called Military Districts”, from which „any or all persons may be excluded.“ Executive Order No. 9102, signed by the President on March 18, 1942 established the War
Relocation Authority (WRA), a civilian agency in the Office for Emergency Management that provided for the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry from those areas denoted under Executive Order No. 9066.930 The Authority started planning and buil ding
ten relocation camps that would house more than 110,000 Japanese Americans, who
lived in the western halves of California, Oregon, and Washington, and the southern
third of Arizona in what was designated Military District 1.931 The War Relocation
Authority (WRA), headed by Milton S. Eisenhower, was authorized to remove the
927
The Truman Presidential Library. The War Relocation Authority and the Incarceration of
Japanese-Americans during WWII. Web Page. URL :
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/japanese_internment/1942.htm. 14
July 2004.
928
Moore, Serving Our Country, 5.
929
Expressed for example in the denial of naturalization to Asians (upheld by the U.S. Supreme
Court in 1922 (Ozawa v. U.S.) and the 1924 Immigration Act which barred Asian immigration.
930
Broom, Leonard and John I. Kitsuse. The Managed Casualty: The Japanese-American Family in World War II. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1956, 18.
931
Daniels, Roger and Eric Foner. Prisoners without Trial: Japanese American in World War II.
New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. Daniels, Roger. Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the
United States since 1850. University of Washington Press: Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1988, 214.
255
evacuees from the Military District, to „provide for evacuees’ relocation, to supervise
their activities, and to provide for their useful employment.“932 Public Law 77-503 then
made it a federal crime for a person ordered to leave a military area to refuse to do so.
Beginning in March 1942, about 120,000 people of Japanese descent were first taken to
temporary assembly centers and then moved inland to ten relocation centers in California, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas.933
The WRA divided the people of Japanese descent in the Pacific Coast military zone into
different categories: The largest group were the Nisei or second generation Japanese
Americans, children of immigrants, who were American citizens by birth and had been
educated in the US. Their parents, called Isei or first generations, were Japanese citizens
resident in the US. The other groups were the Sensei, second-generation American born
children of the Nisei, and Kibei, American born, but educated wholly or partly in Japan.
Kibei knew the terrain, language, and customs well enough to pass for natives and if
they were deemed loyal, their expertise to the US Army as translators and cryptanalysts
was highly valued . The purpose of the WRA was to resettle the evacuees in new locations well away from the Pacific Coast and not to detain them indefinitely in the relocation centers. The first evacuees to be released in spring 1942 were linguists, agricultural
laborers and college students. Others resettled in states such as Illinois, Colorado, Ohio,
Utah, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. In order to quell Japan’s assertions
that this was a racial war, evacuees had to respond to a loyalty questionnaire administered in early 1943.934
In May 1943, Dillon S. Myer, the new director of the WRA, stated that the relocation
centers „are undesirable institutions and should be removed from the American scene as
soon as possible. Life in a relocation center is an unnatural and un-American sort of life.
932
Truman Presidential Library, The War Relocation Authority.
Hayashi, Brian Masaru. Democratizing the Enemy: The Japanese American Internment.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. Kiyota, Minoru and Linda Klepinger Keenan.
Beyond Loyalty: The Story of a Kibei. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1997. Uchida,
Yoshiko. Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family. Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 1982. Yamada, Mitsuye. Camp Notes and Other Writings. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998.
934
Neverdon-Morton, Securing the „Double V“, 329-30 and Moore, Serving Our Country, 16.
933
256
Keep in mind that the evacuees were charged with nothing except having Japanese ancestors; yet the very fact of their confinement in relocation centers fosters suspicion of
their loyalties and adds to their discouragement. It has added weight to the contentions
of the enemy [the Empire of Japan] that we are fighting a race war that this nation
preaches democracy and practices racial discrimination.“935
At the same time, the manpower shortage in the Army was becoming severe, particularly after the Army had suffered one of its biggest defeats in Bataan, where more than
seventy thousand men, Filipinos and Americans, surrendered to Japan on April 9, 1942.
In January 1943, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson announced plans to accept Nisei
volunteers for an all-Nisei special combat team, „It is the inherent right of every faithful
citizen, regardless of ancestry, to bear arms in the nation’s battle.“936 In February 1943,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the orders creating an all-Nisei army unit, the
442nd Regimental Combat Team.937 In January of 1944, the Selective Service began
drafting the same Japanese American men it was guarding in the relocation centers,
provided that they were cleared individually for service. The Japanese American Citi-
935
In January 1945 the number of evacuees at relocation centers was still about 80,000. By November that year all but one of the relocation centers had closed. About half of all evacuees released from the relocation centers returned to the Pacific Coast area were they were often received with intimidation and acts of violence. In 1980 President Jimmy Carter created the
Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). The commissions report, entitled „Personal Justice Denied“ and presented in early 1983 concludes: „The
promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity, and the decisions
which followed from it [...] were not driven by analysis of military conditions. The broad historical causes which shaped these decisions were race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of
political leadership [...] A grave injustice was done to Americans and resident aliens of Japanese
ancestry who…were excluded, removed and detained by the United States during World War
II.” The report further recommended that Congress apologize to the evacuees and that the
United States pay $20,000 to each surviving evacuee. The first of these payments, however,
were not made until 1990, after President Ronald Reagan had signed the Civil Rights Act of
1988. United States. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal
Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.
Washington, DC: GPO, 1992. Myer later served as Indian commissioner in the Truman administration. Philp, Kenneth R. Termination Revisited: American Indians on the Trail to SelfDetermination, 1933-1953. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, 80.
936
1,500 Hawaiian volunteers of Japanese descent were to fight on the European front. Newspaper clippings, January 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
937
„President Approves Combat Team of Citizens of Japanese Ancestry.”War Department,
press release, 1 February 1943. NARA. Ibid.
257
zenship League had urged the President to reinstate the draft as early as November
1942, after the battle of Bataan and the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands.938
As was the case with African Americans, policies on the utilization of Japanese American women were contingent upon the policies regarding men of this minority.939 Early
in 1943, possible ways to recruit Nisei women as linguists for the WAAC were being
discussed in the War Department.940 Japanese was one of the languages much sought
after for cryptography and communications. Director Hobby discussed with Dillon
Myer, the new director of the WAR who had met with Assistant Secretary of War, John
McCloy, the question of Nisei Waacs.941 A conference in January proposed that one
WAAC officer should accompany each of the operating teams that were being sent out
to the Relocation Centers. Their purpose was to determine whether Japanese American
women generally supported war effort and whether they would be available for military
service or employment. According to a general survey of the WRA, there were roughly
21.000 female American citizens of Japanese ancestry in the relocation centers, of
whom 10,347 were unmarried and between age 18 and 45.942 Occupational statistics
compiled by the WRA from the 1940 census reveal that the occupational distribution
among the Nisei women was just what the military needed.943
Original plans called for two to four WAAC companies „composed entirely of American citizens of Japanese extraction.” They were to be trained at Fort Des Moines „where
they can receive their complete training at one camp.” Finally they were to „serve with
938
United States. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, Personal
Justice Denied, 188.
939
Teresa Amott summarized: „Nearly 3,000 Nisei men from the camps joined other Nisei in
the segregated 442nd Combat Team, which became the most highly decorated combat unit of
the war. One hundred Nisei women joined the Women's Army Corps. Their bravery in battle
went unrecognized by the white press, which commonly refused to print the names of the Nisei
war dead.” Amott, Teresa L., and Julie A. Matthaei: Race, Gender, and Work: A Multicultural
Economic History of Women in the United States. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1991, 230.
940
Correspondence re: Nisei Waacs and integration. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
941
Transcript of conversation between Hobby and McCloy. NARA. RG 407, Box 4297.
942
Draft Memorandum, undated. „Enrollment of American Born Japanese Women in WAAC“
Conference 26-28 January 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
943
Letter E.M. Roall, Acting Director of the WRA to Hobby, 26 Jan 1943. File: SPWA 291.2.
c.i. Moore Serving Our Country, 89.
258
the American-Japanese unit” and should „be recruited and trained in time to be ready
for duty soon after the male units are in the field.”944 In March 1943 WAAC officers
began accompanying Army teams going on field trips to relocation centers to conduct
interviews with Nisei women. As Captain Norman Thompson reported from the Gila
River Relocation Center, Rivers, Arizona, male Japanese Americans were strongly opposed to serving in segregated units: „During our volunteer period we encountered, as
did the officers at the other nine relocation centers, considerable opposition to our
„separate combat team idea“.945 Thompson also called a meeting of the „female cit
i-
zens” and noted that „[t]he usual resistance to separate combat teams was stronger than
with the boys“. Of 40 to 50 qualified women who were seriously considering enlisting,
none would volunteer for a separate unit. „At home we were spread out through the
Caucasian race. It smacks too much of race segregation.“ The women inquired whether
Chinese Americans and African Americans were in separate units and then stated: „We
don’t want to be classed with negroes.“946 Other surveys conducted by WAAC officers
Hazel Milbourn and Emily U. Miller at the relocation centers Tule Lake, California,
Topaz, Utah and Hunt, Idaho also indicated that at least half of the women surveyed
were interested in volunteering for the WAAC, but „they emphatically do not want segregation to all-Japanese units.”947 One report also stated that the „Caucasian personnel
professed great admiration for the Nisei and said they would have no objection whatsoever in being assigned to units with them.”948 It became clear that the young women
were determined not to serve in racially segregated units. They were also among the
most highly educated women in the United States and, although their number in the
Army would remain small, Japanese-speaking women were much needed for specific
944
Memo to DWAC, 1 Feb 1943. Memos and letters re: enrollment of Japanese-American
WACs. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
945
Report by Captain Norman Thompson from Gila River Relocation Center, Rivers Arizona.
946
Ibid.
947
Emily U. Miller , 3rd Officer, WAAC. „Survey to determine desirability of recruiting Japanese women for service in the W.A.A.C.”6 March 1943. Report by Hazel Milbourn, First Officer WAAC Service Command Director, 9th Service Command to WAAC HQ, 11 March 1943.
948
Ibid. 2nd Officer Manice Hill’s findings at Rohwer Relocation Center revealed similar interests. NARA. Ibid.
259
skilled occupational positions.949 Most of the young women indicated that they would
be more interested in signing up for the Army instead of working in civilian jobs. Perhaps more importantly than the fifty dollars a month they felt that the Army was able to
offer some sense of physical security. According to WAAC officer Joyce Burton, the
women also prided themselves on being „modern American women who had outgrown
oriental ideas” and were eager to leave the relocation camps to get some distance between themselves and the „old Japanese school.”950
Finally, the Military Personnel Division announced that „Women of Japanese descent
will be accepted for enrollment and service in the WAAC subject to all rules and regulations that govern the enrollment and service of other women.”951 The only exceptions
were the special weight and height requirements prescribed by the Surgeon General of a
minimum height of fifty-seven inches (145 cm) and a minimum weight of ninety-five
pounds (43 kg). On July 23, the Adjutant General informed the service commands, that
the quota of 500 would now be accepted into the WAAC.952 Unlike Nisei men and African American personnel, Nisei Waacs were to serve in racially integrated units.
The first Nisei woman inducted directly from a relocation camp was Iris Watanabe from
Santa Cruz, California. Japanese American newspapers, such as the Pacific Citizen, re-
949
Mei Nakano, on the other hand, argues that due to cultural norms, educational opportunities
for Nisei women were limited, as preference for higher education would usually be given to the
males in the family. Professional careers were rare and limited to health care and science. Most
Nisei women were employed in ethnic enterprises, domestic work or farm labor. Nakano, Mei
T., and Grace Shibata. Japanese American Women: Three Generations, 1890-1990 (Berkeley,
CA, San Francisco, CA: Mina Press Pub., National Japanese American Historical Society, 1990,
117-18. See also: Adler, Susan Matoba. Mothering, Education, and Ethnicity: The Transformation of Japanese American Culture. New York: Garland, 1998. Glenn, Evelyn Nakano. Issei,
Nisei, War Bride: Three Generations of Japanese American Women in Domestic Service. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1986. Sone, Monica Itoi. Nisei Daughter. Boston, MA:
Little, 1953. Sarasohn, Eileen Sunada. Issei Women: Echoes From Another Frontier. Palo Alto,
CA: Pacific Books, 1998.
950
Letter Second Officer Joyce Burton, WAAC, to Commanding General, Ninth Service Command, Fort Douglas, Utah, 11 March 1943, c.i. Moore, Serving Our Country, 93.
951
Memo Hobby to Surgeon General, su: Special Physical Requirements. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
952
Letter Adjutant General’s Office to Commanding Generals, each Service Command, 28 July
1943. NARA. Ibid.
260
ported generally favorable on Nisei Wacs.953 When reporter Harry P. Tarvin attempted
to interview her, the commanding officer of the WAC recruiting office in Denver, CO,
S.P. Reed, denied his request on the grounds that „publicity regarding Miss Watanabe’s
induction might have an unfavorable effect upon WAC recruiting.” Reed stated that on
the West Coast, where she was from, „there was considerable doubt that it was possible
to differentiate between loyal and disloyal Japanese.”954
Despite their initial enthusiasm, Nisei Wacs entered the WAC at a slow rate. A report on
the enlistment of Japanese-American Wacs revealed that by February 17, 1944 only 13
(out of a projected 500) had enlisted. Hobby suspected parental influence to be the reason deterring the women from joining.
955
Some Nisei women who decided to join d i-
rectly from the relocation centers did indeed face opposition by relatives. 2nd Officer
Henriette Horak reported from the Tule Lake Relocation Center that „one Nisei woman
was beaten, allegedly because she had expressed her desire to be a WAAC.”956 The Tule
Lake relocation center was from the summer of 1943 on used by the WAR to segregate
the „disloyals“ from the „loyals“. Measured by the questionnaire results, Tule Lake had
already had the highest proportion of disloyals of all the Relocation Centers. After the
construction of new barracks, Tule Lake became the largest of the relocation centers. By
the spring of 1944, over 18,000 people were interned there. A high fence, topped with
barbed wire and several watchtowers secured the perimeter of the camp and even the
farm fields of the center.957 Horak went on to describe „an atmosphere of hate, fear,
suspicion and violence. Seventy-four Kibei had just been jailed. Numerous beatings had
taken place among the three Japanese factions. The apparent misunderstanding over the
purpose of registration had pitched the Project into a struggle among the Isei, Nisei and
953
Moore, Serving Our Country, 25-7.
Letter Harry P. Tarvin, Regional Reports Officer to Dillon S. Myer, Director, War Relocation Authority, 13 December 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 49.
955
Letter Hobby to Secretary of War, su: Enlistment of Japanese-American women in the
Women’s Army Corps. NARA. Ibid.
956 nd
2 Officer Henriette Horak, Report from Tule Lake Relocation Center, 7 March 1943.
NARA. Ibid.
957
Jacoby, Harold S. Tule Lake: From Relocation to Segregation. Grass Valley, CA: Comstock
Bonanza Press, 1996. Shirai, Noboru. Tule Lake: An Issei Memoir. Sacramento, CA: Muteki
Press, 2001. Takei, Barbara, and Judy M. Tachibana, Tule Lake Revisited: A Brief History and
Guide to the Tule Lake Internment Camp Site. Sacramento, CA: T&T Press, 2001.
954
261
Kibei. The Camp was rife with rumors. A run on the Center’s bank was in process.”958
According to Steven A. Chin, resistance and protest at Tule Lake took four forms: Filing lawsuits questioning the legality of internment, disobeying camp regulations, campaigning for the restoration of constitutional rights and renunciation of American citizenship.959
The Japanese American press, on the other hand, enthusiastically encouraged women to
enlist. The recurring motif in all of these efforts was the chance to prove one’s loyalty to
the US as well as one’s love for American democracy as opposed to the Japanese Empire. „It’s a wonderful opportunity for my people” wrote recruiter Chizuko Shinagawa
from Denver, CO,
„to participate actively in the greatest battle for democracy the world has ever
known. By serving in the WAC, I’ve found the true meaning of democracy. […]
Before I joined up, I felt useless and restless because I wanted to do something
for my country. […] If we shirk our plain duty to our country in a time of its
greatest need, we must be prepared to have our loyalty questioned. Indeed, I
think it should be questioned.”960
After having completed their training Nisei Wacs were assigned to various stations including the Army Air Forces (AAF), which were completely closed to Nisei men.961 Air
Wacs performed a large variety of jobs, including weather forecasting, aerial photo interpretation and air traffic control. As all Wacs, most of them were assigned to clerical
and administrative jobs. Others worked as medical and dental technicians, instructors
and chaplain’s assistants.962 Japanese American women were also among those that
joined the WAC from Hawaii. The 58 women in this Hawaiian unit were of very diverse ethnic backgrounds and received training together at Fort Oglethorpe.963 Since basic training was similar for all members of the WAC, accounts of Nisei Wacs are not
958
Horak, Report from Tule Lake Relocation Center.
Chin, Steven A., and David Tamura. When Justice Failed: The Fred Korematsu Story. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1993. Neverdon-Morton, Securing the „Double V“, 340.
960
„Urge Japanese American Girls to Join Women’s Army Corps: Pvt. Shinagawa Recruits Nisei Volunteers in Denver Area,” Pacific Citizen, 27 May 1944, 3, c.i. Moore, Serving Our
Country, 96-7.
961
Ibid., 105.
962
Ibid. 111-14.
963
Ibid., 101-104.
959
262
much different from that of women of other ethnic groups. The Nisei Wacs who served
with Caucasian Wacs in integrated units were treated much like them with the exception
of a few instances were they were relieved of certain duties such as marching a dress parade or doing KP with minor injuries because of their height. As Moore documented,
none of the women she interviewed felt they were treated any differently let alone being
discriminated against.964
Contrary to some military officials’ expectations, not all Japanese American women did
speak Japanese and could be employed as a translator. However, the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) at Fort Snelling, Minnesota specifically enlisted a few Nisei women for service at that school and four were assigned to the Office
of Strategic Services in Washington, DC.965 51 mostly Japanese-American Wacs were
assigned to the MISLS for training as military translators. They learned heigo (Japanese
military and technical terms), Japanese geography and culture, grammar, reading and
writing Kanji in various styles as well as translating and interpreting and practiced radio
monitoring and interception of messages.966 Some 150 Wacs, including Nisei women,
were stationed in Manila in the South West Pacific Area and did secret work for the Allied Translator and Intelligence Service.967 Twenty-one were assigned, to the Pacific
Military Intelligence Research Section at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. Here they analyzed
and translated captured Japanese documents, extracting military information, as well as
economic and political information that impacted Japan's ability to conduct the war.968
964
Ibid. 107-9.
966
Report Colonel Kai E. Rasmussen, History and Description of the Military Intelligence
Service Language School. NARA. RG 319, Box 1, c.i. Moore, Serving Our Country: Japanese
American Women in the Military During World War II. 119-20.
967
968
Bellafaire, Judith. Asian-Pacific-American Servicewomen in Defense of a Nation. Web Page.
URL: http://www.womensmemorial.org/Education/APA.html. 6 March 2002.
965
263
5.3 Puerto Rican Wacs
When the War Department sent a recruiting team of one WAC officer and three enlisted
women to Puerto Rico in 1944, there was an enthusiastic response. Although the orders
were to recruit not more than 200 women for service in the United States, some 1,500
applications poured in immediately. The recruiters were „literally swamped with applications,” each applicant’s „desirability” was determined by USO personnel and a psychologist.969 Since the commanding general of the Antilles Department had decided that
„at least a token group of colored women should be enlisted for obvious reasons,“ „197
white and 10 black” women were enlisted, sworn in and shipped to Fort Oglethorpe for
training.970 WAC historian Mattie Treadwell wrote that of 1,500 applicants „many had
to be rejected for failure to pass the aptitude test, or because of parental objections. In
addition, later employment was handicapped by language difficulties.“
971
Similarly,
350,000 Puerto Rican men registered for military service but only 65,000 were called
and served in segregated units.972
One of the few commands that enthusiastically requested and employed Puerto Rican
Wacs was the Transportation Corps which maintained large WAC detachments in the
eight major ports of embarkation New York, Boston, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans. Since most ports were in labor-short
areas it was difficult to replace general service men with civilians or Wacs, as directed
by the ASF. The Transportation Corps creatively pursued every possible way of recruiting Wacs, including that of transferring Wacs deemed unassignable by other commands because of low aptitude, lack of skill or „possible language difficulties.“973 Perhaps anticipating this verdict, the recruiters’ report is quite apologetic:
969
Report of WAC Recruiting Activities in Puerto Rico, 11 December 1944. NARA. RG 407,
Box 4292.
970
Ibid.
971
972
Villahermose, Gilberto. „On the Frontlines: America’s Hispanics in America’s Wars.”Army
52.9 (2002): 62-66.
973
264
„It is our opinion that the recruits accepted were the very best obtainable under
existing conditions. It should be pointed out that women of the socially elite
families were not available for enlistment because of social customs. These
women appear in public only with chaperons. Eliminating the top social class,
the best of the remaining women were accepted. It should be noted further that
as a whole, women of Puerto Rico do not have the same standard of conduct,
customs and living as do women of the continental United States. Standards of
these women as to integrity and emotional stability are below that of continental
women.”974
Here the recruiter does not appear to be speaking of language skills. Rather, she seems
to be apologizing that her team was unable to recruit that white, middle-class ‘high
type’ of respectable women of which the WAC allegedly consisted. The example of
Puerto Rican Wacs, despite their small number, exposes a colonial attitude of the WAC
recruiters that is not identical with other ethnic and racial stereotypes.975
5.4 „First Class Citizenship?”
World War II saw changes in the military structure that were in part due to technological innovation. The military depended increasingly on skills that women had recently
acquired in civilian workplaces. A shift in the ratio of combat troops to support and
overhead personnel occurred toward a stronger emphasis on administrative and support
functions and further aggravated existing personnel shortages.976 Or, according to Mo rris Janowitz’s typology, the emphasis shifted from the „heroic leader”, who embodied
974
Report of WAC Recruiting Activities in Puerto Rico, 11 December 1944. NARA. RG 407,
Box 4292.
975
The Spanish colony Puerto Rico had been invaded and occupied by US forces during the
Spanish-American War. It became a colonial protectorate, despite continued struggle for autonomy. In 1917, just in time for them to be eligible for military service in WWI, Puerto Ricans
were granted U.S. citizenship by the Jones-Shafroth Act. Although some reforms and investment improved the economy for the U.S. dominated sugar industry and other large landowners,
the Great Depression and natural disasters impoverished the island. The US Navy also appropriated extensive agricultural lands during WWII. Cabán, Pedro A. Constructing a Colonial
People: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999,
203-07.
976
For Parallels in the Civil War: Huntington, Samuel P. The Soldier and the State: The Theory
and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University
Press, 1957, 199. Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve my Race, 25; On „Managers” and
„Heroic Leaders”: Janowitz, Morris. The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait.
New York: Free Press, 1971, 21, 154.
265
an older warrior tradition, toward the military „manager” and the „military technologist”, who emphasized the technical and managerial aspects of warfare more strongly.977
One result was that the armed forces depended to a greater extent on personnel in clerical and communications functions. Here, women and minorities could be used without
changing the stratified structure of the organization. The role of „heroic leader”, embodying valor and glory, was still reserved for Euro-American men since African
American men and all women were excluded from combat positions. The percentage of
officers among black men was 0.35 percent in 1942 so that most black enlisted men
were serving in units commanded by a white officer.978 Thus, with the status of „wa rrior” and „protector” being reserved for white men, white women could be discursively
construed as the „protected” and in turn, black women as „unprotected”.979 African
American women’s discrimination was thus a double one: Not only were they marginalized as women and as African Americans, but the concepts of „protector” and
„protected“ were itself separated by gendered and racialized lines of demarcation. Racist and sexist practices were intertwined in the regulation of black women’s sexuality.
Whereas the racist stereotype for African American men was that of the potential rapist,
African American women would be portrayed as promiscuous and immoral.980
In contrast to traditional concepts of „women’s work”, which the WAC did much to
broaden and extend, neither the Army nor the WAC were interested in challenging existing racial stereotypes or discriminatory practices. The structural racism that African
Americans encountered in the military, created an atmosphere in which individual acts
977
Janowitz, The Professional Soldier, 21, 154.
Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops, 107-10; Moore, To Serve My Country, to Serve My
Race, 31.
979
980
See for example the letter of one Texan to his Congressman, in which he relates the experience of a white Wac: „[S]he was one of the group retained, to help train the new arrivals. Those
arrivals were colored folks, or as we refer to them ‘niggers’. This fine girl along with others are
now forced to share the same living quarters, bath room facilities, rest rooms, and reception
rooms with niggers. A bunch of negro men sit in the reception room, probably waiting to date
their nigger gals, or visit with them in the reception room – what’s the use? You picture the
rest.” Congressman George Mahon, TX to Col. Howard Clark, II, 22 April 1943, quotes from a
letter from „a newspaper man in my District.” NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 50. By the same
logic, „negro prostitution“ was allowed to continue in several communities of the South in spite
of the general repression of commercial prostitution. Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 103.
978
266
of racism could be facilitated or condoned. Institutional racism and remnants of the Jim
Crow system would sometimes converge at military posts in the South.
As did Chinese Americans, Native Americans, women of German or Italian descent and
all other minority women with the exception of the roughly 100 Puerto Rican women,
Japanese Americans Wacs served in racially integrated units.981 Although there was
considerable anti-Japanese sentiment among the civilian population, especially along
the West Coast, few if any instances of Nisei Wacs being systematically discriminated
against are known.982
Women, particularly those of ethnic minorities, took the opportunity to push back gendered and racial barriers and take decisive steps toward first-class citizenship. Many African Americans saw their service as part of a larger struggle against institutional and
structural racism. In many cases, their protest against segregation, differential treatment
and inequality foreshadowed issues and practices of the civil rights movement of the
fifties and sixties. A 1942 survey conducted by the Office of War Information supported
the War Department’s idea that African Americans felt a considerable affinity with
Japanese Americans.983 War Department officials stated:
„Japan [sic] is a colored race assertedly trying to oust the white man from exploiting other colored races of the Far East. The sympathy of the Negro for this
point of view should not be underestimated. He knows what it is like to be
kicked around because of color. Better to show that Japan is no democracy.”984
981
In October 1944 two groups of enlisted women from Puerto Rico received basic training at
Fort Oglethorpe. Because of „language difficulties”, they were trained and assigned as a unit.
All other women of Hispanic descent served in integrated units.
982
Moore lists some cases, but argues that these were isolated instances. Moore, Serving Our
Country, 132.
983
Survey of Intelligence Materials Supplement to Survey No. 25, Bureau of Intelligence, Office of War Information, 5. NARA. RG 107, Box 226, c.i. Neverdon-Morton, Securing the
„Double V”, 330. The Question whether the respondents would think they would be any worse
off under Japanese rule (to which only 25 of the black respondents answered positively) appears
to reveal little about the affinity with Japanese Americans.
984
C.i. Neverdon-Morton, „Securing the „Double V“, 331.
267
Japanese Americans, on the other hand, tried to distance themselves from African
Americans, or as Brenda Moore uses Frank Wu’s concept, „these women positioned
themselves as ‘honorary whites’ rather than ‘constructive blacks’.”985
985
Wu, Frank. „Neither Black nor White: Asian Americans and Affirmative Action.”Boston
College Third World Law Journal 15 (1995): 225-84. 225-6. See also Moore, Serving Our
Country, 20.
268
6. Sexuality
6.1 Normalizing Practices
The war had a profound impact on the lives of American women, regardless of whether
they donned the uniform of one of the women’s services, stayed at home or went to
work in defense plants in one of the industrial centers. Marriage and birth rates dropped
significantly. Mobilization and the wartime labor market also had an impact on popular
discourses on women’s sexuality. With roughly twenty million women who were not in
their proverbial place, traditional notions of femininity and respectability were challenged. Still, single women were supposed to be sexually abstinent, but at the same time
increased mobility and movement towards the cities provided greater autonomy for
women and relaxed the social constraints of the pre-war years.
This chapter focuses on women’s sexuality, conceptualized as a combination of various
discourses, diverse practices and material factors. Knowledge, for example about
women’s sexual morality, constitutes a way of organizing and structuring relations of
power. This does not mean that there is an unidirectional flow of power from the WAC
Director, the War Department or from an Army psychiatrist to an enlisted woman as the
target of power. Rather, all of them take part in the emergence, allocation and diffusion
of power by participating in discourses and practices.986 Sexuality as a dispositive i ncludes material components such as buildings and monuments, societal components
such as institutions, administrations and bureaucracies, and philosophical propositions,
scientific statements, laws and discourses as part of a practice that is founded in language. What is said and what is known about sexuality is not only part of a truth, which
is acceptable in a dominant discourse, but it supports new claims to political power and
cultural authority by dominant groups. Through the open or veiled focus on both the
body and gender, medical, socio-scientific and psychological modes of analysis and intervention preserve or radically alter a social order.
986
„[T]he objective is to analyze a certain form of knowledge regarding sex, not in terms of repression or law, but in terms of power.” Foucault, History of Sexuality, 92.
269
6. Sexuality
The chapter will not give a full enumeration of all elements of the dispositive of sexuality, but it will tie the different elements loosely and highlight the network-like structure
of the discursive and non-discursive elements that make up the strategic apparatus. The
approach pursued in this thesis stresses the fact that many of the developments that occurred at the end of the Victorian Age did not surface before the impact of WWII. An
intellectual history of sexuality could, for instance, underline the importance of WWI
for changes in the perception of sexuality in general and women’s sexuality in particular. A history of ideas might focus on the post-WWI-period as a period of heightened
awareness of sexuality, expressed in phenomena such as ‘moral panic’ over syphilis, the
publication of marriage manuals, the condition of male neurasthenia or the invention of
homosexuality in contrast to inversion in the medical literature. Many of these elements
of professional discourses that can be found in the medical literature of the early 20th
century, however, become tangible only much later in popular discourses and practices.
The publication of Clelia Mosher’s 1892 survey of sexual attitudes of middle-class
women is a case in point. Mosher’s „Study of the Physiology and Hygiene of Marriage”, in which she probed the sex lives of 45 Victorian women by asking them about
their practices and desires regarding sexual intercourse illuminated for the first time that
the Victorian view on women’s sexuality might have had little to do with the prevalent
practice among middle-class women.987 This report fundamentally challenged the pe rception of the late Victorian Age as an epoch of a totalizing puritan sexual code. Although conducted in the late 1800s, the report was not published until 1980. The reason
behind this time lag can be explained with the acceptability of the „truth” that women as
a rule did enjoy „healthy”, active and (hetero)sexual relationships, a truth that became
only acceptable during the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies of the 20th
century. Thus, if we look for power formations that construct and take the form of
knowledge, the fact that Clelia Mosher’s survey was not published until 1980 might be
as significant as the report itself.
987
Degler, Carl. „What Ought to Be and What Was: Women’s Sexuality in the Nineteenth
Century.”American Historical Review 79.5 (1974): 1467-90. MaHood, James, and Kristine
Wenburg, eds. The Mosher Survey: Sexual Attitudes of 45 Victorian Women. New York: Arno
Press, 1980.
270
When studying women’s relationships or any other aspect of the history of sexuality, we
must be cautious when using contemporary concepts of sexual orientations and identities for homoerotic or homosocial practices of the 1940s.988 A quick note and a caveat
on the use of the word „lesbian” in this context are in order. Although some of the
WWII Wacs have identified as ‘dykes’ or ‘girlfriends’ of other women, few would have
used the word lesbian or identified with a lesbian culture as we understand it today.
Leila Rupp has argued that women’s relationships in the twentieth century included
both „women who identify as lesbians and/or are part of a lesbian culture, where one
exists, and a broader category of women-committed women who would not identify as
lesbians but whose primary commitment in emotional and practical terms was to other
women.”989 Many of the close and/or homoerotic friendships between women within
the WAC fit into this broader category . But were they lesbians? Since Carroll SmithRosenberg’s article „The Female World of Love and Ritual” on the many facets of
women’s relationships in the Victorian era, published in 1975, hers and others’ work on
the nineteenth century notion of romantic friendship have frequently been misunderstood to desexualize women’s relationships in the nineteenth and twentieth century.990
Other feminists have reacted to this „historical denial of lesbianism”991 by bestowing
the label ‘lesbian’ on historical women who did not identify as such. Blanche Cook has
argued that „women who love women, who choose women to nurture and support and
to create a living environment in which to work creatively and independently, are lesbians.”992 While we can identify the practice of „crossing” in the 1940s, a working-class
phenomenon connected with a lesbian bar culture, the older middle- and upper-class
988
For an overview see Jonathan Katz’s introductions, both in Katz, Jonathan. Gay/Lesbian Almanac: A New Documentary in Which Is Contained, in Chronological Order, Evidence of the
True and Fantastical History of Those Persons Now Called Lesbians and Gay Men. New York:
Harper & Row, 1983, 1-19 and 137-173.
989
Rupp, Imagine my Surprise, 395-410, 408.
990
Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. „The Female World of Love and Ritual.”Signs 1 (1975): 1-29:
Rich, Compulsory Heterosexuality. Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men.
991
Cook, Historical Denial.
992
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. „Female Support Networks and Political Activism: Lillian Wald,
Chrystal Eastman, Emma Goldman.”Chrysalis 3 (1977): 43-61. 48.
271
6. Sexuality
notions of ”romantic friendship” and „Boston marriage” did not cease to exist.993 The
complexity of women’s relationships requires a conceptual approach that pays attention
to the specific context of 1940s America, an approach that differentiates between identity and sexual behavior and other practices and keeps in mind the formations of
power|knowledge in civilian society that also determined what could be said. In Leila
Rupp’s words, „the best we can do as historians is to describe carefully and sensitively
what we do know about a woman’s relationships.”994
The following note on the sources may at the same time serve to illustrate some of the
aspects mentioned above. One episode on „lesbian” soldiers during the war has been
told by WAC veteran Nell „Johnnie” Phelps. The following narrative is a story about
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the „soldier’s soldier”, a story about camaraderie, but
above all of courage. Shortly after the war, the story goes, Phelps, a „military police
sergeant”, was stationed in Germany where she worked „under the direct command” of
the General. When Eisenhower received a report that „there were lesbians in the WAC
battalion”, he ordered Phelps to „find them and give me a list. We’ve got to get rid of
them.” Phelps claims she said she would happily compile the list, but „you’ve got to
know, when you get the list back, my name’s going to be first.”995 After he had contemplated the possibility of losing his file clerks, typists, section commanders and his „most
key personnel” and after Eisenhower’s secretary had come out as lesbian as well, he al-
993
The term „crossing” originally referred to „cross-dressing”, dressing as the opposite biological sex – an activity that in itself involved different degrees of exploration of alternative gender
identities. Gradually, the term has acquired a broader meaning and has come to denote the
crossing of all kinds of boundaries and barriers related to gender and sexuality. „Boston Marriage” refers to the late nineteenth century practice of two unmarried, often college-educated
women to share a household. Boston Marriages were a socially acceptable alternative to traditional marriage. They may or may not have included a sexual relationship and were often longterm unions. See also Smith-Rosenberg, The Female World of Love and Ritual. Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men. On the Boston Marriage, see McCullough, Kate. Regions of Identity:
The Construction of America in Women's Fiction, 1885-1914. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1999, 15-92.
994
Rupp, Imagine My Surprise, 409.
995
Humphrey, Mary Ann. My Country, My Right to Serve: Experiences of Gay Men and
Women in the Military, World War II to the Present. New York: HarperCollins, 1990, 39.
272
legedly said, „forget the order.”996 Phelps went on: „There were almost nine hundred
women in the battalion. I could honestly say that 95 percent of them were lesbians.”997
After Phelps had given the interview to Mary Ann Humphrey who published it in her
book My Country, My Right to Serve published in 1990 it has been published in other
books and in Minerva Quarterly Report on Women and the Military.998 Phelps also a ppeared in the documentary film Before Stonewall.999 When the interview was carried by
Minerva Quarterly Report on Women and the Military,1000 editor Linda Grant DePauw,
who at the time was also the editor of the H-Minerva discussion list, received a letter by
an Ex-WAC:
„I can't believe she said it! My ex-Wac friends can't believe she said it! Who is
this person? If we had not served in the WAC we might just believe what this
person said. […] I served in the WAAC/WAC from February 1943 to November
1945 and never did I meet a lesbian, not in basic training, not in my first station,
nor overseas.”1001
Writers of the gay and lesbian communities, she suspected, „only quote just the part that
they then slant to their sexual persuasion. This is a minority trying to be a majority.”1002
„I, and others who served in the WAC in WW II, do not like being tarred with the lesbian brush . [...] What is repeated often enough, then becomes the truth. Phelps has tarnished our reputations.“1003
996
All of Phelps’ quotes from interview with Phelps in: Humphrey, My Country, 39-40.
Ibid, 40.
998
Bérubé, Coming Out under Fire, 180, mentions Phelps, but does not quote the questionable
elements of her story. Shilts, Randy. Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S.
Military, Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993, 106-107.
999
In 1993, the first annual „Sgt. Johnnie Phelps Awards Banquet” was held in Portland, Oregon by the Veterans for Human Rights. Rachelle R. Sparks, posting to H-Minerva Discussion
List on Women in the Military and Women and War, (hereafter: H-Minerva). Posted: 22 Jan
1998, 01:22:49, su: Johnnie Phelps. All postings can be viewed in the Minerva discussion logs:
http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=hminerva&month=9801&week=d&msg=E5Ry9e1wKEL4Y8UfkPwttQ&user=&pw=
1000
Ben Shalom, Miriam, and Johnnie Phelps. „Lesbian Soldiers Tell Their Stories.”Minerva:
Quarterly Report on Women and the Military 8.3 (1990): 38-53.
1001
Letter Margaret Salm, posting on H-Minerva by Linda Grant DePauw, Subject:
COMMENT: Johnnie Phelps and Lesbians in World War II , date posted 12 Jun 1996.
1002
Ibid.
1003
Ibid.
997
273
6. Sexuality
The very next day a heated debate arose on the list. One group of former Wacs was „appalled and disgusted“. They felt that because of „a few ‚bad apples’“ they had to defend
themselves against „accusations [...] that all the women in the WACs in WW-II were
gay“.1004 Another Ex-Wac wrote:
„I spent almost 7 years in the WAAC/WAC and to my knowledge never ran into
any. […] In fact, most of us would have been scandalized if we'd known any. I
always thought we were a pretty pure lot. We were wives, mothers, sisters,
daughters -- all in it for the same cause-- to serve our Country.“ 1005
For others, lesbian servicewomen had a proud record without ever receiving any official
recognition by the military. For fellow veterans to dismiss them as „a few bad apples”
perpetuated this situation. „If tarred with a lesbian brush sets someone in the valued
ranks of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, Martina Navratilova, Gertrude Stein, well,
tar and feather me. [...] Lesbians have served shining brightly and awarded medals of
honor.“1006 Nobody debated that any estimate of the percentage of lesbians among
women soldiers could only be based on pure speculation. Surely the number Phelps had
given was too high, but what if their numbers had indeed been grossly underestimated?
Because Waacs and Wacs would not be admitted to the Corps if they had dependent
children and were discharged if they became pregnant, should not their number be expected to be higher than in the general population?1007
Phelps’ stories appropriated the sort of military folklore on the horrors of war and heroism that military women had been denied for so long:
1004
Letter Ada B. Jones, posted to H-Minerva by Linda Grant De Pauw, Subject: COMMENT:
Lesbians in the Military, Thu, 13 June 1996. Letter Rose McGowan, 7 February 1995, posted to
H-Minerva by Linda Grant De Pauw, Subject: COMMENT: Lesbians in the Military, 13 Jun
1996.
1005
Letter Rose McGowan, 7 February 1995, posted to H-Minerva by Linda Grant De Pauw,
Subject: COMMENT: Lesbians in the Military, 13 Jun 1996.
1006
Barbara Eichberger, posting to H-Minerva, su: Re: COMMENT: Johnnie Phelps and Lesbians in World War II, date posted 13 Jun 1996.
1007
Lois Shawver estimates the percentage of lesbians among servicewomen to be 12 to 18 percent. Shawver, Lois. And the Flag Was Still There: Straight People, Gay People, and Sexuality
in the U.S. Military. New York: Haworth Press, 1995. Miriam Ben Shalom estimated „that
about 10% of WAC Units may have been homosexually oriented,” but pointed out that there is
the problem of terminology. Miriam Ben Shalom, posting to H-Minerva, Subject: COMMENT:
Lesbians in the Military, 4 Apr 1997.
274
„The war was pretty much in full swing and I got transferred overseas. And it
was on the way to go overseas that I had my first, what I call my ‚real, down
deep, hope-to-die-and-go-to-hell love affair’. [...] But then she didn’t come home
– she was one of those unnamed, ‚nonpresent’ women who were in combat positions but weren’t supposed to be there. [...] The landing craft had to put us off
in the water sooner than they expected [...]. [S]he got a direct hit, and I saw it
happen. I saw the person I had recently made love to get blown up right in front
of me. [...] She was just never reported as killed in action. I saw it happen. I saw
her take the hit...a horrible sight, still etched on my mind today. War is such a
futile waste of humankind.“1008
When Phelps died in 1997, she was widely considered a heroic figure, a courageous
woman who stood up against inequity in the profession she loved. Her obituary read:
„Johnnie Phelps, widely remembered for her conversation with General
Eisenhower in the film documentary „Before Stonewall“, passed away December 30th. […] Joining the first WAAC battalion during WWII, she first served in
the South Pacific and later under the occupation forces in Germany under
Eisenhower. Wounded in action, she received the Purple Heart, awarded to soldiers injured due to enemy action.“1009
In 1999, Phelps’ narrative was featured once again in the film „Free A Man to Fight:
Women Soldiers of World War II“ by Mindy Pomper. The same year, Pat Jernigan,
Margaret Salm, and Lois Beck researched Phelp’s and others’ stories by submitting a
Freedom of Information Act Request to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
in St Louis, MO.1010 Little of Phelps’ story withstood the inquiry. Phelps claimed to
have joined in 1943, but trained with the first class of officer candidates and graduated a
Second Lieutenant. Then she allegedly left the WAAC when it was disbanded and
reenlisted in the WAC as an enlisted woman because she did not want to be an officer.
After the death of her lover - „war shows no sympathy, you are forced to go on” - she
claimed to have volunteered to go to the South Pacific as a medic and received a Purple
1008
Humphrey, My Country, 38.
Rachelle R. Sparks, posting to H-Minerva, su: Johnnie Phelps, 22 Jan 1998.
1010
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St Louis, MO is now under NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) authority. under the Freedom of Information Act
the public has access to certain military service information without the veteran's authorization.
This includes name, service number, rank, dates of service, awards and decorations and places
of entrance and separation. If the veteran is deceased, information on their place of birth and
burial and the date and geographical location of their death are no longer protected by the Privacy Act. Pat Jernigan, posting H-Minerva, Subject: COMMENT: Checking Historical Facts for
Accuracy [was „Free a Man to Fight“], Sun, 21 Nov 1999.
1009
275
6. Sexuality
Heart while working in a surgical tent under Japanese fire.1011 In reality, the only
women personnel working in surgical tents were nurses (ANC) and very few women
doctors. Wacs never worked as medics during the war. The Eisenhower episode supposedly occurred when Phelps reenlisted „to go to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation” where she was stationed in Frankfurt, as „the European Motor Sergeant.”1012
As Jernigan’s, Beck’s and Salm’s findings indicate, Phelps had never been in the
WAAC. She did serve in the WAC as a clerk and truck driver at Ft Oglethorpe, GA and
Langley Field, VA, but her highest rank was corporal and she was never in the Pacific,
in fact she was never outside the Continental US. After the war, Phelps reenlisted and
was assigned to Camp Shelby, MS and from October 1946 to February 1947 to the
WAC Detachment in Frankfurt, Germany. General Eisenhower, however, had left
Europe in November 1945 to become the Army Chief of Staff. The conversation with
General Eisenhower never took place.1013 After her return to the US, Phelps was hosp italized for over a year and discharged in May, 1948, still as a corporal.“1014
Miriam Ben Shalom, who had introduced Phelps to writer Randy Shilts, recalled: „I had
met Johnny at a GLBVA [Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America] meeting at
DC, and felt overwhelmed at meeting such an heroic woman [...]. I cried when I met her
and felt humble that there was such a one before me. Now shall I cry again, and for only
the reason that it is hard to meet those whom I would honor and tell them how much
they meant to me to some damnably dark times.“1015 How could Phelps’ story, which so
1011
Ibid., 39.
1013
Pat Jernigan, posting to H-Minerva, su: Flawed Film - Women's History Month, Thu, Mar
2001. Another list member had requested and received copies of her service records from her
partner before Phelps died. She confirmed that Phelps had largely fabricated her record. „As a
gay vet, I am dismayed that someone would put my/our history at risk. Quite frankly, there are
many from my community who served richly and well. [...] Ms. Phelps had been a hero to me.”
Miriam Ben-Shalom, posting to H-Minerva, Subject: Homosexuality during the era of WWII,
18 Dec 2001.
1014
Pat Jernigan, posting to H-Minerva, Subject: Women's History Month, 3 Mar 2002.
1015
Miriam Ben Shalom, Subject: COMMENT: Lesbians in the Military, Tue, 25 Mar 1997.
Times had indeed been hard for Ben Shalom and other lesbian, gay and bisexual service people
in all of the services. During the 1980s there was a total ban on gay men and lesbians in the
1012
276
completely lacked any basis in fact, become so widely quoted? How could journalists,
activists and scholars repeat this source over and over until three former Wacs did some
research?1016 Even after that, „Free A Man to Fight“ was featured five times during
Women’s History Month of 2000.1017
The power|knowledge formation in which the collective production of this „truth” took
place, I argue, was framed by two major developments, both of which took place in the
decade between the mid-eighties and mid-nineties: In 1991 then-presidential candidate
Bill Clinton promised to rescind the ban on lesbian and gay soldiers if he were elected.
Lesbian and gay activists were thrilled. The Pentagon, senior military officers and the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, however, were vigorously opposed to overturn the ban. Several
comparative studies on other countries’ policies were undertaken during the first half of
the nineties.1018 The resulting ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ compromise, that „has not made
life easier for many gay servicemen and women”, has had severe consequences for
military women’s „race/gender/sexuality interfaces”, as Francine D’Amico has called
it.1019
military. Homosexuality was deemed „incompatible with military service” and this was true for
„homosexual conduct” as well as for „statements […] that demonstrated a propensity to engage
in homosexual conduct.”(Uniform Code of Military Justice, Articles 125 and 134 and DoD Directive 1332. 144 section H1, cited in D'Amico, Francine. „Race-Ing and Gendering the Military
Closet.”Rimmerman, Gay Rights, Military Wrongs. 3-46. 6-7. During the 1980s, almost 17,000
people were discharged under the lesbian/gay exclusion policy.
1016
Wilson, Barbara A. Flawed Film Making the Rounds Again. 1996. Web Page. URL:
http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/filmfacts.html. 2 February 2004.
1017
Pat Jernigan, posting to H-Minerva, su: Flawed Film - Women's History Month, 1 March
2001.
1018
United States, and General Accounting Office. Defense Force Management: DOD’s Policy
on Homosexuality. Report to Congressional Requesters. Washington, DC, Gaithersburg, ND:
General Accounting Office, 1992. United States, and General Accounting Office. Homosexuals
in the Military: Policies and Practices of Foreign Countries. Report to the Honorable John W.
Warner, U.S. Senate. Washington, DC: General Accounting Office, 1993. United States, Dept.
of Defense, and Rand Corporation. Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: Options and Assessment. Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 1993.
1019
Rimmerman, Gay Rights, Military Wrongs, 123. D’Amico, Race-Ing. See also Osburn, C.
Dixon, and Michelle M. Beneke. Conduct Unbecoming: Second Annual Report on 'Don't Ask,
Don't Tell, Don't Pursue’. Washington, DC: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, [1994].
Osburn, C. Dixon, and Michelle M. Beneke. „Conduct Unbecoming Continues: The First Year
under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue’.”in: Rimmerman, Gay Rights, 249-268.
277
6. Sexuality
The second shift that occurred during this time and that had an influence on the changing formation of power|knowledge concerned discourses on women and combat positions. After the United States had essentially been at peace since the all-volunteer force
was introduced in the mid-1970s, military operations in Grenada in 1983, in Panama in
1988/9 and the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991 put women soldiers in harm’s way and demonstrated that ‘combat’ is not easily defined. Some 41,000 military women deployed to
the Persian Gulf.
„During the operation, American military women did just about everything on
land, at sea, and in the air except engage in the actual fighting, and even there
the line was often blurred—it was obvious from the beginning that the front lines
were not what they used to be and noncombat units regularly took casualties. In
the Gulf War there were no fixed positions or clear lines in the sand—Iraqi longrange artillery and especially the surface-to-surface missiles were unisex weapons that did not distinguish between combat and support troops.“1020
It became clear that the traditional concepts of ‘front’ and ‘rear’ did no longer exist on
high-tech post-Cold War battlefields and that the military’s gender specific division of
labor had to be redefined. Military women generally embraced this change, which
seemed to pave the way to a more gender blind military. But they also lacked role models on whose experiences they could draw and from whose contributions to craft their
own military tradition. It was at the interface of these two fields that Phelps’ heroic
story of a woman|soldier killed in action, of a courageous professional soldier who was
„an American first, a soldier second [and] a woman third” was repeated until it became
a ‘truth’.1021
6.1.1 Regulation of Respectability: Double Standards for Men and Women
Gender and sexuality are not only intertwined or mediated categories (with each other
as well as with other categories such as race and class), but they refer back to each other
in that they profoundly shape the modern subject’s sense of self. Sexuality constitutes a
field of contention in itself and as part of other struggles along the lines of gender, race,
roles of men and women, class and race relations, religious ideologies and relations
1020
1021
278
between the state and individuals. Efforts to control the organization and meaning of
sexuality both delimited and opened up possibilities of sexual expression. The WAC
leadership believed firmly in different gender norms and standards of behavior for servicewomen and men, thereby invoking a late Victorian model of a sexualized division
of labor between men and women. Only insisting on differential treatment could ensure
the „high moral standard” of the WAC and protect the Corps from bad publicity as well
as the individual Wac from sexual exploitation. „The woman in uniform is on an equal
footing with men, but equal does not mean alike. Especially in regard to sex conduct,
social standards are more exacting for women, the physical hazards greater.”1022 R espectability for women soldiers depended on sexual restraint and chastity. Military masculinities, in contrast, depended on emphasizing heterosexual promiscuity. According to
the WAC administration, the corps only contained ”honorable” women, and honor in
the case of the WAC was defined as heterosexual orientation, white middle-class background, modesty and chastity.1023 A WAC pamphlet assured parents that „[your daug hters will] make the kind of associations you want them to have at home”.1024
Not coincidentally, the guarantors for the moral well being of the women were a group
of clergymen and religious leaders who were invited to Ft. Oglethorpe one summer day
in June 1943. Representatives of various Christian churches, a Rabbi from Cleveland
and several Army and Navy chaplains toured the Training Center.1025 After the group
had eaten in the mess hall and listened to a concert by the WAAC band, the PR Officer
held a „seminar on the WAAC and the place its women will hold in the American way
of life.” After a concluding parade with „thousands of WAACs”, Monsignor Ready had
nothing but praise: „You’re the answer to Hitler and Mussolini and the rest that said you
and your brothers would not defend the freedom of the United States. You answered the
challenge. We’re proud of you.” Carroll C. Roberts of the International Convention of
1022
War Department. „The WAC Officer – A Guide to Successful Leadership.”WD Pamphlet
35-2, 50-55. 1 February 1945 NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 222.
1023
1024
Pamphlet: A Word to Parents. „Life in the WAC, the Women’s Army Corps.”Box 12,
Hobby Papers, Library of Congress.
1025
Among them were representatives of the Northern Baptist Convention, the Federal Council
of the Churches of Christ in America, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA, the Presbyterian Church in the USA, the International Convention of the Disciples of Christ, the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
279
6. Sexuality
the Disciples of Christ agreed in a letter to Hobby: „It was the consensus of all that the
Army is doing a splendid job of training these young women for service, and in safeguarding their moral and spiritual lives.”1026
6.1.2 Social control: VD policies for Wacs, Civilian Women and Servicemen
The different cultural conceptions of venereal diseases (VD) were never as visible as in
wartime. VD could either be treated as infectious diseases caused by certain microorganisms or they could and have been dealt with as social, spiritual or moral problems.1027 They were objects of medical practices as well as objects of racial stereotypes.
One approach chosen above all by the American Social Hygiene Association, was to
link VD to immorality, vice and prostitution and to focus on ‘bad women’ i.e. prostitutes as the source of contagion. Vice reformers were hopeful that American boys could
be protected from VD if provided with distractions such as athletic games and if prostitutes, who were compared to mosquitoes carrying yellow fever, were eliminated.1028
However, the campaigns went further - besides prostitutes, not even the quintessential
girl-next-door could be trusted, as a 1940s poster warned that depicted a young woman
in a white blouse. In contrast to the cigarette-smoking, heavily made-up prostitute in
other posters, this one’s caption read: „She May Look Clean—But pick-ups, good-time
girls and prostitutes spread syphilis and gonorrhea. You can't beat the Axis if you get
VD.“1029 Another government poster of the time represents VD as a skeleton woman in
a dress, arm in arm with the archenemies of America, Hitler and the Japanese Em-
1026
Letter PR Officer 3rd WAAC Training Center, Ft. Oglethorpe, GA, to National Catholic
News with photos included, 2 June 1943. Letter Carroll C. Roberts to Hobby, 7 June 43. Ibid.
1027
Fee, Elizabeth. „Venereal Disease: The Wages of Sin?” in: Peiss, Simmons and Padgug,
Passion and Power. 178-98, 178. See also Brandt, Allan. No Magic Bullet: A Social History of
Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.
1028
McLaren, Twentieth Century Sexuality, 14.
1029
National Library of Medicine, History of Medicine Division,
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/VC/B/B/C/F/ On poster campaigns see also Schön, Susanne. „Das
Bild der Frau in den US-amerikanischen Massenmedien während des Zweiten Weltkriegs.”Ph.D. Thesis. Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 2004.
280
peror.1030 As in WWI, „social hygiene” programs and the attempt to control prostit ution
through compulsory medical examinations, which resulted in thousands of women being incarcerated, were the answers until in 1941 the May Act made it a federal offense
to practice prostitution in the vicinity of military bases.1031 In addition to the focus on
prostitutes in WWI, however, moral reformers during the 1940s pointed to „amateur
girls” such as the „khaki-wackies.”1032 These measures did by no means stop infections,
but the Army could not afford to stigmatize VD so much that soldiers would not have
the diseases treated. As part of their two-fold strategy, the Army issued prophylactic kits
to the soldiers and made early treatment after possible exposure compulsory. In the late
1930s a nationwide campaign to separate the most common disease, syphilis, from the
notion of sin by portraying „innocently infected” people, that is, white people who had
been infected through „morally harmless, casual contacts”.1033
Devising a policy for women in the Army was based on even more contradictory standards. WAC officers carefully avoided the mere terms ‘sex hygiene’ and venereal disease control. When the Surgeon General tried to introduce a VD control program for
Wacs in August of 1942, he met strong resistance by Director Hobby, who feared „the
serious jeopardy of the military and civilian acceptance of the whole idea of the Corps.”
Both Hobby and the Director of the Army Nurse Corps believed in the different treatment of women and men and particularly in „higher moral standards” for women.
Throughout the war, VD were a cause for rejection, although the Surgeon General argued that from a public health standpoint it would be best to treat the infected women,
rather than sending them back to their communities.1034 The civilian scientists of the
National Research Council who advised the Surgeon General on VD control advocated
that Wacs, as well as male soldiers, should be educated in matters of sexual health and
1030
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Deja Vu: AIDS in Historical Perspective - Illustrations:
Glimpses at Past Efforts to Control STDs. Web Page. URL:
http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/Aids/aidspix1.html. 5 July 2005.
1031
See also Hegarty, Marilyn Elisabeth. „Patriots, Prostitutes, Patriotutes.”Ph.D. Thesis, Ohio
State University, 1998.
1032
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 261.
1033
Fee, Venereal Disease in: Peiss, Simmons and Padgug, Passion and Power, 182.
1034
281
6. Sexuality
that contraceptives should be issued or dispensed from slot machines in WAAC latrines.1035
This approach was out of the question for Director Hobby, who was convinced that because of the ”high type of woman expected in the Corps” no such measures would be
needed and that Army regulations concerning these matters intended for male personnel
were not applicable to female personnel.1036 Instead, the Surgeon General’s Office pr epared a pamphlet instructing women in health an hygiene which, after a rewriting by
Hobby’s office was framed in entirely moralistic terms: ”Every member must insist that
the conduct of the Corps be irreproachable […] It is difficult for one person to realize
the damage she can do to the Corps by her conduct alone.”1037 The pamphlet contained
very little medical information and none on prophylaxis except that, „for women, all
means were neither effective or [sic] practicable.”1038 Neither mechanical nor chemical
means of contraception were discussed, nor was there any mentioning of where to get or
how to use these prophylactics. The fact that condoms not only provided some protection against infections but also against unwanted pregnancies, made matters worse in
the eyes of the WAC Director because she feared that issuing cheap and effective contraceptives could be seen as encouraging promiscuity. Some medical officers followed
the surgeon general’s recommendation and lectured WAC personnel, regardless or ignorant of WAC policy to the contrary. With some indignation, Auxiliary Martha Chandler
wrote: ”Just before we came up here we had a lecture on sex and were to carry our own
protection in our utility bag, as the boys might not have any. Isn’t that something! What
do they think we are, anyway. And on our bull[etin] board in the bks. [barracks] are the
places where such things may be purchased here. My God if the civilians knew that they
would think that was all the WAACs were for. Joe would die if he knew that. My face
gets red everytime I think of that.”1039 To prevent such misunderstandings in the future,
1035
Ibid., 616.
War Department Circular 172, 2 May 44, sec. IV cited in Treadwell, The Women’s Army
Corps, 618.
1037
Cited in Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 617.
1038
Ibid.
1039
Letter Aux. Martha Chandler, Camp Polk, LA to Mary, Dow Field, Bangor, ME. May 1943.
1036
282
the commanding officer decided to „amend the wording in future bulletins, injecting the
thought that such stations are solely for the use of men only. […] It was decided that the
next sex talk should be delivered by someone, preferably a woman, accustomed to addressing women on the subject.”1040
6.1.3 Respectability and the Legitimacy of the Corps: The Code of Conduct and
WAC Regulations
While the Army’s policy of de-stigmatizing VD concentrated on placing the blame on
the women the soldiers were involved with, the WAC policy was to keep the stigma in
place. The regulation of servicewomen’s sexuality had to emphasize respectability – defined as asexuality, chastity and modesty. Women’s sexuality was policed by the
WAAC's separate Code of Conduct and, after the conversion to the WAC, by special
additions to Army regulations. These regulations allowed for an immediate trial by
court-martial and discharge of women who had transgressed the limits of respectability
in displaying a ”conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the WAAC,“ meaning public drunkenness, extramarital sex or homosexual acts. Together with the higher enlistment requirements, their purpose was to prevent deviant behavior from reflecting negatively on the Corps. In contrast to the Army, there was no room for rehabilitation by
means of punishment or disciplinary measures. In 1943, when the WAC Bill had passed
and the WAC came under Army regulations, the separate Code of Conduct had to be
abolished. In contrast to Hobby’s insisting on the exceptionality of the WAC, most
Army officers favored dealing with one set of regulations only. In July 1943, two weeks
after the bill was signed into law, Colonel Hyers of the Judge Advocate Branch spelled
out the position of many senior Army officers: Now that Congress had made the WAC a
part of the Army, all laws and regulations that had been applicable to enlisted men were
applicable to enlisted women of the WAC as well.
„The women who make up the WAC are, therefore, to be treated as enlisted and
commissioned personnel of the Army rather than as inmates of some wellchaperoned young ladies seminary. As long as the conduct themselves decently
1040
Letter Major W.B. Collett, Base Intelligence Officer Bangor, ME, to Director, Intelligence
Division, 1st Service Command. 29 May 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 93.
283
6. Sexuality
and without bringing discredit or disgrace upon the uniform or the military
service, their private life is and ought to be recognized as a matter for their own
direction and ordering.“1041
„Ordinary social intercourse“ did not cause any „serious damage either to morale, customs of the service or discipline, and was „not condemned by any military law or directive.“1042 To the contrary, it was considered recreation the ‚Army way’ and the WAC
should not insist on special treatment. „The imbibing of intoxicants, if done in moderate
quantities and temporarily indulged in, is rather anticipated and provision made for the
toleration of the same.”1043
6.1.4 Regulating the Unrespectable: Pregnancy, Abortion, Maternity and Marriage
The ideal of sexual abstinence was also what informed the WAC’s policy on pregnancy,
abortion and maternity. Despite the effort of birth control activist Margaret Sanger and
the American Birth Control League, who had fought for the use of contraceptives for
years, birth control was still loaded with moralistic implications and by many deemed
acceptable only for married couples with regard to medical or eugenic goals.1044 The
American Birth Control League (ABCL), formed in 1921 and headed by Margaret
Sanger until 1928 undertook numerous campaigns to make douches, condoms and pessaries widely available. The ABCL allied with physicians in promoting bills at the state
and federal levels that gave doctors the exclusive right to prescribe contraceptive devices. The organization also opened the nation’s first legal birth control clinic in 1923.
In 1926 membership was around 37,000. In 1939 the ABCL merged with another organization into what became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942. The
ABCL fought against the infamous Comstock Act of 1873, officially an „Act of the
Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral
1041
Headquarters Eighth Service Command, Services of Supply. Col. Julien C. Hyer, Chief,
Judge Advocate Branch, Office Memorandum to Acting Chief, su: Board Proceedings – Aux.
Agnes R. Skipper, A-402646, WAAC Branch. 13 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 48.
1042
Ibid.
1043
Ibid.
1044
McLaren, Twentieth-Century Sexuality, 65-66 and 81-83.
284
Use“, which criminalized publication, distribution, and possession of information about
or devices or medications for „unlawful“ abortion or contraception. Remnants of the act
endured as the law of the land into the later part of the twentieth century.1045 The first
substantial amendment of the Comstock Law came only in 1936 with the U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals decision, United States v. One Package. The decision made it possible
for doctors to distribute contraceptives across state lines.1046 Thus, the discussion of the
issue of contraceptives to women soldiers within the Army was a fairly recent one and
would have widely been understood as condoning extramarital sexual relations.
While women with dependent children and pregnant women were excluded from the
WAAC, the Corps consisted of both married and unmarried women. Contraceptives
could thus neither be banned completely nor issued generally. While the pregnancy rate
in the Corps was in reality quite low, a high rate was considered detrimental to the public image as pointed out earlier. Some Army medical officers disregarded directives and
decided to include information on contraceptives such as condoms and diaphragms into
their lectures.1047 The WAACs official focus was again to protect the reputation of the
Corps by getting rid of illegitimately pregnant women as quickly and as quietly as possible. The Code of Conduct called for the immediate discharge of pregnant auxiliaries.
Initially, the Code had differentiated between married and unmarried women’s pregnancies and provided honorable discharges for the former and summary discharges for the
latter.1048 This differentiation was problematic because the women had not violated any
military or civilian law that would have warranted a discharge „other than honorable”.
1045
Brodie, Janet Farrell. Contraception and Abortion in Nineteenth-Century America. Ithaca,
NY: Cornell University Press, 1994, 255-56. For a treatment of Anthony Comstock and his success at implementing the Comstock Law in the 1870s, see Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. „Victoria Woodhull, Anthony Comstock, and Conflict over Sex in the United States in the
1870s.”Journal of American History, 87 (2000): 403-434. Pertaining to the black market birth
control trade that flourished even in the period of the Comstock Law see Tone, Andrea. „Black
Market Birth Control: Contraceptive Entrepreneurship and Criminality in the Gilded
Age.”Journal of American History 87(2000): 435-459.
1046
United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries, 13 F. Supp. 334 (E.D.N.Y. 1936), aff'd
86 F. 2d 737 (2d Cir. 1936).
1047
Memo Lt. Col. Thomas B. Turner, Medical Corps to DWAC, August 13, 1943. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 145. See also RG 165, Entry 54, Box 93.
1048
WAAC Regulations. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192. Discharge WAAC Circular
285
6. Sexuality
This policy was revised even before the conversion and an honorable discharge was
provided for all women, regardless of marital status.1049 Undesirable discharges were
still being issued to unmarried women if the Code of Conduct had been violated.
6.1.5 Patrolling Respectable Femininity: Anti-Fraternization Policies
The social interaction of male soldiers with officers was regulated by the Army’s informal and unwritten anti-fraternization policies that were aimed at socially separating enlisted from officer personnel. This long-standing policy was aimed at prohibiting potential favoritism of officers who held power over other men by separating the realm of
command from that of social interaction.
Interestingly, women figured in the Army’s formerly all male social caste system. According to initial policies, Auxiliaries and WAAC officers were to be treated like male
personnel. A memorandum of April 22, 1943 titled „Relationship Between Waacs and
Military Personnel,” which was read to all enlisted personnel, stated: „There will be no
social mixing of rank between the Army and the WAAC. […] Under no condition will
Army officers or enlisted men frequent the WAAC area unless specifically ordered to
do so on official business.“ Army personnel were to meet „their WAAC dates” at some
place „other than the WAAC area”.1050
Director Hobby, although she had originally advocated the acceptance of this Army tradition during the days of the WAAC, later came to support a far more liberal policy and
argued that Army fraternization policies should not be extended to women. In the context of evaluating „problems and deterrents in connection with WAC recruiting” of
which she believed the non-fraternization policy to be a major factor, she stated:
1049
WAAC Circular No. 10, 09 April 1943. Discharge - Changes in WAAC Regulations
(WAAC Circ. No. 3 is rescinded) Minority (under 21), Dependency, Pregnancy. NARA. RG
165, Entry 55, Box 209 and RG 407, Box 4282.
1050
Memo, 22 April 1943 „Relationship Between Waacs and Military Personnel.”NARA. RG
407, Box 4282.
286
”The young people of this country are in uniform. It does not seem possible to
change a social system because we are at war. The old system that is an accepted
custom in the Service seems to the American public a caste system when it operates against normal social relationship between men and women.”1051
Wacs, who felt that they were only serving „for the duration” complained quite vocally:
„Many of us have husbands, brothers, fathers and friends who are officers serving in the
armed forces and we feel that we have the right to chose our friends as we did in civilian
life.”1052 But the exemption of women from these policies was not just a question of
hampering recruiting by limiting the Wacs’ potential friendships or dates. It was also an
issue of class, race and place. WAC officers argued that in terms of class background,
the Wacs’ counterparts with whom they were most likely to associate were officers, not
enlisted men.1053 Frequently, male soldiers feared the potential competition with officers
for dates with Wacs if the fraternization policies were relaxed. A corporal wrote to a
Waac at Ft. Oglethorpe: „There is no absolute means of forcing them [Waacs] to become playthings for the officers, but the power is there to make things unpleasant if
they don’t…”1054
At some stations, Wacs were quite busy entertaining themselves the way WAC Headquarters prescribed: „Two night clubs for enlisted personnel are located nearby. The
Wacs have received standing invitations to visit these clubs and receive countless invitations to attend parties and dances given by neighboring soldier companies[...] An attractive bar is operated by and for the enlisted women and is located within the immediate area. One night weekly the bar is open to the male guests of the women.“1055 The
availability of „good, clean fun,” of opportunities to interact socially with men, was
deemed very important. In the absence of heterosexual encounters a woman always ran
1051
Oveta Culp Hobby, Memorandum for Director, WD Bureau of Public Relations, su: Problems and Deterrents in Connection with WAC Recruiting, 18 February 1944, 12. NARA. RG
165, Entry 54, Box 64.
1052
Cited in Meyer, Creating GI Jane, 133.
1053
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 376, 512-513.
1054
Letter from a corporal (3rd A.S. Comm. Sqdn. APO 760, US Army) to a Waac, 11 Aug
1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
1055
Harriet S. Martin, 1st Lieutenant WAC, Commanding. Unit history of 1st WAC Detachment
Headquarters Delta Base APO 772, 1 May 1945 through 31 December 1945, 13 January 1946.
NARA. RG 94, Box 23999.
287
6. Sexuality
the risk of developing „abnormal emotional tendencies, because all her interests centered on girls.”1056
Within the WAC, enforcement of the fraternization policy was rare and appears to be
limited to those cases where charges of homosexuality were involved: A lieutenant at
the Second WAC Training Center remarked that in the Daytona Beach motor pool, despite the regulations, it was „a customary action for officers to invite non-coms over to
their homes.”1057
Overseas policies and practices varied considerably. Under field conditions, favoritism
did occur, as the following letter intercepted by the censor illustrates:
„I am having drinks at a General’s beautiful home and met a man who is leaving
for Washington and is kind enough to post this. […] Algiers is fun (as if by now
you didn’t know I am here). We have a few disadvantages here names a ‘bitch’
of a C.O., pardon my language but this is my chance to get away with murder[,]
so I am doing it. Well my dear, from time to time I’ll sneak these letters thru,
I’ve made many friends – most of them influential.”1058
In other instances the issue of fraternization was curiously absent. In June 1943, a group
composed of four Waacs, seven Army Air Corps officers and two staff sergeants had
had a small party in a hotel suite in El Paso, TX. According to some of the witnesses,
Auxiliary Agnes B. Skipper and Lt. Theodore F. Smith, Jr. were found in one room, he
being shirtless and without shoes. Other witnesses claim Aux Skipper had been sleeping
alone in her room and had admitted that she had had too many drinks. The WAAC administration’s policy and the conclusion by a board of officers was that if Auxiliary
Skipper was unable to „avoid the appearance of evil”, she was unfit to associate with
1056
Testimony of Captain Alice E, Rost, ANC, taken at Fort Oglethorpe, GA on 26 June 1944,
by Lieutenant Colonel Birge Holt, IGD, 107. Birge Holt, Lieut. Colonel, IGD and Capt. Ruby E.
Herman, IGD to acting inspector general. su: Investigation of conditions in the 3rd WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, GA. 29 July 1944 (hereafter cited as Report, Investigations at Fort
Oglethorpe). NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
1057
NARA. RG 407, Box 4280.
1058
Letter from „Daisy Lou, Algiers” [WAC] to Mrs. P.L.Crooks [her mother]. Censorship evasion report, 11 December 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192.
288
enlisted women and should be discharged. Despite the recommendation of the board of
officers, Colonel Julien C. Hyer of the Judge Advocate Branch wrote to Colonel Hobby:
„While it might be readily surmised that this young woman and young man a fter a certain amount of congenial imbibing might have withdrawn to a bedroom
of this suite to indulge in more intimate relationships and while it might be conjectured that two people of opposite sexes alone in a bedroom with the articles
that were discovered to be present were there for other purposes than to repeat
their ‘pater nosters’, […] no conclusive evidence was produced, to show that the
presumed act took place.”1059
Neither Auxiliary Skipper nor Lt. Smith should be tried by court-martial but rather be
administratively admonished and transferred to another post. „It is to be assumed,” the
Colonel concludes, „that, in a citizen Army of ten million persons, men and women, occasions will arise when, in ordinary social intercourse, officers and enlisted personnel,
male and female, will find themselves in the same gatherings in private homes without
serious damage either to morale, customs of the service or discipline.”1060
While the Colonel’s protest at first glance suggests a permissive attitude, he also displays the same proprietary attitude as the soldiers who claimed „their” enlisted women
for themselves and objected to their dating men of other groups. Occasionally, white
enlisted men complained of white Wacs who dated African-American soldiers.1061
Army and WAC procedures differed considerably in the punishment (or lack thereof) of
such minor infractions as the gathering in El Paso. While male personnel might or might
not receive a reprimand when a woman was involved, the same behavior (or merely the
appearance) by a Wac could, and often would, result in a discharge other than honorable
and in social stigmatization.1062 The WAC leadership had no influence on the behavior
of Army personnel, but in a military culture that tolerated and sometimes encouraged
1059
Memo Headquarters Eighth Service Command, Services of Supply. Col. Julien C. Hyer,
Chief, Judge Advocate Branch to acting chief, WAAC Branch, su: Board proceedings – Aux.
Agnes R. Skipper, 13 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 48.
1060
Ibid.
1061
Rumor reports by censors. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 192 and RG 165, Entry 54, Box
16.
1062
Headquarters Eighth Service Command, Services of Supply. Office Memorandum, su:
Board Proceedings – Aux. Agnes R. Skipper, A-402646 from Col. Julien C. Hyer, Chief, Judge
Advocate Branch to acting chief, WAAC Branch. 13 July 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box
48.
289
6. Sexuality
men’s heterosexual activities, contributed to the victimization of servicewomen. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). According to
SPWA Headquarters, the Wacs who arrived in New Guinea in 1944 had to be protected
from the servicemen’s unstoppable sex drive. Some of the white troops stationed in the
vicinity in great numbers allegedly „had not seen […] a white women in 18 months.”1063
The women were housed in a barbed wire compound under armed guard, which they
left only when being escorted to work, or recreational activities. Policies were extremely
restrictive, no leaves or passes were issued. Morale was very difficult to keep up and
complaints kept reaching the War Department.1064 Under the banner of protecting ind ividual women from sexual exploitation as well as protecting the Corps from bad publicity, servicewomen were subjected to sexual control. In the following chapter, I will
turn to cases where this proprietary and patronizing attitude was not applicable because
the women were engaging in practices outside the heterosexual paradigm.
6.2 Deviant Practices
6.2.1 A „Hangover from Adolescence”: Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis
and Sigmund Freud
In order to understand the conceptual shift in society’s and the armed forces’ views on
homosexuality and its consequences for the lives of military personnel during and after
World War II, it is helpful to go back to late Victorian times. It was this crucial transitional period when sexuality entered the medical realm instead of the religious one it
1063
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 421. Solinger, Rickie. Wake up Little Susie: Single
Pregnancy and Race before Roe v. Wade. New York: Routledge, 1992, 24.
1064
Unit Historical Report, WAC Detachment, Base „B“, APO 503, 2 June 1945 [southernmost
base in New Guinea] NARA. RG 94, Box 24001. The idea that the WAC was really there for
morale building purposes was further strengthened by rumors of Wacs being deployed to post
war Germany in order to curb fraternization of G.I.s with enemy women. James McDonald.
„Sending of Women to Germany Urged – Suggestion Is Made That Wacs and ATS Follow
Troops to Curb Fraternization.”The New York Times (5 December 1944) and „WACS, ATS
Plenty Angry at New Role.”(8 Dec 1944). NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 14.
290
had occupied in the Victorian „sex|gender system”.1065 The medical literature provided
new models and cultural definitions of deviance, which in turn indicated the parameters
of the acceptable. Sexology on both sides of the Atlantic underwent a major transformation between 1890 and 1910.1066 Each stage in this body of literature on sexuality
represents a response to particular changes and challenges to the Victorian sex|gender
system, such as the women’s movements or the changing gender structure of the economy. One reason for the immense popularity this scientific literature enjoyed might be
found in its reflection of a broader cultural uneasiness or resistance to social change.
The „sexual modernists”, as Paul Robinson has called them, explicitly challenged some
Victorian notions of sexuality. They considered sexual experience neither a threat to
moral character, nor a drain on vital energies. They also rejected the dominant conception of female sexuality and attempted to broaden the range of legitimate sexual behavior in general. The very concept of homosexual desire as a discrete phenomenon is
based on a reconceptualization of sexuality and its relation to gender.
In Victorian thought, as George Chauncey, Jr. argues, women’s expression of sexual
desire was in itself considered pathological by many sexologists.1067 Her sexual passi vity was not limited to intimate relationships but rather served as a paradigm for her
complete gender role. Consequently, „a complete inversion (or reversal) of a woman’s
sexual character was required for her to act as a lesbian; she had literally to become
man-like in her sexual desire.”1068 Sexual inversion referred to a wide range of crossgender behavior, in which homosexual object choice might play a role but was much
more narrowly defined. The sexual aggressiveness in the passing „female pervert”, and
with it the aberrations in her sexually defined social role, played a much more promi-
1065
Gayle Rubin introduced the term. Rubin, Gayle. „The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex.” Toward an Anthropology of Women. Ed. Rayna R. Reiter. New York:
Monthly Review Press, 1975, 157-210.
1066
Robinson, Paul. The Modernization of Sex: Havelock Ellis, Alfred Kinsey, William Masters
and Virginia Johnson. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989.
1067
Chauncey, From Sexual Inversion to Homosexuality, 89.
1068
Ibid.
291
6. Sexuality
nent role in the medical literature of the 1880s than the object of the woman’s desire.1069
Contrary to dominant nineteenth-century sexual theory, the sexual modernists contended that sexual activity did take place outside of traditional institutions such as marriage and family and did take on other forms than genital, heterosexual intercourse.
Three physicians and psychiatrists have had an enormous influence on the perception of
homosexuality in the medical and psychiatric community. When in World War II psychiatrists greatly expanded their authority in the armed forces, their reforms that dramatically altered the way military leaders dealt with homosexual personnel were based
on the theories of Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Henry Havelock Ellis and Sigmund Freud.
Richard von Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis, a transitory work between Victorianism and Modernity first published in 1886 and revised many times, had an enormous
impact on the scientific study of homosexuality. The concept of homosexuality as a
mental illness that Krafft-Ebing develops here was to remain the dominant paradigm for
the following decades.1070 While critical of the religious precept that sexual inversion
represented a sinful act of will, Krafft-Ebing and others considered inversion an acquired disease.
Late Victorian thought postulated an organic relationship between processes of evolution and civilization. The development of sexual morality and order was, according to
Krafft-Ebing, the „basis upon which social advancement is developed.”1071 Maintaining
the Victorian society, the acme of the world’s advanced civilizations, depended on a
sex|gender system that was based on monogamy and the family. Extramarital relations,
the mark of primitive societies, would thus represent degeneration to an earlier, lower
state of evolution, on the individual level as well as on the societal. This degeneration
1069
See for example Wise, P. M. „Case of Sexual Perversion.”Alienist and Neurologist 4
(1883): 87-88. Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. „Beauty, the Beast, and the Militant Woman: A Case
Study in Sex Roles and Social Stress in Jacksonian America.”American Quarterly 23(1971):
562-84. 571.
1070
Krafft-Ebings Psychopathia Sexualis was revised almost annually and was available in
translation in the United States as early as 1892.
1071
Krafft-Ebing, Richard von. Psychopathia Sexualis with Especial Reference to the Antipathic
Sexual Instinct. Brooklyn, NY: Rebman Co., 1908, 344-46.
292
theory also embodied the assumptions of the white middle class, out of which the medical profession had grown, about the class and race nature of sexual morality. NonEuropeans as well as the poor were conceived as immoral, sensual and incapable of
„achieving” a sense of sexual propriety and morality. Thus, degeneration theory served
to explain not only the poverty of the lower classes, but also the high incidence of sexual disorders and nervous diseases among them.1072 The growing concern about women
in single-sex institutions such as factories, boarding schools, convents and later the
military, as well reflected class-based fears about women’s sexuality among prisoners,
prostitutes and servants, who were presumably lower class.1073 Degeneration theory
quickly gained wide currency and came to dominate explanations of nervous and mental
disease in general.
In hundreds of case histories, Krafft-Ebing discussed varied „perversions”, such as sadism and masochism as well as „antipathic sexual instinct”, his term for congenital homosexuality in the earlier editions.1074 Even though he endorsed the repeal of Paragraph
175 in the German criminal code and called for tolerance towards homosexuals, KrafftEbing insisted on homosexuality, like „alcoholism”, „insanity”, and „idiocy”, being
manifestations of hereditary degeneration.1075 Homosexuality was closely associated
with cross-dressing: „[F]eeling, thought, will, and the whole character [...] correspond
with the peculiar sexual instinct, but not with the sex which the individual represents
anatomically and physiologically.”1076 As to the question of whether homosexuality was
inherited or acquired, Krafft-Ebing suggested that it was not homosexuality, but degeneracy, „neuroses, psychoses, degenerative signs, etc. that have been found in the fami-
1072
This was no doubt the reason why Ellis and others pointed to the acceptance of homosexuality in Ancient Greece – the epitome of civilization. See Chauncey, From Sexual Inversion to
Homosexuality, 98-100.
1073
Ellis characterized lesbianism in factories as „homosexual vice...common and recognized.”Ellis, Havelock. Sexual Inversion. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Co., 1901, 214.
1074
Krafft-Ebing, Richard von. Psychopathia Sexualis, With Especial Reference to the Antipathic Sexual Instinct. A Medico-Forensic Study. New York: Stein and Day, 1965, c.i. in Greenberg, David F. The Construction of Homosexuality. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press,
1988, 414.
1075
Mondimore, Francis Mark. A Natural History of Homosexuality. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1996.
1076
Ibid.
293
6. Sexuality
lies.”1077 „Perverse” sexuality is then developed under the influence of neurasthenia,
usually induced by masturbation. 1078
Havelock Ellis, a British physician, dismissed the theory of homosexuality resulting
from heredity as well as Krafft-Ebing’s idea that it could be induced by masturbation.
Degeneration theory had been promoted on both sides of the Atlantic in the late nineteenth century. Karl H. Ulrichs, Karoly M. Benkert, Havelock Ellis and Edward Carpenter had advanced the hypothesis of psychic hermaphrodism, possibly in an attempt
to improve the social and legal status of homosexuals, though at the same time they introduced new forms of social control. Based on the then-current Lamarckian doctrine
regarding the inheritability of acquired characteristics, homosexuality along with other
pathological deficiencies was thought to be caused by alcoholism, poverty or a poor diet
and passed on to the next generation, resulting in progressive degeneracy . However,
somatically based theories in the explanation of nervous diseases flourished and Ellis
was by no means alone in suggesting some form of hermaphrodism in inverted persons.1079 Ellis’ Studies in the Psychology of Sex , the first six volumes of which were
published between 1897 and 1910, established the basic categories and moral outlook of
nearly all subsequent theories of sexuality. In Sexual Inversion, the first volume of the
Studies, Ellis argues from animal behavior as well as from cultural relativism to combat
the notion that homosexuality was „unnatural”.1080 He insisted that most cases of sexual
inversion were congenital and involved an anomaly of gender, an incomplete differentiation that was not in itself pathological. He acknowledged that some cases of inversion
might be acquired, but thought them rare and involving a congenital disposition.1081
1077
Ibid.
Ibid.
1079
In Sexual Inversion Ellis argued that in each individual there were male and female „germs”
to be found in varying strengths and configurations that determined the person’s physical and
psychic states. The notion of psychic hermaphrodism survived that of physical hermaphrodism
in the twentieth century. However, the former resurfaced occasionally, for example when physicians think it necessary to record that they found no physical abnormalities in lesbian women.
Ellis, Sexual Inversion (1901), 310-311.
1080
Ellis, Havelock. Studies in the Psychology of Sex. New York: Random House, 1936, 4-24.
1081
Several nineteenth-century thinkers had anticipated the theory of congenital inversion, notably the German jurist Karl Heinrich Ulrichs. Bullough, Vern L. Science in the Bedroom: A
History of Sex Research. New York: BasicBooks, 1994, 33, 306-7.
1078
294
According to Ellis’ theory, developmental factors lead to a „modification of the organism [so] that it becomes more adapted than the normal or average organism to experience sexual attraction to the same sex.”1082 This was contrary to orthodox sexual theory
that maintained that homosexuality was acquired through, above all, masturbation. By
arguing for the congenital nature of homosexuality, Ellis concluded that inversion could
not be considered a vice and consequently advocated abolishing criminal statute punishing homosexuality. It also followed, that inversion was not „curable”, a term that
Ellis himself placed in quotation marks.1083 Moreover, his case histories revealed that
the majority of homosexuals had no desire to be treated for a condition they considered
a permanent state of affairs. While he thought it impossible to „cure” homosexuality, he
believed in and advocated co-education in order to prevent „schoolboy homosexuality”.1084
Through the case histories of thirty-three men he presented as well as in his language,
Ellis tried to avoid any suggestion of pathology and rather consider inversion a variety,
or a „sport”. He and John Addington Symonds proposed the analogy of colorblindness,1085 only to replace it soon after with that of „color-hearing”, the ability to a ssociate sounds with particular colors.1086 This comparison not only eliminated pejorative
overtones, it also suggested the association of inversion with a special ability or talent.
Indeed, Ellis reported that over half of his case studies revealed „exceptional ability”
and „artistic aptitudes”.1087
Ellis relates his theories to two sexual doctrines that were prominent in the early twentieth century: Latent organic bisexuality and infantile ambisexuality.1088 He believed that
1082
Ellis, Havelock. Sexual Inversion. 1915. Web Page. URL :
http://www.udayton.edu/~hume/Ellis/ellis.htm. 2 August 2004.
1083
Ellis, Sexual Inversion (1901), 327.
1084
Mondimore, A Natural History, 51.
1085
1086
Robinson, The Modernization, 7.
1087
Ellis, Sexual Inversion (1901), 30-57, 197.
1088
In 1910 Ellis completed the sixth and, he thought, final volume of the Studies in the Psychology of Sex. It was in his later work that he paid increasing attention to the works of Sigmund Freud. Ellis claimed to have been the first to introduce Freud’s ideas to the English pub-
295
6. Sexuality
tendencies of homosexuality appeared before puberty, „without previous attraction to
the opposite sex” and not as a result of an unsuccessful resolution of an Oedipus complex. He acknowledged that „the homosexual boy was often passionately fond of his
mother” but thought this was a reflection of the „community of tastes” the „inverted boy
naturally shared with his mother.”1089
Another revolutionary notion was certainly that of women’s sexuality. Ellis was convinced that sexual desires was no less strong in women than in men and although he believed to have found considerable differences in the sexual arousal of men and women,
he considered both sexes equally capable of sexual enjoyment.1090 In Analysis of the
Sexual Impulse Ellis’ notions of „tumescence” and „detumescence” closely resembled
Freud’s libido theory.1091 While his views on female sexual enjoyment certainly cha
l-
lenged Victorian doctrines of female passionlessness, this revelation proved to be a
mixed blessing for women: While male sexual excitement was located in the penis and
thus „predominantly open and aggressive”, the sexual process in women was of far
greater complexity.1092 Behind the clitoris was the „much more extensive mech anism”
which demanded satisfaction.1093 It followed from the greater diffusion of female sex uality that sexuality figured more prominently in the psychology of women than in that
of men. Women were thus considered sexual beings to a greater extent, perhaps so preoccupied with their sexuality that they could hardly function in any other capacity. „In a
lic. Ellis, Havelock. „Freud’s Influence on the Changed Attitude toward Sex.”.” The American
Journal of Sociology 45.3 (1939): 309-17, 312. In contrast to the first six Volumes of the Studies where Freud only figured as one authority among many, Ellis post-1910 writings deal with
psychoanalysis in a much more detailed and critical, if ambivalent, manner. For a more detailed
account see Robinson, The Modernization, 37-41.
1089
Ibid., 6.
1090
Ellis, Havelock. Analysis of the Sexual Impulse, Love and Pain. Philadelphia, PA: F.A.
Davis Co., 1913, 191-96.
1091
Ibid., 63, 65. For „The Mechanism of Detumescence” see: Ellis, Havelock. Studies in the
Psychology of Sex, Vol. 5, 1927. Web Page. URL:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13614/13614-8.txt. 9 August 2005. The concepts of tumescence
and detumescence refer to the entire process of sexual arousal and release.
1092
Ellis, Analysis of the Sexual Impulse, 189.
1093
Ellis believed this to be the organic foundation of courtship. Ibid. and Ellis, Studies in the
Psychology of Sex, Vol. 5.
296
certain sense,” Ellis wrote, „their brains are in their wombs.”1094 Christina Si mmons,
following Foucault, has argued that the myth of Victorian repression and the liberation
from it the sexual modernists claimed, was in fact merely a „tactical shift” or „cultural
adjustment” in the „deployment of sexuality [...] but not a fundamental break with the
past.”1095
As skeptical as Ellis was regarding the effeminacy of the male invert, as emphatic was
he about the mannishness of the typical female invert.1096 Although he stated that homosexuality was just as common among women as men, only six case histories of women
were presented in Sexual Inversion. His hypothesis that „the principal character of the
sexually inverted women is a certain degree of masculinity” proved enormously influential not only on later military psychiatrists assigned to the task of screening WAC applicants for (latent) homosexuality.1097 These markers of gender, according to Ellis,
could define homosexuality even in the absence of romantic or erotic relations or desires. Stella Browne, a feminist and student of Havelock Ellis’, described the case of a
woman she called homosexual because she had „a decided turn for carpentry, mechanics and executive manual work. Not tall; slim, boyish figure; very hard, strong muscles,
singularly impassive face, with big magnetic eyes. The dominating tendency is very
strong here.”1098 Even those female inverts who wore female attire, Ellis noted, usually
showed „some traits of masculine simplicity” in their dress. „The brusque, energetic
movements, the attitude of the arms, the direct speech, the inflexions of the voice, the
masculine straightforwardness and sense of honor [...] will all suggest the underlying
psychic abnormality to the keen observer. In the habits not only is there frequently a
pronounced taste for smoking cigarettes, often found in quite feminine women, but also
a decided taste and tolerance for cigars”.1099 Here we find the lingering Victorian notion
1094
Ellis, Analysis of the Sexual Impulse, 253, 106; Sex in Relation to Society (1910) in Studies, Vol 2, Part Three, 527, 547.
1095
Simmons, Christina. „Modern Sexuality and the Myth of Victorian Repression.”in: Peiss,
Simmons, and Padgug, Passion and Power, 157-77, 158.
1096
Ellis, Sexual Inversion (1901), 244-57. Robinson suggests that the homosexuality of Ellis’
wife may account for his ambivalence toward female homosexuality. Robinson, The Modernization, 11.
1097
Greenberg, The Construction, 381.
1098
C.i. Greenberg, The Construction, 382.
1099
Ellis, Sexual inversion (1915), 250.
297
6. Sexuality
of polarized gender modes. This is not only emphasized by the paradigmatic nature of
women’s sexual role for the whole of her social existence, but also becomes clear in the
relatively minor role that the partners of inverts play in the literature. The partners could
be of any gender but, as William Lee Howard wrote in 1900, feminists and sexual perverts alike, both of whom he classified as degenerates, would only be attracted to men
whom they could „rule, govern and cause to follow [them] in voice and action.”1100 The
„passive agent” in a relationship between women was sometimes denied a sexuality altogether. Havelock Ellis described those women „to whom the actively inverted woman
is most attracted” as „plain” in appearance, with a „genuine, though not precisely sexual, preference for women over men,” „a class in which homosexuality, while fairly
distinct, is only slightly marked.”1101 Allan Hamilton’s description came close to the
ideal of the Victorian Lady’s prescribed sexual consciousness – precisely the counterpart of the inverted woman: They were „decidedly feminine, with little power of resistance, usually sentimental or unnecessarily prudish...[T]he weak victim can be made the
tool of the designing companion.”1102 The Victorian heterosexual paradigm, which re presented conventional wisdom about marriage as the union of two opposed, but complementary characteristics, remained strong until well into the twentieth century. This
opposition of masculine and feminine roles, as exemplified in the identification as
„dykes” and „girlfriends”, remains „woven into lesbian culture” and remained a fundamental organizing principle until the mid-twentieth century.1103
A dramatic departure from the somatic roots in most nineteenth-century physicians’ explanations of homosexuality came with the Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who
1100
Howard, William Lee. „Effeminate Men, Masculine Women.” New York Medical Journal
71 (1900): 686-7. 687.
1101
1102
Hamilton, Allan MacLane. „The Civil Responsibility of Sexual Perverts.” American Journal
of Insanity 52 (1895-1896): 505-07. 505, c.i. Chauncey, From Sexual Inversion to Homosexuality, 95.
1103
Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky, and Madeline D. Davis. „The Reproduction of Butch-Fem
Roles: A Social Constructionist Approach.” in: Peiss, Simmons, and Padgug, Passion and
Power, 241-56, 244. See also Katz, Jonathan. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in
the U.S.A. A Documentary. New York Crowell, 1976, 209-11 and Weeks, Jeffrey. Coming Out:
Homosexual Politics in Britain from Nineteenth Century to the Present. London, New York:
Quartet Books, 1977, 89.
298
explained homosexuality in purely psychological terms. Building on Ernst Haeckel’s
proposal that the individual’s development (ontogeny) retraces the evolution of the species (phylogeny), Freud concluded that homosexuality was a developmental disorder. In
his model, the newborn infant is assumed „polymorphously perverse” or „ambisexual”.
In subsequent development the sexual drive is invested first in the mouth, then in the
anus and finally in the genitals, each stage involving the choice of a new sexual object:
first the self, then the mother, the father, and ultimately someone of the opposite sex.
Hence, homosexuality is an element of everyone’s psychological history and never fully
eradicated as the heterosexual adult preserves elements of homosexual attraction in the
form of same-sex friendship.1104 If this maturation process is disturbed, an individual
can become fixated at one of the intermediate stages and regress to it later as the result
of a traumatic event, such as the Oedipus complex.1105
Freud also introduced the distinction between sexual aim and object as well as the notion of „latent homosexuality”, which allow for impulses that remain repressed so that
they never come to consciousness but continue to exercise an influence on the individual’s mental processes.1106 If heterosexuality is just as much a product of family inte raction as homosexuality, the latter can no longer be seen as pathological. Indeed, Freud
told a newspaper in 1905 that „homosexuals must not be treated as sick people, for a
perverse orientation is far from being a sickness”.1107 Although the evaluation of hom osexuality as an immature sexuality was implicitly pejorative, he vigorously opposed the
persecution of homosexuality in criminal courts.
6.2.2 The „True Pervert“, the „Criminal Sodomist“ and the „Intoxicated or Curious“: Homosexuality in the Armed Forces
Before the Second World War, homosexuality had not been an issue for the Army or the
Navy. Instead, they had targeted as criminal the act of sodomy, defined as anal and
1104
Freud, Sigmund. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo: Resemblances between the Psychic Lives of Savages
and Neurotics. New York, Moffat, Yard & Co., 1918, 213-218.
1106
Freud, Sigmund. Three Essays.
1107
Greenberg, The Construction, 426.
1105
299
6. Sexuality
sometimes oral sex. The Articles of War, Article 93, first codified „consensual sodomy”
as a dischargeable offense in 1920. Same-gender sexual relationships nevertheless have
a long tradition in the United States Armed Forces. General Friedrich Wilhelm von
Steuben, who trained the Continental Army at Valley Forge, is believed to have had
male lovers and Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin was drummed out of the Continental Army for sodomy on 11 March 1778. Female soldiers, who lived with women
fought, disguised as men, in the 15th Missouri regiment during the Civil War.1108 Thus
soldiers and officers who engaged in same sex relations were court-martialed, usually
imprisoned and dishonorably discharged on the grounds of their behavior, not their sexual identity per se.1109
In World War II a fundamental reorganization of the management of homosexuals and
military personnel policy occurred. The medical profession with its growing authority
had succeeded in redefining homosexuality as a medical instead of a criminal concept.
In October 1940 several million men had registered for the draft and the Selective
Service System for the first time excluded a certain group of people.1110 In 1942 the r evised regulations for the disposition of homosexual personnel reflected the shift in the
interpretation from a criminal offense to a psychological illness.
Towards the end of the war, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) replaced the
varying policies of the different services. Article 125 prohibited sodomy, defined as
anal or oral penetration, whether consensual or coerced and regardless of whether it occurred between heterosexual, homosexual or married couples. For the first time assaults
with the intent to commit sodomy, indecent assault and indecent acts were also cov1108
Chambers, John Whiteclay, and Fred Anderson. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, 287
1109
Of 18 million men examined during the war, the military rejected 4,000-5,000 for homosexuality. After the war, 9,000 gay men and lesbians who had served but received ”section
eight” or ”blue” discharges for undesirable habits or character traits, were disqualified from obtaining benefits under the G.I Bill. Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 33.
1110
In total, of the 36,677,000 draftees who were classified 17,955,000 were examined,
6,420,000 were rejected, and 10,022,000 were inducted. The average duration of service was 33
months for enlisted personnel, 39 months for officers. Unites States, and Bureau of Census.
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. White Plains, NY: Kraus International Publications, 1989, part 2, series Y856-903, 1140.
300
ered.1111 Men who engaged in oral or anal same-gender sex could be subjected to courtmartial and five years incarceration. Acts of sodomy between a man and a woman or
between women, on the other hand, have rarely resulted in court-martial or incarceration. Military investigators detained suspects and forced them to disclose their peers’
sexual orientation. Confessions were not uncommonly extracted by threatening incarceration during interrogations. Prison sentences for same-gender sodomy were common
until the late 1980s.
The new policies vastly expanded the military’s administrative apparatus for disposing
of homosexual personnel that relied on hospitalization, diagnosis, surveillance, interrogation, discharge, courts-martial and mass indoctrination. The psychiatric profession
had been promoting psychiatric as well as physical screening with the Selective Service
System since the summer of 1940 when Congress had authorized the expanded defense
budgets and passed the Selective Training and Service Act. Psychiatrists, most notably
Harry Stack Sullivan, Winfred Overholser and Harry A. Steckel, were eager to show the
War Department how psychiatry could contribute to the war effort.1112 One of the le ssons from the First World War was the necessity for the armed forces to reduce the
number of returning soldiers who had displayed symptoms that came to be subsumed
under the term „shell shock”. By 1942, WWI shell shock cases accounted for 58% of all
Veterans’ Administration’s patients.1113 These psychiatric casualties had cost the federal
1111
Article 134 UCMJ. See also D’Amico, Race-Ing, 6.
Sullivan was a practicing psychiatrist who lived with his „devoted male companion” in Bethesda, Maryland. He had broken off from traditional psychiatry and created a theory and practice of „interpersonal psychiatry”. As coeditor of the journal Psychiatry and president of the
William Alanson White Psychiatric Foundation he was determined to apply the principles of
psychiatry to society as a whole. Overholser had already studied psychiatric therapy for soldiers
during the First World War, while working in the neuropsychiatric section of the U.S. Army
Medical Corps in France. After the war, he helped enact the Briggs Law, which provided for the
mental evaluation of any person convicted of a serious crime. In addition to working for the
rights of mentally ill criminals, he taught at Boston University and George Washington School
of Medicine in Washington, DC. In 1937 Overholser was nominated by the American Psychiatric Association to be the superintendent of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a government run institution
in Washington, DC and chairman of the National Research Council’s Committee on Neuropsychiatry. Steckel was chairman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Military Mobilization
Committee, of which Sullivan and Overholser were members.
1113
Showalter, Elaine. Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Media. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. See also Leed, No Man’s Land. On shell shock Jones, Edgar, and
Simon Wessely. Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War. Maud1112
301
6. Sexuality
government over one billion dollars.1114 Screening, the psychiatrists argued, could
greatly reduce these costs by weeding out potential psychiatric cases before they became military responsibilities.1115 Despite the fact that Sullivan’s initial plan for psych iatric screening contained no references to homosexuality, the military bureaucracy did
not follow his belief that „sexual aberrations” played only a minimal role in causing
mental disorders.1116 The massive mobilization was expected to include many hom
o-
sexuals and it became clear that the military would no longer be able to handle its homosexual discipline problems by charging offenders with sodomy and sending them to
prison. By mid-1941 an administrative apparatus for screening inductees at local draft
boards was in place to eliminate those „neuropsychiatrically unfit” or those with „psychopathic personality disorders”, including homosexuals.1117
After Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall had warned commanding officers in November 1942 that the increasing number of courts-martial was unacceptable and indicated a lack of leadership and enforcement of discipline, officials from the Judge Advocate General’s Office relaxed their hard-line position. They considered alternative approaches to the sodomist problem that did not require courts-martial in all cases.1118 An
alliance of reform-minded military officials and psychiatrists proposed what they described as a more „enlightened” and more efficient system for handling homosexual offenders. To prevent additional strain on the already overburdened military prisons, the
new system provided for the discharge without trial of certain homosexual personnel,
while allowing the retention of those whose services were deemed essential. Slowly the
sley Monographs. New York: Psychology Press, 2005. Léri, André, and John Collie. Shell
Shock, Commotional and Emotional Aspects. London: University of London Press, 1919.
Southard, Elmer Ernest. Shell-Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric Problems Presented in Five
Hundred and Eighty-Nine Case Histories From the War Literature, 1914-1918. Boston, MA:
W.M. Leonard, 1919.
1114
Menninger, William Claire. Psychiatry in a Troubled World: Yesterday's War and Today's
Challenge. New York: Macmillan Co., 1948, 267.
1115
Menninger, Psychiatry, 267.
1116
The William Alanson White Psychiatric Foundation. Bulletin, 1940.
1117
Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 12.
1118
Memorandum, Chief of Staff to Commanding Generals, November 10, 1942, su: Discipline
and Courts-Martial. NARA. RG 407, Decimal File 250-4, c.i. Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire,
135. Memorandum, from. Col. John M. Weir, Executive, JAG, to The Assistant Chief of Staff,
G-1, December 6, 1942, in AGO „Sodomists” File, c.i. ibid.
302
clinical term homosexual began to replace the legal term sodomist as jurisdiction over
homosexuals was transferred from the criminal justice system to an expanded system of
hospitalization, diagnosis and discharge.
The psychiatric consultants started implementing their theories by educating administrative officials on their developmental model of human sexuality based on Freudian
psychoanalysis. They described the „normal” development as one passing through the
homosexual stage and then on to heterosexual maturity. All individuals retained a „homosexual residual” as a component of their sexuality that when „adequately sublimated” became the „foundation of social solidarity”. Some people never reached that
stage and remained homosexuals. But even „normal individuals”, when placed under
unusual circumstances such as prison or the military might „revert” to their homosexual
stage of development and engage in homosexual practices. Three psychosexual categories emerged from this developmental model: the mature ‘normal’ heterosexual, the
immature ‘deviant’ homosexual, sometimes referred to as a „true” or „confirmed” homosexual, and the regressive homosexual who „reverts” to homosexuality due to environmental factors. Since „true” homosexuals could not be cured, there was no need to
imprison them. Three administrative categories were developed to dispose of homosexual personnel that corresponded with the psychiatrists’ psychosexual categories: The
„true pervert” who had sex with consenting adults was to be administratively discharged
as mentally ill. The criminal „sodomist” category was narrowed to include only those
offenders, whether they were regressive heterosexuals or homosexuals, who raped or
had sex with minors. The third category, who were not „by nature homosexuals” but
„submit[ted] to practice” through „intoxication or curiosity” were to be „rehabilitated
and retained in the service” without trial or discharge.1119 In January 1943 the new po licy was in place: Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson issued a new Army directive,
conservatively titled „Sodomists” that codified the new compromise between the reformers and the hard-liners. It stated that sodomy was a serious crime and that all offenders should be tried by court-martial. However, exceptions were applicable to the
„confirmed pervert” who did not use force or violence to be examined by a board of of-
1119
Memorandum, from. Col. John M. Weir, Executive, JAG, to Director of Military Personnel,
Headquarters Services of Supply, December 17, 1942, in AGO „Sodomists” File.
303
6. Sexuality
ficers and discharged under the provision of Section Eight of Army Regulation 615-360.
This category of undesirable discharge, often nicknamed „blue discharges” or „section
eights”, which permitted the discharge of personnel with „undesirable habits or traits of
character” had to be broadened to include those whom psychiatrists now defined as
„sexual psychopaths”. The other exception was the soldier who engaged in homosexual
activity but was not a „confirmed pervert”. He or she was to be examined by a psychiatrist and if the individual „otherwise possesses a salvage value” could be disciplined and
returned to duty by an officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction. 1120
The new procedure was finalized when the War Department in January 1944 issued WD
Circular No. 3, a revision of the 1943 policy that was followed by similar directives for
the Navy and would remain in effect for the rest of the war.1121 Suspected homosexuals,
which for the first time included „latent homosexuals” who were reported or declared
themselves without having committed any offence, were placed on sick call or sent to
sickbay to be hospitalized. They were then interviewed by a psychiatrist to determine
the diagnostic and administrative category, after which medical staff observed their behavior, compiled a life history and contacted the family.
Intelligence officers frequently interrogated suspects to obtain the names of other homosexual personnel. An administrative board of commissioned officers that was required
to include a psychiatrist whenever possible finally determined whether the patient remained in the hospital, returned to duty, or would be discharged or forced to resign as
an officer. Enlisted personnel were subject to the decision of the board without the
benefit of counsel and with neither the right to present or cross-examine witnesses nor
to obtain a copy of the proceedings.1122 Although the new discharge system saved some
men from prison, it vastly expanded the military’s anti-homosexual apparatus and created new forms of surveillance and punishment. Gay men and women would now be re-
1120
„Sodomists”, Memorandum No. W615-4-43, January 10, 1943.
„Homosexuals”, WD Circular No. 3, January 3, 1944. Circular Letter No. C-44-12, su: Procedure for the Disposition of Homosexuals Among Personnel of the United States Naval Service, 28 January 1944.
1122
Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 143.
1121
304
garded with suspicion and could be punished even if they were sexually abstinent. If
military officials determined they belonged to a class of people that were deemed „undesirable” they were denied the rights to which they would have been entitled had they
been defendants formally charged with a criminal act.
6.3 Exclusionary Practices
6.3.1 Wac Regulations and Procedures: In Search of „undesirable traits and
habits“
Allan Bérubé and others have suggested that the fact that sodomy laws were rarely applied to lesbians was due to a ”history of invisibility” of lesbians in general and in the
military. While the remnants of the Victorian ideal of ”passionlessness” might account
for part of this invisibility, I argue that the emergence of a lesbian subculture in the
WAC as well as the administrative apparatus to manage lesbianism in the corps have to
be examined also against the background of performativity: discursive categories for
lesbianism in the 1940s were not sodomy, but gender disguise and cross-dressing.1123
Within the WAC the management of homosexuality was based on educational rather
than on military traditions: lectures, guidance, supervision, reassignment of personnel.
Criminal prosecution, courts-martial and discharge would be used only as a last resort
against the most overt, disruptive and ”unreformable” homosexuals. Many WAC officers had been recruited from women’s colleges for their administrative experience and
as a reassurance to parents and the public. Their in loco parentis approach addressed
lesbianism primarily as an environmental problem due to ”conditions of group living
unnatural to the majority of mature women.” Lesbian relationships were considered inappropriate ”crushes” that should be countered by giving trainees ”opportunities of
wholesome and natural companionship with men”, creating living conditions more ”un1123
The importance of issues of ”mannishness” in the WAC is further underlined by the debates
on the proper design of the uniform. Stereotypes linking „Sapphic relations” or lesbianism to
masculinity in women’s anatomy, dress or comportment date back to the Romans and have been
reproduced in numerous works of fiction and poetry such as Radclyffe Hall’s best-selling novel
The Well of Loneliness that was published in 1928. For a discussion of cross-dressing and
passing see Garber, Marjorie B. Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing & Cultural Anxiety. New
York: Routledge, 1992.
305
6. Sexuality
favorable to the development of homosexuality” and minimizing curiosity by avoiding
”as much as possible any talk regarding homosexuality.”1124
The psychological redefinition went as far as instructing officers that ”every person is
born with a bisexual nature” and that ”every woman possesses some traits that are usually regarded as masculine.” Echoing the new Freudian paradigm, a WAC Officer’s
Guidebook spelled out: „The normal course of sexual development is for a child to progress from infantile absorption in herself to a real affectionate relationship to both parents; thence, to an absorbing interest in friends of her own sex; this, in turn, giving way
to increasing interest in the opposite sex, culminating in mature love for a lifepartner.”1125 Any Wac could ”gravitate” toward homosexual practices and ”turn to h omosexual relationship [sic] as a means to satisfy [...] the universal desire for affection”.1126 Interestingly, homosexual tendencies in women could be channeled into
qualities that made them better soldiers. Psychiatrists sought to apply their concepts of
transference and sublimation to the women soldiers. Trainees who had ”potential homosexual tendencies”, they advised, could be ”deterred from active participation” in sexual
relations and should be encouraged to sublimate their desires into a ”hero-worship” type
of reaction or into ”a definite type of leadership”.1127 This attempt to desexualize
women’s relationships by redirecting their sexual energy to military purposes stood in
stark contrast to the military’s traditional and official position that (male) homosexuality
threatened morale and discipline and was incompatible with military service. While effeminate men challenged the very core of military masculinity, lesbians, as women,
were already excluded from this core. Thus, their sexuality, when sublimated or properly channeled, could be put to service to slot them into the military structure of rank
and command.
1124
WD Pamphlet No. 35-1, Sex Hygiene Course, Officers and Officer Candidates, Women’s
Army Auxiliary Corps, 27 May 1943, 26-28. See also Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 46.
1125
War Department, WD Pamphlet 35-2, The WAC Officer – A Guide to Successful Leadership, Washington DC, 1 February 1945, 50-55. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 222.
1126
Ibid., 24-29; Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 46; Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps,
616-17, 625.
1127
Ibid.
306
Based on the Army’s guidelines, formulating a policy on lesbian relationships in the
corps proved difficult for WAC officers and their medical staff. Due to the pressure to
fill personnel quotas and the absence of specific criteria most women until 1945 were
accepted into the Army „without even a semblance of a psychiatric exam”, as William
Menniger, the Army’s chief psychiatric consultant, complained.1128 Only when Hobby
and WAAC personnel officers lobbied for more thorough screening procedures of applicants in an attempt to win public support for the corps, the adjutant general issued a
confidential letter to all commands ordering recruiters to look into „the applicants local
reputation” and to consider „homosexual tendencies” among nine categories of „undesirable habits and traits of character” when interviewing applicants.1129 In May 1943, responding to Hobby’s pressure, the Surgeon General appointed Maj. Margaret D.
Craighill as his first consultant for Women’s Health and Welfare to oversee matters of
health and welfare in the WAC. In late September 1943, Major Craighill succeeded in
convincing the War Department to order gynecological and psychiatric examinations for
every applicant to the WAC and to establish standards of acceptance and disqualification specifically for women.1130
Policies aimed at identifying and rejecting lesbian applicants to the corps were gradually
developed over the course of the war. This screening process was based on class, education, behavior and family background. Recruiters selecting women for officer training
were advised to look out for candidates with „rough or coarse” manners, „stocky or
shapeless” build and „masculine” demeanor or „voice type”.1131 „Emotional demonstrativeness” according to the WAC’s official historian Mattie Treadwell, „was an accepted
trait among women, who thought nothing of kissing or embracing female friends or
walking arm-in-arm with them.”1132 But the authorities knew what to look out for:
1128
Menninger, Psychiatry, 112.
Memoranda Director of Personnel, WAAC to Adjutant General, su: Enrollment of Auxiliaries with Physical Defects or Doubtful Reputation, 19 November 1942; Chief, Appointment and
Induction Branch to DWAAC, 23 November 1942; and DWAAC to Adjutant General, Appointment and Induction Branch, 5 December 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 111.
1130
1131
1132
1129
307
6. Sexuality
„There is always one who acts, walks, and pays attention to the other, the same
as a devoted male” reported the assistant chief of the military police at Fort
Oglethorpe, „for instance, a girl spills a little bit of water on her skirt, and the
other is patting her knees, and so forth; lighting her cigarette, [...] just acting like
a man.”1133
„Straightforward, scientific education” such as the sex hygiene courses implemented by
Major Craighill was designed to instruct officers in the proper ways of handling cases of
venereal disease and pregnancy under their command.1134 Because of the Corps’ env ironmental approach, however, WAC policy was against discussing the question of homosexuality with enlisted women in order not to „make trainees too curious about homosexuality and suspicious of ordinary friendships without preventing lesbians from
engaging in covert sexual activity.1135 Officers were advised to deal with individual
cases with „fairness and tolerance”, not because of the Army’s tolerant attitude toward
women’s sexuality but because of concerns with the image of the corps.
„The girl who in childhood has not been able to shift her interest from her own to the
opposite sex, and so has become, potentially or in reality, adjusted at a homosexual
level, presents a different problem.” [..] The question confronting the officer when gossip arises over such a relationship is whether there is involved just a close friendship or
an unwholesome attachment. […] The officer’s two criteria should be: does the relationship affect the physical or mental health of the woman, and hence her efficiency?
Does it, by its conspicuousness, affect the morale of the group and the reputation of the
Corps?”1136 At times when personnel shortages were pressing and when officials were
acutely aware of the detrimental effects of „smear campaigns”, officers were warned not
to „indulge” in „witch hunting or speculating” and threatened with punishment if they
1133
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 113, 115. NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
Data WAAC Officers NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 201.
1134
Lecture Series on Sex Hygiene for Officers and Officer Candidates, WAAC, 45-55. NARA.
RG 165, Entry 54, Box 145. The new screening procedures agreed upon at a WAC Selection
Conference held 27-29 July 1944 were of particular importance to Col. Hobby in the wake of
the „Slander campaign” of 1943. Preston, History of Psychiatry, 9-10. NARA. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 143.
1135
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 225, 288. Bérubé, Coming Out under Fire, 47.
11361136
War Department, WD Pamphlet 54-55, The WAC Officer – A Guide to Successful
Leadership, Washington DC, 1 February 1945, 50-55. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 222.
308
did.1137 „[T]here was a tolerance for lesbianism if they needed you. [...] If you had sp ecialist kind of job [to do] or if you were in a theatre of operations [...] were bodies were
needed, they tolerated anything, just about.”1138 WAC officials believed that rumor
spreading and false accusations were more serious threats to the Corps than were lesbian relationships.1139 WAC psychiatrist Captain Alice E. Rost, one of the Army’s si xteen female psychiatrists, adhered to a liberal position based on the Freudian developmental model and, accordingly, considered lesbian sexuality a „hangover from adolescence”, caused by factors in the „home [which] does not permit such normal development” so that the woman „remain[s] arrested at an immature level.”1140 Her task was to
assess according to the new psychosexual and administrative categories whether an individual before the Board of Inquiry had been involved in „accidental” homosexual relationships and thus could be rehabilitated through psychiatric treatment or whether she
was a „true homosexual or addict” and should be discharged.1141
6.3.2 The „hierarchy of perversity”: Class, Race, Practice, Haircut
How would these categories be determined and distinguished in the WAC? The „hierarchy of perversions” as Leisa Meyer has termed it, was organized along class as well as
cultural and racial divisions. „Crossing” women, who dressed and worked as men and
frequented lesbian bars, had been visible and identified as sexual agents even before the
war. In the military, too, butch|girlfriend dyadic couples, consisting of a „dyke”, „lesbian” or „butch” courting her „lady”, „girl” or „girlfriend” were largely working-class
phenomena. Lesbian slang was widespread even among women who did not have sexual relationships with other women. At the same time, there was the continuing tradition
1137
„Sex Hygiene Course”, 27 May 1943 and May 1945, War Department Pamphlet No. 35-1,
Lecture 5, „Homosexuality”.
1138
Weiss, Andrea, and Greta Schiller. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian
Community. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1988, 34.
1139
Menninger, Psychiatry, 106. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 1954, 625.
1140
War Department, WD Pamphlet 35-2, The WAC Officer – A Guide to Successful Leadership, Washington DC, 1 February 1945, 51. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 222. „Tomboyishness” was a „behavior characteristic of adolescence,” while one of the marks of mature behavior
was „heterosexual adjustment.”(Ibid.)
1141
Tab A and B, Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe. Data WAAC Officers NARA. RG
165, Entry 55, Box 201.
309
6. Sexuality
of „romantic friendship” and „Boston marriage” among middle-class and upper class
women that de-emphasized erotic and sexual components.1142
Although common psychiatric wisdom was changing, many medical specialists such as
the WAC psychiatrist Major Albert Preston still adhered to the theory of gender inversion being one of the major criteria to identify lesbians. „Cross-gender behavior”, such
as the desire to enter the WAC itself, and male dress were linked to what was called
„sexual confusion”, the rejection of femininity and heterosexuality.1143 The classific ation of „masculine” women as the most threatening to contemporary standards of white,
middle-class sexual morality was again based on older theoretical frameworks, namely
the degeneration theory taught by Havelock Ellis who had developed a continuum,
marking female „romantic friendships” as the least degenerative form of homosexuality.1144 Since the WAC regulatory system was based primarily on the attempt to protect
public legitimacy of the corps and thus targeted women’s sexual agency as such, the
„mannish” lesbian, who was by definition a sexual agent, came to embody the „undesirable habits and traits of character.”1145
The association of „mannishness” with homosexuality in women was not only imposed
upon them but also embraced and recreated by lesbian members of the WAC in order to
establish and make visible their sexual identity to others in the corps. Sporting a „mannish haircut” was „considered the thing to do if you were out to attract another girl.” A
butch presented herself „by the manner of wearing the clothing, by posture, by stride, by
seeking ‘to date’ other girls such as a man would and when with other girls pay all the
bills and be solicitous.”1146 Before conversion to Army status, Waacs were not required
1142
Rupp, Imagine My Surprise, 398. See also Kennedy and Davis, The Reproduction.
Preston, History of Psychiatry, 4. NARA. RG 165, Entry 54, Box 143.
1144
1145
Memo 3rd Officer Virginia Beeler Bock, executive officer, Personnel Division, WAAC, to
the Adjutant General, Appointment and Induction Branch, Attn: Col Sumner, su: Enrollment of
WAAC Auxiliaries with Doubtful Moral Standards, 15 December 1942. NARA. RG 165, Entry
54, Box 111.
1146
Testimony of Pvt. Virginia Clark Churchill, WAC taken at Patterson Field, OH, by Lieut.
Colonel Birge Holt, IGD. 23 June 1944, 17. Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 29.
NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
1143
310
to wear the uniform when off-duty which made it easier for them to visit bars or even to
wear civilian men’s clothes off base.1147 Within this framework, butch or „mannish”
women, particularly when engaged in butch|girlfriend dyadic relationships, became the
most visible and targeted victims of hostility, accusations and sanctions such as discharge while often forming the nucleus of emerging lesbian communities within the
corps.1148
From the perspective of the medical establishment, it was also the type of sexual activity that, besides education, class background and appearance, determined whether a
woman could be characterized as a victim of seduction or „an addict of such practices”1149. While kissing and embracing could be tolerated, it was „oral practices” that
marked the „true pervert.”1150 An example of a particular form of female masculinity
was Sergeant Loos, about whom Capt. Alice Rost wrote:
„She was certain that in her relations […] she had never experienced physical
release, had never experienced orgasm, although her partner (Churchill) did. She
took the male roll [sic] in this interplay and was never satisfied herself. But it
pleased her to be the male partner, to be the generous giver.”1151
The Sergeant, who might have identified as stone butch,1152 represented the far end of
the scale, the very bottom of the „hierarchy of perversion” but at the same time enjoyed
1147
Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 56
1149
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, Draft of suggested letter to Commanding Officers
at the stations of certain WAC personnel suspected of homosexuality. June and July 1944.
NARA. Ibid.
1150
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 14.
1151
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 107. Testimony of Captain Alice E, Rost, ANC,
taken at Fort Oglethorpe, GA on 26 June 1944, by Lieutenant Colonel Birge Holt, IGD, 102.
NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
1152
The term „butch” denotes a masculine woman, usually a lesbian, although it is sometimes
applied to both men and women. Likewise, a „femme” or „fem” is a woman who acts very
feminine. The „butch|femme” paradigm describes a relationship in which one person is „butch”
and the other is „femme”. This social structure was prevalent primarily in working-class lesbian
bars up to the early 1970s. In the emerging lesbian feminism of the 1970s, butch|femme was
shunned because it was perceived to reproduce a heterosexual gender dichotomy. In a butch-fem
relationship the butch was often presumed to be the active the active partner whose foremost
objective it was to give sexual pleasure to her partner. A woman would identify as „stone butch“
if she gained sexual pleasure exclusively from pleasing her partner and did not liked to be sexu1148
311
6. Sexuality
a higher social status in the WAC than an effeminate man would in the Army.1153 In
some cases themselves the NCOs of a unit, butches and their girlfriends were often the
center of gay cliques.
Estelle B. Freedman has explored a complex re|configuration of the class and racial
meanings attached to sexuality in her work on prison lesbians, a scenario that bore a
great deal of similarity to the WAC in the eyes of contemporaries. Freedman has analyzed the depiction of lesbian inmates of prisons as „menacing social types” and a „dangerous sexual category” that emerged in the mid-twentieth century.1154 In the early
twentieth century, most of the criminologist discourse on lesbian relationships within
women's reformatories identified Black women as lesbian aggressors and white women
as their temporary partners. After psychologists and criminologists had become intrigued with the prison lesbian, the lesbian label was extended to white working-class
women, emphasizing the „contaminating effect” of their „aggressive homosexuality” on
the society. 1155
ally touched herself. See also Kennedy and Davis, The Reproduction. Kennedy and Davis,
Boots of Leather. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics.
1153
Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 56
1172
Freedman, Estelle B. „The Prison Lesbian: Race, Class, and the Construction of the Aggressive Female Homosexual, 1915-1965.”Feminist Studies 22.2 (1996): 397-423.
1155
Freedman, The Prison Lesbian, 397, 398. On middle-class lesbian history, see for example
Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men. Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers. SmithRosenberg, The Female World. Rupp, 'Imagine My Surprise'. On working-class lesbian history,
see, for example, Katz, Gay American History, esp. „Passing Women“, 209-81. Garber, Eric,
and Michael J. Smith. 'T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness': Homosexuality in 1920s' Harlem, in Black
Men / White Men. San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1983. Davis, Madeline, and Elizabeth
Lapovsky Kennedy. „Oral History and the Study of Sexuality in the Lesbian Community: Buffalo, New York, 1940-1960.”Feminist Studies 12 (1986): 7-26. Kennedy and Davis, Boots of
Leather, Slippers of Gold. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics. On medicalization, see Chauncey, From
Sexual Inversion. Terry, Jenny. „Lesbians under the Medical Gaze: Scientists Search for Remarkable Differences.”Journal of Sex Research. Special Issue on Female Sexuality 27.3 (1990
): 317-39.
312
6.3.3 Homosociality and Lesbian Agency: The Fort Oglethorpe Investigation
The records of those early courts-martial in Fort Oglethorpe and elsewhere show that
flourishing homosocial networks existed within the WAC. The records further suggest
that lesbian women’s agency was exercised in a variety of ways in which Wacs dealt the
Army’s investigations that ranged from denial to accusing others to self-indictment to
protect their partner. In May 1944 Mrs. Josephine Churchill from Westby, WI wrote a
letter to the Judge Advocate General: „I am writing to you to inform you of some of the
things at Ft. Oglethorpe that are a disgrace to the U.S. Army. It is no wonder women are
afraid to enlist. It is full of homosexuals and sex maniacs.”1156 When her daughter, 20
year-old Private Virginia Churchill was home on furlough „she received some of the
most shocking letters I have ever read in my life from a woman of thirty yrs.” The Sergeant who wrote those letters had „ruined other girls and will continue to use her spell
over other innocent girls who join up with the W.A.C., because of their patriotic spirit”.
Mrs. Churchill went on to name not only Sgt. Mildred Loos but also „many others who
are practicing this terrible vice,” Her daughter, however, had „repented and says she
will never make friends with another strange girl again.”1157
The Office of the Inspector General immediately ordered an investigation. Out of the
many letters that the two women had written, even after Mrs. Churchill had reported
them, 20 written by Sgt. Loos and 13 written by Private Churchill were secured as evidence. The investigating officers’ report speaks of letters „replete with salacious language and references, with professions of passionate love, of jealousy, of longings for
each other and suggestive references”. Apart from passionate love, the letters also testify to that the women knew what to expect from the military institution: „I can’t stand
Oglethorpe anymore without you. [...] Oh! God if you don’t come to me soon so help
me, this Damn Army is going to look for Loos & when they find her, she will be in Virginia’s arms somewhere.”1158
1156
Letter Josephine Churchill to JAG, Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe. Data WAAC
Officers. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 201.
1157
Ibid.
1158
Letter from Sgt. Mildred Loos to Pvt. Virginia Churchill, 30 April 1944, Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe (Exhibit C, Incl. 2).
313
6. Sexuality
In their testimonies, both women chose to deny „having engaged in homosexual practices” and downplayed their role in the relationship. „All those letters, of course, are
fictitious.” as Pvt. Churchill testified. Sgt. Loos testified that although she „used to let
[all of] the girls go up in my room”, Pvt. Churchill „made it a habit of coming up to my
room” and that she frequently found her in her bed late at night and would have to chase
her out. Pvt. Churchill „tagged around me like a little dog” and „acted like a sick pup”.
The letters she wrote to Churchill were „written in an attempt to discourage her”, as her
father had advised her to „give her her way and play her game”.1159
Pvt. Churchill in turn testified that she liked Sgt. Loos but that it had been the Sergeant
who had made the initial pass on her. She had felt sorry for the „rather grim aspects of
her life history” but it was Loos who came to her bunk „night after night” with „actions
that were anything but discreet.” She testified that she did not report Sergeant Loos to
her commanding officer at Patterson Field because „she was Lieut. Patricia Warren who
was having an affair with this Cpl. Ruth Kellog.” On the letters she had written she
commented: „I feared this girl and very often said things to her and wrote things to her
to calm her down, and I used to think if I could just make her wait, until I could get out
of her reach [...].” The „kisses to Rosemary”, according to Churchill’s testimony, referred to „things that she herself did. I had no part in them. I mean, I didn’t return those
things”.1160
Captain Alice Rost, who conducted a neuropsychiatric examination and testified before
the Board found that both had indeed engaged in „a homosexual love affair”, that
„physically Sgt. Loos [was] normal”. The psychiatrist then testified that
„Sgt. Loos does not present a medical problem such as is involved when a case
is presented involving women who are real perverts, those who engage in oral
1159
Ibid.
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe (Exhibit B, 10, L. 7-8). Gay male and lesbian
authors of love letters faced the problem of wartime censorship and frequently used abbreviations, slang and „guarded terms that only our kind can understand” as one G.I. advised his
friend in 1943, c.i. Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire, 120.
1160
314
practices with other women; persons in the latter category being definitely abnormal. [...] This particular girl has high moral ideals.”1161
In Rost’s opinion, „this one experience with Pvt. Churchill is sufficient to establish that
she is a homosexual.” „It is entirely possible that she will never engage in any other
homosexual practice.”1162 The psychiatrist managed to draw the Board away from the
language of religious sin that Mrs. Churchill used when she spoke of the „terrible vice”
that „ruins innocent girls” unless they „repent.” Instead, Captain Ross employs military
and medical discourses when she states that Loos’ „usefulness as a member of the
WAC” could be restored by psychiatric treatment, that not only she „has been a very
good soldier”, but one with particularly „high moral ideas.” The report concludes accordingly:
„Clearly the language and references in the letters are vulgar and obscene. However, it should be noted that under all the facts and circumstances developed by
this investigation, questions are raised as to the extent to which the letters furnish evidence that in fact they engaged in homosexual practices. In part, the language used is considered to be expression of grotesque and fanciful imagination.
The fact [...] that Sgt. Loos does not have dual sex organs demonstrates that the
references [...] are only fanciful. However, it is considered that the letters do furnish strong evidence in support of the allegation that they did engage in homosexual embraces.”1163
This example illustrates the desexualization of lesbian relationships. Lesbian sexuality
in the eyes of the psychiatrist was either modeled after male sexuality or virtually nonexistent and merely a product of „fanciful imagination”.
The second example shows a different response to the charges. Although the women in
both cases were victims of the military’s systemic homophobia, they exercised agency
in a variety of ways and managed to negotiate a range of lesbian identities. Thirty-one
years old Lt. Patricia Warren had been practicing law for eight years and had been married and divorced before she became Company Commander at the 3rd WAC TC at Fort
Oglethorpe. When Corporal Ruth Kellog was assigned to her Company as Platoon Sergeant, the two became acquainted and soon developed an intimate friendship. Kellog
1161
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 14 (Exhibit B, 104, L. 1-2).
Ibid.
1163
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 8.
1162
315
6. Sexuality
was at the time thirty-six years of age and unhappily married. (Her husband’s drinking
had aggravated due to his syphilitic condition, which had reached the paresis state.). She
confided to her friend and commanding officer her worries about her brother, a Japanese
prisoner. The two women appeared to have truly found each other and seemed to have
made no attempts to hide their intimacy from others. Witnesses testified the two „always paired off at social gatherings and were constantly together”. Occasionally, they
managed to spend a few days’ furlough with each other. Of the „voluminous correspondence” between the two women the Board obtained two letters, both of which were „full
of love impressions and denote longings”:
„Kelly, I love you. I love you so much that I get mad at myself for not being able
to find words to express what I am feeling – God, sweetheart, I never would
have believed that people could feel what you and I feel for each other. Even
though we live the rest of our lives together I will never be able to show you or
tell you how very much you mean to me.”1164
When Cpl. Kellog was told by the investigating officers of the „allegations that indicated an abnormal relationship between her and Lieutenant Warren” she answered, „I
admit them, sir.”1165 In her testimony, Cpl. Kellog stated that „she and Lieut. Warren
love each other and enjoy each other’s company more than that of men.” The night before Cpl. Kellog was due to testify for the second time, she and Lt. Warren met in
Chattanooga, TN, some fourteen miles from Fort Oglethorpe.1166 On the next morning,
the officer voluntarily appeared before the Investigation Board. When asked whether
she cared to make any statement regarding the charge that „she had engaged in an abnormal love affair, such as would normally be expected to occur between a man and a
woman, and that she had promiscuously associated with an enlisted woman,” she answered: „About the only thing I want to do is take all the blame for and clear the
kid.”1167 She denied none of „the implications of the language used in the two letters”
1164
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 16. Exhibit F.
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 17. Exhibit B, 63, L.4.
1166
Further testimony of Cpl. Ruth Mildred Kellogg, WAC, taken at Fort Oglethorpe, GA on 29
June 1944, by Lieutenant Colonel Birge Holt, IGD, 314. NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
1167
Ibid, 318. See also Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 18. Exhibit B, 318, L. 32-33.
1165
316
and stated „It would be utterly impossible to deny it, sir, and as far as I know, I do not
think even doctors can explain.”1168
Here Warren invoked the psychiatric discourse herself, suggesting that it was she, the
commanding officer, who „seduced” the „kid”. She knew that the enlisted woman’s best
chance not to be dishonorably discharged was if the Board reached the conclusion that
Kellog was a „first time offender”. Thus she concluded her appearance (and ended her
career in the Army) with convincing the Board that „this was an initial experience for
Cpl. Kellog.” Moreover, it worked: The Psychiatrist commented on the love affair between the two women:
„It is certain that she [Kellog] loves her [Warren] as an emotional expression,
but I am inclined to believe that the two did not have any approximation to
physical intercourse. They were very affectionate with each other […] they liked
to share the same pillow, but I am inclined to believe that there was no mutual
masturbation.”1169
Second Lieutenant Patricia L. Warren was „offered the opportunity to resign for the
good of the Service”.1170 Pvt. Virginia Churchill, Sgt. Mildred Loos and Cpl. Ruth Ke llog were ordered „to be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment [...] with a view to being
either restored to duty or separated from the service, depending upon the results of such
treatment.” The fact that the issue of fraternization that would otherwise have inevitably
played a role where a Commanding Officer and a Platoon Sergeant were involved was
totally absent in the inquiries of the Board makes it clear that female sexuality carried a
very different set of meanings than did male sexuality in1171 the armed forces.
1168
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 18. Exhibit B, 318, L. 35-38.
Testimony of Captain Alice E, Rost, ANC, taken at Fort Oglethorpe, GA on 26 June 1944,
by Lieutenant Colonel Birge Holt, IGD, 104. NARA. RG 159, Entry 26 F, Box 17A.
1170
Report, Investigations at Fort Oglethorpe, 28. Lieutenant Warren was offered resignation for
the good of the service under provisions of paragraph 2a (1), WD Circular No. 5, 3 January
1944. This is an administrative discharge for officers in lieu of court-martial, which does not
entitle the individual to veterans benefits and in most cases made finding civilian employment
very difficult.
1171
Homosexuals came to be regarded as “security risks” and cases were referred to the FBI.
Conference Memo, April 1951, on the subject of homosexuality with particular reference to the
Women's Army Corps. See also Army Regulation No. 600-443. Personnel: Separation of Homosexuals. 10 April 1953. NARA. RG 319, Entry 2, Box 720.
1169
317
6. Sexuality
The situation at the Second WAAC Training Center at Daytona Beach, FL indicates the
Army and WAAC authorities’ insecurity regarding anti-homosexual policies before the
end of the war. In contrast to the Cold War years where witch-hunts and purges took
place, this was the time when those policies were formulated and strategies to deal with
homosexual behavior in the Corps were developed and tested. Most WAAC trainees
and personnel in Daytona Beach were trained and quartered in leased downtown hotels,
churches, garages and other buildings so that outside the workplace discipline was much
more difficult to enforce than at traditional Army posts.1172 The supply situation at the
Training Center had been difficult from the opening in December 1942, housing in the
scattered billets often presented serious health risks and recreational facilities were virtually non-existent in the resort city full of civilian nightclubs. 6000 women lived in a
tent camp, five women to a tent, eight to a double hotel room. Since for almost 10,000
trainees there was not even one service club and initially no theater for the trainees, the
women spent their evenings in the city where interacted with and were more visible to
civilians than at most stations.
1173
One resident complained in March 1943: „There is
altogether too much drinking here – particularly of hard liquors. Every night the bars are
crowded with women.”1174 Other rumors were more vicious, but military intelligence
officers could never prove any of them. The official WAC history points out that while
rumors were rampant at Daytona, the actual military police report for a typical Saturday
night revealed an exceptionally low number of delinquencies.1175 Ninety percent of the
women, Treadwell quotes the investigating officer, „stayed in their quarters and suffered low morale, while only 10 percent were seen in the city, but this 10 percent totaled
a thousand women.“1176 What she does not mention, however, is that some of those
women did not stay in quarters by themselves. In fact, Daytona was the site of a remarkable network of enlisted women and officers, many of them working in the motor
pool, who spent their off-duty hours, and sometimes the night together.
1172
Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps, 101, 123, 209.
1174
Letter of H.D. Fulmer, physician from Daytona Beach, FL, March 43. NARA. RG 407, Box
4290.
1175
1176
Ibid., 210.
1173
318
A group of women around two sergeants were „double dating”. This group included
Sergeant Chostner and „her friend Sergeant Bennett” and Betty Taylor, whom Helen
Pagett had approached and asked for dates several times. When rumors about Pagett
reached First Lieutenant Georgia Joyce, she reported to Lt. Woody and both were called
in by Major Bryant (Chief of Section Motor Transport), who, according to Joyce’s later
testimony, said „Evidently there is fire where there is smoke. All you have is rumors
now. To go on you could possibly take it up to headquarters. I think you’re smart
enough to go ahead and see what you can get on it.”1177 On August 10, Pagett did ask
Joyce for a date, and with backing by her superior officer, Joyce agreed.1178 The two,
Chostner and several others went to a downtown establishment, the Riviera Grill, for
drinks and dancing. According to First Lieutenant Joyce, Pagett bit her ear while they
danced to the jukebox and stroked and kissed her on the porch. „It was a kiss that
wasn’t just a friendly kiss of affection between two well known friends; it was the kind
of kiss you slap a man for.”1179
„We got to talking about this other affair of Sergeant Pagett and Betty Taylor
who happened to be a very good friend of Sergeant MacPhers. At that time Sergeant Pagett did confess she did have an affair with Betty Taylor.”1180
On several occasions, the group met in Lt. Joyce’s house, which she had allowed them
to use (as, she insisted, had been suggested to her by headquarters). The house seems to
have been a more than welcome retreat to meet and relax. In a letter dated 28. Aug
1943, Pagett thanks Joyce: „Goodnite, my darling. We had a wonderful time. Pritchard
thanks you, I thank you. Chostner thanks you. We sat here tonite listening to the hit parade.” Joyce later testified that it was also here where Pagett „had „grabbed” and „felt”
[her breasts] several time, even in bed”. Pagett also wrote:
„Darling, this is real…You’ve given me something that I’ve never had before –
peace in my heart, trust, believe. I love you so very much. Will see you early in
1177
Proceedings of Board of Officers convened at Daytona Beach, FL to determine whether Private Helen G. Pagett, A-909232 should be discharged from Service under the provisions of
Section VIII, AR 615-360. 2 October 1943. (Hereafter cited as Proceedings of Board, Daytona
Beach, FL). Testimony of First Lieutenant Georgia Joyce, WAC, 13-14. NARA. RG 407, Box
4280.
1178
Proceedings of Board, Daytona Beach, FL. Testimony 1st Lieut. Joyce, 14. Ibid.
1179
1180
319
6. Sexuality
the morning. Won’t disturb you. Time is so short for us I must be with you every
moment. Pat” In another letter Pagett assured her that she was still single: Don’t
believe I have anybody yet.[…]You’ll see me as often as I can arrange it, else
I’ll write. Your 1st Sgt. HGP.”1181
Lt. Joyce recruits Lt. Leonhardy to help her with her investigation and to participate in
the meetings at her house but at the same time urges Pagett to be more cautious:
„Darling, you’re telling me to be „careful” … Meeting you – rather ‘finding
you’ was the reason. Remember, you told me to be careful. Won’t ever stop
saying it. […] Yours, Pat.”1182
On 2 Oct 1943, a board of officers convened to …or rather, to determine what type of
discharge Pagett would receive. Captain John Bender Medical Corps, Chief Psychiatric
Section at Station Hospital, testified „having [had] but limited time for examination […]
that the patient is not a true homosexual, but has practiced sexual perversion.” When
asked for a „short definition and also the differentiation between homosexuality and
perversion”, he stated:
„Homosexuality is a desire of like sex for each other. Perversion represents a regression to the infantile level to the stage of partial impulses without the production of conflict or the necessity of fear. Perversion in itself, philosophically I
might qualify that a little by saying that if an act is not performed to attain desired end or the end for which it qualifies and that act is repeated, that in itself
would be perversion. Homosexuality as we understand it today does not necessarily contain perversion.”1183
He went on to explain that „repeated kissing or caressing or fondling of each other of
members of the same sex” as well as „the writing of letters which contain rather passionate passages” [letters Pagett to Lt. Joyce] constituted „abnormal conduct […] and
the repeated act would be perversion.” Furthermore, Captain Bender asserted the board,
1181
Letter Helen G. Pagett to „Jo” [Georgia Joyce], Exhibit 4-b. Proceedings of Board, Daytona
Beach, FL. NARA. RG 407, Box 4280.
1182
Letter Helen G. Pagett to „Dearest Jo” [Georgia Joyce], Exhibit 4-a. Proceedings of Board,
Daytona Beach, FL. NARA. RG 407, Box 4280.
1183
Proceedings of Board, Daytona Beach, FL. Summary of Testimony in Hearing of Helen G.
Pagett. Captain John J. Bender, Medical Corps, Chief of Neuropsychiatric Section, Station Hospital, 1.
320
„some individuals under stress or confinement […] are more prone to resort to
abnormal sex acts or perverted sex acts”, whereas a „normal individual would
not be as apt to resort to such practices even under stress” so that the former
might be „classed as a bad influence.”1184
Private Pagett takes up the ‘boarding school argument’, the argument that blames the
environment. She explains she is victim of circumstances (inactivity, no furlough, lack
of occasion to meet men „to give them the understanding, love and affection that they
have needed, that I have needed.”1185
„I am not ashamed of anything that I have done. I am not trying to hide the fact
that I have craved love and affection like a lot of other kids out there. I do flatly
deny ever at any time to indulge or ever thought that I ever would let myself go
to the extent revealed to you in actually indulging in abnormal sex acts of any
kind. […] There is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I am not abnormal. I want
kids. I want a man. We don’t have the opportunity to meet men. You come into
town to have a drink at a bar or something like that. I would feel like a pick-up
unless I went with a group of fellows. Most of the fellows the kids joke about as
being wolves. They are.”1186
„I have never in all my life indulged in anything sexual with any woman. I have
never had any reason to. But I have needed love and affection to the extent that
someone would reciprocate to it like she [Lieutenant Joyce] did and supposedly
mean it. […] It was a cruel thing to do. […] What we need is a doctor and psychiatrist to straighten this out.”1187
The question whether Pagett would fall in the category of abnormal conduct or that of
the pervert was important for the type of discharge she would receive. Pagett pleaded to
be represented as a normal „kid”, who not only craved „understanding, love and affection”, but was also willing to give it to a man, perhaps a future husband.1188 However,
the military denied her the opportunity to meet decent men while retaining her respectability. Lieutenant Joyce on the other hand, was not only cruel but might also have tried
to protect herself. She was, according to Pagett’s and Lieutenant Knox’s testimonies,
„practically accusing half the officers and some of the non-coms of the same thing. She
caused so much talk about it.” „[E]veryone at the Coquina Hotel was being accused by
1184
Ibid, 1-2.
Ibid.
1186
Proceedings of Board, Daytona Beach, FL. Testimony of Helen G. Pagett, 54.
1187
Ibid.
1188
Testimony of Helen G. Pagett, 52.
1185
321
6. Sexuality
little remarks here and there.” On the other hand, Joyce could point to testimonies that
confirmed that she had always been the passive part, the one who Pagett had approached and courted. In one of the letters it said, „May I have this dance, Lt? You
dance beautifully – so easy to lead and that ear I’m really sorry I couldn’t help but bite
it.” The other members of the little clique, Private Neoma Chostner, „whose only particularity in dress is her mannish job” and Private Arvonia Pritchard also gave „evidence of habits or traits of character which serve to render her retention in the service
undesirable” and were both discharged „other than honorable.”1189 Private Helen G.
Pagett received a blue discharge with the remark „not recommended for re-enlistment,
induction or re-induction.”1190
The final example illustrates that during the war years, Army and WAC administration
were generally more concerned with the public image of the corps than with rooting out
homosexuals. Capt. Doris V. Clark was accused of having had an affair with Sgt. Grace
Randall (AAF WAC Ft. Worth, TX) and resigned her commission in lieu of court martial. Two weeks later, on 1 March 1044, Clark stated that she had been pressured to resign by „other officers [who] held a personal grudge against her” „not realizing that it
would be anything other than a honorable discharge as she had been told that it was for
good of the Corps.”1191 When it occurred to her that with a discharge other than hono rable she would not be able to find a position as a chemist she tried to withdraw her resignation. Her father, a lawyer, made an appeal to War Department and the Senate Military Affairs Committee. The G-1 recommended probationary assignment of 90 days, favorable efficiency report rendered.1192 Clark’s mother was chairman of WAC recrui ting
and member of WAC Mothers Club of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. When it turned out
that this could become a high profile case, Colonel Hobby and Colonel Morisette de-
1189
Hearings before Board of Officers re: Private Neoama Chostner and Private Arvonia Pritchard, 2nd WAC Training Center, Daytona Beach, FL. 29 September 1943. NARA. RG 407,
Box 4280.
1190
Proceedings of Board, Daytona Beach, FL.
1191
Memo, Asst. Chief of Staff, G-1, 17 October 1944. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 201.
1192
Ibid.
322
cided during two phone calls in March 1943 that the negative publicity was really not
worth keeping up their resistance to Captain Clark’s reassignment.1193
In a 28-page letter, Captain Clark’s mother explained her daughter’s view of the
charges. According to her detailed letter, the only thing the two women were accused of
was spending the night together in a Ft. Worth, TX hotel room, but only after an incident which had involved an enlisted woman under Clark’s command and a military police officer who had allegedly instructed Randall to get in the room and stay there. „She
thought he meant all night so she called the post and signed out. She spent that night in
Capt. Clark’s room which no doubt is against army rules.”1194 Doris Clark was the third
commanding officer the detachment at Ft. Worth has had and since there was no executive officer, Sgt. Randall had assisted her with her Company work. The next morning,
Mrs. Clark went on,
„when Sgt. Randall returned to the post she was sent to the hospital. […] A psychiatrist visited her and tried to get her to admit that she had homosexual relations with Capt. Clark. She would not admit this, as it was not true. They even
offered to release her from the hospital if she would admit it. She said that at
times she felt like admitting it if they would only let her along, as she could not
stand any more pressure. […] She was in a bad state of mind. I went to the hospital to see her when I was in Ft. Worth and if she is kept there much longer she
will be a mental case. [..]”1195
Randall was reduced in rank although Clark tried to get her transferred, not knowing
that charges had been made against her. When she was informed of this by Capt. Hargrave from Central Training Command, she asked to see the accusing statements, but he
refused. Clark then went to the judge advocate and told him that rather than to resign,
she would stand Court Martial. The Captain then massively threatened the Sergeant and
coerced her into submitting her resignation.
„He told her they were prepared to make it a dirty case and would promise no
freedom from publicity. [She] did not feel that she was able physically and
mentally to stand more. The tiredness of nineteen months in the Army, let go,
1193
Transcript of telephone conversation between Col. Morisette und Col. Hobby, 28 and 31
March 1943. NARA. RG 165, Entry 55, Box 201.
1194
Letter Mrs. J. N. Clark, Williamstown, KY to Col. Hobby, 20 March 1944. Ibid.
1195
Ibid.
323
6. Sexuality
she was in a state of collapse, as she felt she didn’t want publicity because of the
Corps and because of the work I was doing recruiting and having a hard time.
She hated to involve others – so she handed in her resignation, not realizing that
it would be anything other than a honorable discharge as she had been told that it
was for good of the Corps.”1196
With a discharge other than honorable Clark would not have been able to find a position
in her field as a chemist. After consulting with Hobby and Morisette and after Clark’s
appeal to War Dept and Senate Military Affairs Committee, the G-1 recommended probationary assignment of 90 days and Clark was retained in the Service and, after a favorable efficiency report, reassigned.
1196
Ibid.
324
7. Conclusion: The WAC between Institutional Integration and Discursive Exclusion
When the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was established in 1942 and one year later
replaced by the Women’s Army Corps, the exclusion of women from modern Armies of
the Western world had been so thorough that the concepts of ‘woman’ and ‘soldier’ appeared to be mutually exclusive. In contrast to the widespread assumption that war had
exclusively been men’s business, European Armies from the fourteenth until well into
the nineteenth century had consisted not just of soldiers, but also of a vast field train.
This train consisted of men and women who furnished supply, maintenance, and
evacuation services to a unit and generally performed what we consider today combat
support and combat supply support. In early modern Europe women’s work in a military camp differed little from that in a peasant village, making them an integral part of
early modern armies.
It is also safe to assume that women have fought on all of the battlefields of North
America. Women were affected by war in manifold ways. They were forced to assume
new duties, quarter troops or to move the household and flee approaching troops. Many
women followed their husbands to war and some stepped in when the men were
wounded or killed. Others had stayed home and took up arms to defend their home. In
the American Civil War, many women volunteered as nurses and Sanitary Commission
workers. Some women chose to disguise as men, joined the army, and fought as officers
or common soldiers. Women also served clandestinely as spies, saboteurs, and scouts.
When military service became universal, it acquired a closer connection to the emerging
concept of the nation. More professional armies consisting increasingly of conscripts
became an agent for disciplining and civilizing provincials into nationals. The universal
draft, culminating in the French levée en masse, linked the emerging idea of a national
character to a militarized masculinity. This entailed two things: Firstly, as armies became more professional and more permanent, the size of the train was reduced and the
armies assumed greater control over their supply system. In order to make the organization more efficient and flexible, army and civilian life became more and more separate.
325
Nursing also became more professional, more respectable, and more feminized. Despite
their official assignment, the nurses’ status was strictly non-military.
Secondly, military discipline became a rite de passage, a „school of the fatherland”.
Drawing on the classical discourse of armed civic virtue, the modern concepts of man,
citizen and soldier converged. The result was not only a gendered division of labor, but
also the emergence of gender specific national personae. War (fighting) had become
men’s business. In the early American republic, women were cast as embodying the
non-war like qualities and figured as „other” in relation to the concept of masculine,
militarized citizen.
With the totalization of warfare in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, war fighting
increasingly involved warriors and civilians from all parts of societies, but the gendered
split between the battlefront and the home front deepened. In as much as each nation relied on the participation of virtually all of its members, different forms of mobilization
and self-mobilization were employed for men and women. Women were needed in a variety of functions: as homemakers they were expected to ‘make do’ with scarce resources; as industrial workers they had to „man” the assembly lines of the war industries and as auxiliaries with the armed forces they were expected to replace male soldiers and take over clerical and supply functions. The patriotic roles of „Rosie the riveter” and „Winnie the WAAC” provided women with many an empowering experience,
as had the role of the „republican mother” in the civic tradition of the early republic.
The employment of women to serve with a military institution posed a dilemma. During
WWI, but particularly during the WWII, the manpower needs of the United States
armed forces had become exceedingly great. No military branch could afford not to employ women in a host of administrative and clerical tasks and other „women’s jobs” for
which they were thought to be particularly well suited. As the contemporary gender
roles cast men as the protectors of „womenandchildren” and women as the carers for
their families, the legitimacy of the hegemonic civilian masculinity as well as the milita-
326
rized masculinity of the soldiers depended on maintaining the discursive boundaries
between the protector and the protected.
It is against this backdrop that this study attempted to shed light on two questions. The
first hypothesis this study presented was that the category woman|soldier did not represent an oxymoron, but that an entirely new category did emerge during World War II.
Whereas the woman|auxiliary of the WAAC was slightly more compatible with pre-war
gender roles, the woman|soldier of the WAC was de jure a member of the United States
Army. As I have shown, however, this meant that the boundaries between Wacs and
male soldiers were redrawn inside the organization. Although Wacs were formally in
the Army, they were assigned positions outside the core of military masculinity through
a variety of symbolic and other practices.
The second question this study examined was the viability and usefulness of Foucault’s
model of the dispositive. I have argued that the specific formation of power|knowledge
in which the concept of the woman|soldier emerged, called for a model, which takes
into account discursive elements as well as practices and material factors. The debates
over the WAAC Bill in Congress illustrate the positions toward women’s military service: While Chief of Staff, George Marshall, and other senior military officers were most
concerned with the severe manpower shortages they anticipated, members of the House
of Representatives worried about gender roles in civilian society. They feared that the
roles of protector and provider would be usurped by women along with that of the soldier. Not incidentally, similar resistance occurred when the conversion to the WAC in
1943 and the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 were debated. This
shows that only when taken together the institutional, the discursive, and the subject
perspective produce a three-dimensional image of the formation of power in which the
Women’s Corps operated.
Because in a democratic society the military is not separate from society, changes in the
personnel structure of the former have profound influence on the gendered order of civilian society and vice versa. Moreover, the war like any total war had itself an impact
on gender roles in the US. I have argued that it was a virile, militarized masculinity that
327
was perceived to be at the military’s core and that needed to be protected from differently gendered persons – for example limited service men, effeminate men and women.
This concept of masculinity now had to be reframed under the conditions of the draft
and women’s service. As I have shown, the line of demarcation was discursively redrawn inside the organization: It was combat that separated the men from the non-men.
On a practical level, however, this sharp distinction of tasks made little sense as a shortlived secret experiment in the Antiaircraft Artillery proved. Within a mixed tactical unit
of the Coastal Artillery equipment such as height finders, fire directors, and guns were
operated, but great care was taken that the women members of the AAA units were limited to operating the searchlights. Mixed units proved to perform exceptionally well and
the British example further testified to the viability of using women in mixed-gender
AAA units. Despite their exemplary performance, General Marshall decided not to disclose the successful experiment and his optimistic estimates for the future to the American public in order not to endanger the passage of the WAC Bill.
In analyzing the press coverage of the WAAC/WAC and the Corps’ own efforts of
communicating to the public its desired image via recruiting campaigns and public relations efforts, several phases can be distinguished: For the first months WAAC recruiting
was handled by the US Army Recruiting Service, an agency unprepared for the task of
recruiting large numbers of volunteer women into a military organization. Between
April 1943 and the conversion to the WAC, recruiting was in the hands of WAAC
headquarters. After enrollment had almost come to a complete halt, the WAC took up
recruiting and launched several campaigns until 1945. Each of the various recruiting
themes devised by the agencies involved reflected a particular approach to recruiting
that was an effect of the competing discourses surrounding the WAC.
The woman who considered joining one of the women’s services faced military service
as a non-traditional occupation that provided the opportunity to leave home, learn new
skills, and acquire greater self-confidence. At the same time, the military was a place
outside the accepted realm of femininity that was widely considered to corrupt a woman
morally so that she had to be on constant guard not to loose her respectability, modesty,
328
or femininity. Finally, military service provided an opportunity to do her country a patriotic service. Recruiting campaigns made use of all of these discourses. As was the
case in the defense industries, advertisers tried to convince the public that women could
make vital contributions in men’s jobs, but at the same time retain their traditional
feminine identities. The important point to be stressed in both cases was that femininity
suspended „for the duration” would not lastingly challenge traditional gender roles.
The press, at first considered more of a threat than an asset by Director Colonel Hobby,
took ample interest in the Corps from its first day. Their coverage focused much on the
perceived difference between ‘feminine’ and ‘martial’ qualities. „Womanpower” was
much sought for and competition by other women’s services, the civilian labor market,
and other government agencies made the task of recruiting women difficult, especially
when the WAAC had comparatively little to offer in terms of pay or benefits.
The question of whether the WAC’s purpose was to provide large numbers of women
for unskilled or semi-skilled work or whether it was to be a small, highly skilled corps
that made available to the Army those special skills that highly qualified women had
acquired in the civilian labor market was never resolved as long as the Corps existed.
This was also the reason for much disagreement between the War Department and the
Director over minimum requirements and enlistment standards, the lowering of which
was felt to have caused great problems with „unassignable” personnel.
Recruiting oscillated between the themes of „self-sacrifice” and „self-interest”, between
appeals based on glamour on the one hand and guilt on the other. After the first campaign slogan „Release a Man for Combat” had proven extremely unpopular, the advertising agency Young & Rubicam and George Gallup advised against appealing to a
woman’s „patriotic duty” and advocated pointing out the personal benefits to be gained
by enlisting. Director Hobby, on the other hand, insisted on emphasizing the traditional
trope of the sacrifice women were making for their family or, by extension, for their nation. The resulting advertising compromise was a patriotic approach with some „glamorization”.
329
The „slander campaign” that hit the WAAC in 1943 exposed the shortfall of proper
education of the public about the purpose and the work of the WAAC. The association
of Waacs with camp followers and prostitutes by columnist John O’Donnell and many
others who spread the rumors did great harm to recruiting, not to mention the feelings of
the Waacs themselves. The hundreds of letters, remarks, and articles typically reveal
one of two „arguments”: Either the WAAC morally corrupted young unsuspecting
women who joined the Corps out of patriotism, or it attracted deviant characters, „mannish” women, and women of doubtful reputation. In either case, the Waacs’ alleged
purpose was to provide soldiers and officers with sexual services. An investigation by
the War Department revealed the fact that while there was no evidence for any influence
of enemy powers; most of the rumors were started by servicemen or originated in communities close to military bases. Possible motivations to spread rumors of immorality on
the part of the Waacs included resentment of being replaced by a WAAC, the fear of
being sent overseas and into combat or of loosing one’ employment with the Army.
Many soldiers wrote explicitly in letters that they expected their home, including their
wife, girlfriend, or sister, to remain unchanged until they returned. Several opinion polls
among servicemen revealed the decidedly adverse attitude of soldiers toward the WAC.
Few of them knew much about the Corps’ purpose and duties, but even many of those
who worked with Wacs would not want their sisters or woman friends to join.
Towards the end of the war, with recruiting figures disastrously low, WAC recruiting
tended to emphasize the point that Wacs were non-combatant soldiers in their own
right. From recognizing woman|soldiers’ place in the war, however, it was only a small
step toward re-essentializing their nurturing and caring skills. Wacs were now recruited
as medical technicians to „comfort our wounded heroes”, a „feminine” skill that would
also make them „better wives” once the war was over.
Whereas recruiting and public relations are interesting because they attempted to condense discourses into sales messages and public opinion into poll figures, documents
such as camp newspapers, poems and songs, written and composed by Wacs, illustrate
that Waacs were embodying a variety of subject positions as woman|soldiers and that
330
they were actively carving out spaces for themselves within the organization. Wacs
toyed with different concepts of femininity, reflected their experience of non-traditional
work, or tested the limits of the anti-fraternization policy. They used some of the recruiting themes quite affirmatively or openly ironical. Finally, just like other soldiers,
they invented their own military tradition, heroic narratives, and rituals of camaraderie.
In the WAC, as in any other military organization, the discursive effects of
power|knowledge and discipline materialized in the uniformed body. Hence, the uniformed body was at the same time the site of subjection and of subjectivation. The uniform also acted as a sign system used to communicate and negotiate relations of power
within the organization as well as in relation to civilian outsiders. Finally, the WAC uniform was a material object that had to be designed, procured, and distributed and worn.
I have used this double character of the uniformed body to explore the intricate connections between symbolic and material aspects as well as those between disciplinary technologies and technologies of the self.
During the pre-planning process, representatives of several Army agencies and the
WAAC met extensively with designers and manufacturers to discuss and develop the
design of an entirely new uniform for the new women’s corps. This process carried an
enormous symbolic significance - behind lengthy debates on buttons and hems lay the
question of how ‘soldierly’ and how ‘feminine’ the Waac should be. Despite the fact
that Waacs had to do jobs that involved driving, climbing in and out of airplanes and
motor repair work, their uniforms were designed for respectable, middle-class office
workers. Because donning a military uniform was already considered a deviance from
existing gender roles, great care was taken to convey a „lady-like” appearance. The fact
that the design was repeatedly revised shows the fragility of this concept. Due to the
rapid build-up of WAAC personnel, and the fact that few people involved in the planning process had any experience with women’s uniforms, the design of the WAAC uniform proved unsatisfactory and continued to draw complaints and criticism until shortly
before the end of the war. The Army supply system also proved inadequate. Training
Centers opened without any stock, Waacs/Wacs graduated and went to the field without
even one proper uniform. The lack of suitable clothing for extreme climates posed a se-
331
rious health risk. Despite all of these shortcomings, Director Hobby and the War Department believed that the appearance of the uniform played an important role in a
woman’s decision to join the service. Consequently, the uniform, its elements, and their
retail value were featured in many recruiting ads. Among the many appeals that Hobby
made with regard to the uniform, one of the few that the Quartermaster General approved of was the authorization for additional items for personnel on recruiting duty.
Nevertheless, the uniform further aggravated the publicity crisis of 1943.
Besides the symbolic and material aspects, I have also looked at the practices involved
in wearing the uniform. These practices, I have argued, are located where power has the
quality of capillarity and thus provide insight into how Waacs/Wacs constructed themselves as women soldiers. Where adequate supply was not found, Wacs took to improvising. They bought or traded slacks where needed for malaria prophylaxis, they secured men’s uniforms and even sewed pieces such as bathing suits that were needed, but
not issued. Although this involved violation of uniform regulations, superiors often
sanctioned these measures in the interest of well-being.
Like the rest of the Army, the Women’s Corps was racially segregated. African American women were mobilized according to earlier plans the War Department had devised
for African American men. African Americans could only make up about ten percent of
the troops corresponding with their proportion of the population. Although the Army offered the greatest opportunity for racial minorities among the women’s services, the
percentage of African American servicewomen never even reached that number but
stayed around four percent of all enlisted women and under three percent of the officers.
Racial segregation, the War Department argued, was a long established social practice
that had „proven satisfactory” and that the Army would experiment with during wartime. Finally, the Army made sure that black officers could not command white troops,
although the opposite was possible.
African American women’s organizations began lobbying even before the WAAC Bill
had become law. Mary McLeod Bethune and the National Council of Negro Women
332
tirelessly advocated the integration of African American women and continued to
monitor the Corps’ regulations and practices of segregation in the training centers and
field stations. African American women were also active in the Double-V campaign the
Pittsburgh Courier and other black papers had launched. Even before WAAC recruits
set foot in a training center, they were subject to racially biased application and test procedures.
African American Waacs/Wacs were not only subject to institutional racism, but also to
racist bias in the communities near their bases. Citizens of several states addressed several hundred letters to their congressional representatives, the Secretary of War or the
President in which they complained about their perceived lack of segregation. The
WAC/WAAC reacted evasively to such letters and claimed segregation was long
standing Army policy. The Army in turn rarely defended racial segregation openly, but
claimed it was either in accordance with state law or merely a social tradition with
which to break would endanger the Army’s efficiency.
African American Waacs/Wacs were limited to fewer specialist schools than their white
counterparts, which in turn limited the number of potential assignments. They were
rarely requested by commanders to fill specific positions and were often assigned low
skilled work, even when better qualified. In several instances, African American women
chose to protest discriminatory practices, racial segregation, and outright racist remarks
by their superior officers. The racial-caste society of 1940s’ United States placed African Americans at a lower position than other ethnic and racial groups. As women in the
Army, they were also regarded second-class soldiers. Hence, although they placed the
highest hope in serving in the military to attain first-class citizenship, African American
woman|soldiers were a double minority.
A colonial element is present in the case of Puerto Rican Wacs, who, although they
were identified as white, served in segregated units. Officially segregated because of
„language problems”, recruiters were convinced that Puerto Rican women’s „integrity
and emotional stability” was below that of „continental” women. The example of the
333
Puerto Rican Wacs, although few in numbers, highlights the colonial attitude and the
centrality of white, middle-class values in the WAC.
The history of Japanese American Wacs also highlights the intricate connections between the categories race and gender. Here, however, subordination and disadvantage
do not fall along a color line of black versus white. Instead, the axis was American vs.
Alien. In contrast to African Americans, Japanese Americans became racialized only
during the war. About half of the over 20,000 women of Japanese ancestry who were
interned at so-called relocation centers across the West were eligible for the Corps.
Moreover, their occupational and language skills were exactly what the Army needed
most. Extensive interviews with the women revealed not only their qualifications and
loyalty, but also their firm opposition to serving in segregated units. Their unanimity
proved successful: Beginning late in 1943, Nisei Wacs were being trained and assigned
in integrated units. Wacs of all ethnic minorities considered military service a step toward full citizenship rights.
In the final chapter, I have explored how gender related to sexuality in the WAC. Sexuality, along with race and class, was one of the lines along which the WAC leadership’s
concept of „respectability” was organized. Director Hobby believed firmly in different
standards of behavior for men and women in the Army in order to safeguard their
„moral welfare”. Only this, she argued, could ensure the ”high moral character” that
would protect the women from sexual victimization and the Corps from bad publicity.
This respectability was based on white, middle-class values and on the ideal of sexual
restraint and chastity. The construction of military masculinity, in contrast, depended on
emphasizing qualities such as aggressiveness in fighting or otherwise. Sexual promiscuity was, if not encouraged, at least tolerated. This double standard became evident for
instance in the policies to control venereal disease. The Army’s policy was based on attempting to rid VD of the social stigma attached to it so that infected soldiers would
seek treatment. To achieve this, the Army used a two-fold strategy of issuing prophylactic kits to male soldiers and make early treatment compulsory. During the war, social
hygiene campaigns against prostitution were also aimed at „amateur girls”, „pick-ups”
334
and „khaki-wackies”, thus further underscoring rumors that the Wacs were offering
sexual services. For the Women’s Corps, on the other hand, infected women were not
treated but discharged. Whether the women should receive education and lectures in
matters of sexual health and whether contraceptives should be made available to them
was constantly being debated. In contrast to senior Army officers and medical personnel, Hobby was of the opinion that these lectures were uncalled for and would do more
harm than good.
The in loco parentis approach of the WAC Director and the ideal of sexual abstinence
also determined the Corps’s policy on pregnancy, abortion, and maternity. Women with
dependent children would not be accepted into the WAC and Wacs who became pregnant were immediately discharged. In the early days of the WAAC, unmarried Waacs
had received a summary discharge when pregnant while married Waacs were honorably
discharged but this policy was rescinded even before the conversion.
The varying degree to which the Army’s anti-fraternization policy was enforced highlights gendered and sexualized issues of race and class. Initially, the social „mixing of
rank” between Waacs and Army personnel, as well as within the WAAC, was prohibited. Hobby later changed her opinion when many Wacs, who thought of their military
service as only temporary, complained about this policy. It also became clear that the
anti-fraternization policy was a major deterrent to WAC recruiting. Originally devised
to limit favoritism in the army by separating issues of rank and command from the
realm of social interaction, between WAC and Army personnel it became more of an instrument to sort out class positions. Heterosexual social encounters were in principle
considered desirable, if only to prevent the women confined to a single-sex environment
from developing homosexual tendencies. Wacs argued that in terms of class background, their counterpart would be Army officers, not enlisted men. Male officers, on
the other hand, often feared the competition with enlisted men for dates with the Wacs if
the policy were relaxed. Violations of the anti-fraternization policy were generally tolerated, if no inter-racial or homosexual contact and no other offenses were involved.
Particularly under field conditions overseas, the WAC leadership argued, the white, heterosexual, middle-class morality of the Corps had to be protected from black men and
335
other women - even more so than from white soldiers and airmen who „had not seen a
woman in months”.
Like other women in the workforce, woman|soldier’s respectability was threatened by
their greater mobility and autonomy. Against the backdrop of the gender system of the
1940s, agency in women, particularly sexual agency was considered deviant. The quintessential threat however was not the heterosexual woman who gave expression to her
desire, but the „mannish” lesbian, who usurped not only man’s role as provider, but was
also fantasized to seize his role as the active and aggressive sexual partner of a woman.
The epitome of gender and sexual deviance was the lesbian woman|soldier, who by
donning a uniform even attempted to appropriate the role of the protector. In order to
explore the connections of these popular discourses with the Army’s disciplinary and
medical approaches, I have undertaken an excursus into the medical literature of the
turn if the century. The ideas of the Army’s emerging medical and psychiatric establishment, as well as popular discourses, drew heavily on the older concepts of degeneration, sexual inversion and the Freudian concept of latent homosexuality. Without the
„sexual modernists” Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis and Sigmund Freud, the
pertinent concept of homosexuality could not have emerged in this form.
Before and during World War II, a major conceptual shift had reached the Army, which
hitherto had dealt only with the concept of sodomy. Under the condition of a universal
draft and with the growing authority of the medical profession, homosexuality gradually
came to be redefined as a medical, not a criminal problem. While „consensual sodomy”
had been defined as a criminal act in the Articles of War, homosexuality was now considered a mental illness, which however acquired, could be treated, or at least managed.
Perhaps the most important change, however, was that with the medical definition a
new class of people came into existence: Homosexuals did not need to commit any offense to make themselves subject to dishonorable discharge.
The WAC dealt with women’s homosexuality in different ways. One reason for this was
that, although Wacs were also subject to the Universal Code of Military Justice and to
336
Army regulations, homosexuality in the WAC was managed according to traditions of
educational, rather than military, institutions. The deans of women’s colleges, who were
in a way the intellectual godmothers of the Corps, were used to homosocial and homosexual practices as an environmental problem of women’s dormitories. They had
brought with them a moral approach: guidance, education, lectures, supervision, and reassignment of jobs, stations, and quarters. Disciplinary measures such as courts-martial
and discharge were used as a last resort for un-curable, „homosexual addicts”. Another
reason for the different treatment of women homosexuals was that the WAC regulatory
system was mainly based on the attempt to protect the public legitimacy of the Corps.
The Director was always aware of the publicity side to exposing lesbians. She advised
officers to deal with individual cases with tolerance and not to indulge in witch hunting.
As a corps of volunteers, the WAC’s strength depended directly on the numbers of
women rejected and the success of the recruiting campaigns. More importantly, in order
to win public support and Congressional backing, the impression that the WAC was
‘full of homosexuals and sex maniacs’ had to be avoided at all costs.
The strategies for identifying and classifying lesbians in the WAC were based on what
Leisa Meyer has called a „hierarchy of perversion”, where practices associated with
working class women on the one hand, and African Americans on the other hand were
considered most deviant. According to racist stereotypes, African American women
were considered more sexually active while working class women were stereotypically
accorded a lower morality than white, middle-class women. Categories of performativity played an important role in the process of determining who was just suffering from a
„hangover from adolescence” and who was an „addict”. In this respect, lesbianism was
considered more a question of a woman’s gender than of her sexuality. It was „crossgender behavior” that lead to „sexual confusion” – confusion not only of the object of a
woman’s object of desire, but also of her proper role: The problem was her sexual
agency per se. Practices that drew on Victorian upper middle-class traditions, such as
the romantic friendship, could be tolerated as long as feminine, white women were involved. The occasional crush on a fellow Wac could be dealt with by a benevolent superior officer by re-assigning the women in question and lecturing them about natural,
wholesome relationships. Cross-dressing, butch-femme relationships, and ‘mannish’
337
haircuts, on the other hand, were practices associated with working-class women and
belonged to the visible spectrum that would mark the true homosexual woman. Although these categories were part of the disciplinary system of the WAC, they were by
no means merely imposed on the women. Women’s and lesbians’ identity, agency, and
experience in World War II were shaped by a complex dispositive of discourses, practices, laws, regulations, and truths. Women's sexuality was controlled by discourses of
desexualization and/or hypersexualization as well as by fear of their sexual agency and
fear of their victimization.
Regardless of whether the WAC was indeed „the quintessential lesbian institution” as
John D’Emilio has put it, or what the actual numbers of lesbian women within the
Corps were, lesbian soldiers explored new strategies, established networks and formed
communities inside the military as well as in many major cities where lesbian networks
and a bar culture that had developed and expanded during the war provided some safety
and support in public. Many lesbians who had received „blue” discharges returned to
port cities where they formed the nuclei of emerging gay communities. Compared to before the war, they could now move much more freely. During the war, they had begun
to visit bars, cafes, and movie theaters with their girlfriends and unescorted by men.
Lesbian and heterosexual women’s experiences in the WAC highlight the conflicting
meanings of women’s sexualities and their role in the construction of the woman|soldier
during the war.
From auxiliaries serving in a separate Women’s Corps of the 1940s to members of the
All-Volunteer Force when the WAC was disbanded in 1978, Wacs were the first female
regular soldiers to serve in the United States Army. Their service laid the groundwork
for the eventual integration of women into today’s all-volunteer force. Gender continues
to exist and structure servicewomen’s experience until today. Military masculinity has
depended and continues to depend on the „other“, the feminine, the homosexual, the
ethnic other.
Although the ongoing construction of the woman|soldier, now as the „professional“
woman|soldier of the post-Cold War all-volunteer force takes place in a apparently en-
338
tirely different Army, it is structured by the same formations of power|knowledge as
that in which the „respectable“ woman|soldier of World War II took her first steps. The
integration of women is on no account an unqualified success-story. I will close this
study by pointing to a few examples that illustrate how the category gender continues to
structure the military institution. All of them illustrate how pervasively and all encompassing the gender regime operates within military culture.
After the draft ended with the expiration of the Selective Service Act in 1973, the proportion of women in the armed forces rose significantly. Since 1976, women enroll in
all of the Service academies. During the 1980s and 1990s, women deployed to Grenada
and Panama where they found themselves in combat-like operations. Various policies to
regulate the exclusion of women from combat positions have been devised and revised
over the course of the decade in which many new jobs were opened to women and in
which they served in the Persian Gulf War and in various international peacekeeping
missions from Bosnia to Somalia and Rwanda.1197 Never before were US military pe rsonnel involved in so many and so complex UN peacekeeping operations as in the
1990.1198 Peacekeeping missions, being by definition different than combat missions,
brought with them an even stronger ‘need’ for the symbolic affirmation of masculinity
and difference. On the interpersonal level this development is underscored by a large
number of incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assaults. These include domestic
violence within military families, large-scale assaults on and around military installations at home as well as abroad and individualized cases of sexual harassment on unit
level. On the socio-political level, a conservative discourse on „the feminization of the
military“ has been gaining ground along with the weakening of institutions like
DACOWITS.1199
1197
On combat exclusion laws see Francke, Linda Bird. Ground Zero: The Gender Wars in the
Military. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
1198
United Nations. General Assembly. Security Council. Comprehensive Review of the Whole
Question of Peacekeeping Operations in All Their Aspects [Brahimi Report]. 2000. Web Page.
URL: http://www.un.org/peace/reports/peace_operations/. 3 May 2005.
1199
Proponents of this position include Webster, Alexander F. „Paradigms of the Contemporary
American Soldier and Women in the Military.“ Strategic Review 19.3 (1991): 22-30. Adair, R.
D., and Joseph Myers. „Admission of Gays to the Military: A Singularly Intolerant Act.“
Parameters 23.1 (1993): 10-19. Gutmann, Stephanie. The Kinder, Gentler Military: Can
America's Gender-Neutral Fighting Force Still Win Wars? New York: Scribner, 2000. Van
Creveld, Martin L. „Armed But Not Dangerous: Women in the Israeli Military.“ War in History
339
At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel in September
1991, 83 women and 7 men were assaulted during the three-day aviators' convention, an
incident that can be read as an attempt to reaffirm a hegemonic masculinity that was
perceived to be threatened by a number of factors:1200 First, the convention of the Tai lhook Association was to be an unofficial celebration of the quick victory in the Persian
Gulf. As it turned out, servicewomen in combat support positions had received much
more media attention than had the Navy aviators, who traditionally perceive themselves
as an elite within the Navy. Tailhook took place during a climate of „downsizing“ in the
military that threatened people's job security. Additionally, the Risk Rule was about to
be rescinded and pilots anticipated the opening of one of their last male sanctuaries,
combat aviation, to women. 1201
A private organization, the Tailhook Association is comprised of active duty, Reserve
and retired Navy and Marine Corps pilots, defense contractors, and others. 1202 In the
7.1 (2000): 82-98. The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS)
was created in 1951 by then Secretary of Defense, George C. Marshall. Intended as a civilian
advisory board on matters of policy relating to women, DACOWITS’ recommendations have
often included opening positions to women, implementing anti-harassment policies and removing restrictions to command positions. In 2002, however, the DoD issued a new charter which
reduced the number of members by half and severely modified the committee’s mission.
1200
Regarding Tailhook see: United States, Dept. of Defense, and Office of the Inspector General. The Tailhook Report: The Official Inquiry into the Events of Tailhook '91. New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1993. Chema, J. Richard. „Arresting Tailhook: The Prosecution of Sexual Harassment in the Military.“. Judge Advocate General's School, 1993. Ebbert, Jean, and Marie-Beth
Hall. Crossed Currents: Navy Women From WWI to Tailhook. Washington, DC: Brassey's ,
1993. McMichael, William H. The Mother of All Hooks: The Story of the U.S. Navy's Tailhook
Scandal. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1997. Zimmerman, Jean. Tailspin:
Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
1201
One officer commented: „This was the woman that was making you, you know, change
your ways. This was the woman that was threatening your livelihood. This was the woman that
wanted to take your spot in that combat aircraft.” Pohl, Frances K. Tailhook '91: Women, Violence, and the U.S. Navy. 1994. Web Page. URL:
http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/june94pohl.htm. 11 August 2005.
1202
The first Tailhook symposium took place in Tijuana, Mexico in 1956 as a get-together of
naval aviators. In 1963, the meeting moved to Las Vegas and added a number of professional
development activities to its program. Official Navy backing for the symposium grew after this
point, and the arrangement for official task was carried out by the headquarters of the Assistant
340
early years the conventions centered around social gatherings and parties held in numerous hospitality suites funded by defense contractors. In the late 1970s, new Department of Defense rules restricted this practice and suite sponsorship fell to the individual
naval squadrons and commands that collected funds from members. As the number of
naval hospitality suites increased, so too did the competition among them to create a
popular suite. Popularity was achieved in „disciplines“ like drunkenness, prostitution,
public nudity, and public sexual intercourse. Several of the suites hired strippers to perform in the evenings, and some officers paid them for oral sex. An estimated 5000 people attended Tailhook '91 over the course of the three-day event. Approximately 4000 of
these were Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
When Paula Coughlin, a helicopter pilot, made a formal complaint on 10 October 1991,
backed by twenty-six other officers and enlisted women who had attended the convention, investigators of the DOD interviewed 2,900 attendees and obtained ev idence of
crimes and gross misconduct by naval aviators. Soon it became evident that the Navy
dragged its feet and seemed more interested in protecting the careers of the men charged
with harassment than in investigating the charges.1203 The Inspector General and the
Naval Investigative Service issued a lengthy report that plainly detailed lurid scenes at
Tailhook '91 where dozens of women were waylaid and sexually m olested. The report
motivated anger and a call for a more thorough investigation. On 18 June 1992, the
DOD took over the investigations, Coughlin went public with her charges, and the Senate Armed Services Committee delayed the promotions of 4,500 Navy and Marine
Corps officers.1204 Navy Secretary H. La wrence Garrett III resigned on June 26, 1992.
In September of 1992, the Pentagon's Inspector General issued its initial report - a very
serious account of how senior Navy officials deliberately diluted their own investig ation in order to avoid bad publicity. The Navy’s inquiry had, among other things, i gnored the involvement of senior officers at Tailhook, among them the Navy's top off icer, Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, who had witnessed the sexual misconduct, had not tried to
Chief of Naval Operations. The Navy made available free office space for the organization in
Miramar, California, and used its aircraft to fly participants to Las Vegas.
1203
D'Amico, Francine. „Appendix Tailhook: Deinstitutionalizing the Military's 'Woman Problem'”, in: Weinstein and White, Wives and Warriors, 235-44, 236.
1204
Ibid., 235.
341
stop it, and had subsequently covered it up.1205 In April of 1993, the second part of the
Pentagon's Inspector General report was issued and stated that the files of at least 140
officers had been referred to the military services for possible punitive action for indecent exposure, assault, conduct unbecoming an officer and failure to act in a proper
leadership capacity, but not for sexual assault or rape. Moreover, 51 individuals were
found to have made false statements during the investigation. None of these 140 cases
ever went to trial. Approximately half were dropped for lack of evidence. Most of the
rest of the men „went to the mast“ - an internal, non-judicial disciplinary procedure that
meted out fines and career penalties. With regard to the most celebrated case in the
Tailhook scandal, the Marine Corps dropped all charges against the Marine captain
charged by Lieutenant Paula Coughlin with sexual molestation. The Corps decided
there was not enough evidence to proceed with a court-martial against the captain and
that Coughlin misidentified her assailant. In addition, both the Pentagon’s and Navy's
prosecutorial methods were disapproved of, in particular, the practice of granting e xemption to a number of junior officers in order to obtain their cooperation. In addition,
there was evidence of highly questionable interview procedure, careless interview reporting and unsuitable questions asked regarding sexual histories and practices.1206
As documented by the DoD investigators, most of the humiliating rituals at the Tailhook convention had a long-standing tradition and exemplify and celebrate a particular
aspect of military masculine culture. Among them were activities such as „The Gauntlet“, a loosely formed group of up to two hundred men who lined the corridor outside
the hospitality suites around 10:30 each night of the convention, and „touched“ women
1205
On April 19, 1994, the U.S. Senate voted 54-43 to allow Kelso to retire as a fourstar admiral, with an annual pension of $84,340, rather than at two stars at $67,422. Ibid., 237.
1206
See United States, et al. Women in the Military: The Tailhook Affair and the Problem of
Sexual Harassment. Report of the Military Personnel and Compensation Subcommittee and Defense Policy Panel of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session. Washington, DC: GPO, 1992. United States, Dept. of
Defense, and Office of the Inspector General. The Tailhook Report: The Official Inquiry into
the Events of Tailhook '91. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. For further discussion of the issue Boo, Katherine. Universal Soldier: What Paula Coughlin Can Teach American Women.
1992. Web Page. URL:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/navy/tailhook/debate.html#us. 12 August 2005.
Ebbert and Hall, Crossed Currents. McMichael, The Mother. Zimmerman, Tailspin.
342
who passed down the corridor.1207 It is clear from a number of accounts that this activity
was not uncommon at naval officers' clubs, training squadron parties, and at „wingings“
when naval aviators are awarded their pilots’ wings.
During the DOD investigation the following „rationales“ for this behavior were offered,
which show how deeply certain group norms that are, at the very least, conducive to
rape are rooted in US military culture. The most common reason was this behavior was
„expected“ of junior officers and Tailhook was replete with „traditions.” In one officer's
words, „It was condoned early in some of the senior officers’ careers [...] When this first
thing started they were the elite, they thought they could do anything they wanted
[...].”1208 Numerous officers viewed Tailhook as a type of „free-fire zone” where they
could celebrate without regard to rank or decorum.1209 Tailhook was perceived as an a ccepted part of the culture set apart from the mainstream of the Armed Forces. Many
linked Tailhook to overseas deployment where months of Spartan living give way to
excessive partying while in foreign ports. A frequently heard comment, „what happens
overseas, stays overseas“ was the implicit paradigm applied to Tailhook where in earlier
years the tacit agreement was „no wives, no cameras“.
Unlike their counterparts in other Armed Services, aviators do not follow a career progression of command. Most do not have any leadership responsibilities of commanding
a unit until the 10-year point in their careers. The authors of the report curiously noted
that many senior officers repeatedly referred to the aviation lieutenants and lieutenant
commanders as „the kids.” „To us, their use of this term symbolized an attitude where
irresponsible behavior and conduct were accepted manifestations of high-spirited youth.
1207
The touching ranged from consensual pats on the breasts and buttocks to violent grabbing,
groping, clothes stripping and other assaultive behavior as the women were funneled down
theline of men, sometimes even picked up on the shoulder and carried into the crowd. A common form of indecent exposure at the convention was attendants publicly exposing their testicles.
1208
PBS Frontline. Rationale for Behavior. [n.d.]. Web Page. URL:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/navy/tailhook/rat.html. 13 August 2003.
1209
United States. Department of Defense. The Inspector General. The Tailhook Report. Section
X: Officer Attitudes and Leadership Issues. 1993. Web Page. URL:
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/GenderIssues/SexualHarassment/Tailhook-91part2/sect10. 14 February 2003.
343
The attitude is a major departure from the traditions of the ground forces, where newly
commissioned second lieutenants control the lives of their platoon members and are expected by their superiors to demonstrate the personal qualities of a leader.“1210
On Feb. 8, 1994, the military judge stated that Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Frank
B. Kelso had manipulated the investigation to shield his involvement. On Feb. 15, Admiral Kelso announced he would retire two months ahead of schedule. The Senate voted
to approve Kelso's retirement as a four-star admiral against the vote of the seven women
Senators. After the Tailhook incident, the Navy established a Standing Committee on
Women to assess policies on sexual harassment. Despite the establishment of a „zero
sexual harassment tolerance“ policy and a number of preventive and educational measures, sexual harassment has continued to be a problem.1211 Francine D’Amico has a rgued that while Tailhook „has changed official policy [it] has had little impact on the
practice of sexual harassment in the U.S. military. Tailhook has thus deinstitutionalized
the military's ‘woman problem,’ making harassment as a tool of resistance to women's
1210
Ibid.
In November 1994, several male West Point cadets were disciplined for sexual harassment
of female cadets, and the Navy was investigating charges of sexual harassment by male instructors at a Naval Training Center. At a number of Army facilities, including Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Fort Leonard Wood, investigations were conducted concerning harassment,
fraternization, assault and rape. In 1996, it was found that drill sergeants and other instructors
routinely engaged in sexual conduct with female trainees during the 25 week Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Some 50 victims were identified; 1,800
witnesses were interviewed; 20 instructors were suspended from duty. Ultimately, a dozen drill
instructors were charged with sex crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Four were
sent to prison; eight others were discharged or punished administratively. Letters of reprimand
were issued to Aberdeen’s commanding general and three other senior officers. The most serious punishment was handed down to Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, a drill sergeant sentenced to
25 years in prison for numerous counts of rape and abuse. United States, et al. Army Sexual
Harassment Incidents at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Sexual Harassment Policies Within the
Department of Defense: Hearing Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States
Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, February 4, 1997. Washington, DC: GPO,
1997. Bruce Shapiro also comments „Covering up sexual assault is Pentagon policy.” Shapiro,
Bruce. „[Editorial] Rape's Defenders.“ The Nation (1996): 6-8, 7. Rosen, Leora, and Lee
Martin. „Sexual Harassment, Cohesion and Combat Readiness in U.S. Army Support Units.“
Armed Forces & Society 24.2 (1997): 221-44. Firestone, Juanita M., and Richard J. Harris.
„Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Individualized and Environmental Contexts.“ Armed
Forces & Society 21.1 (1994): 24-43.
1211
344
presence less visible and therefore less open to challenge. Tailhook has also widened the
chasm of suspicion, hostility, and isolation between military men and women.”1212
Another battleground for the affirmation of the fragile ideal of military masculinity and
heterosexuality is the discourse around the integration of gay and lesbian servicemembers as promised by the Clinton-Administration. Although the connection between sexual violence against women and the policy on gays in the military, popularly known as
„Don't ask, don't tell, don’t pursue, don’t harass“ is frequently not being recognized, this
anti-gay policy is evidently one of the principal spurs to sexual harassment against
women. In 1999 women accounted for 31% of the discharges under „Don’t ask, don’t
tell“ while they made up only 14% of the total force. „The Don't ask, don't tell policy
pressures young women into sexual activity with their superiors by making them subject
to the threat of discharge as gay.“ 1213
Not only has the „Don't ask, don't tell - policy“ failed to prevent witch-hunts and diminish discharges of gay servicemembers; it has actually increased them, from 617 in
1994 to 1,034 in 1999, at a cost of more than 161 million dollars in training replacements for those discharged.1214 Additionally, the policy has spurred soaring rates of ve rbal abuse and physical violence, even murder. The Department of Defense itself has
now been forced to admit that harassment of uniformed gays remains widespread. In
March, the DoD Inspector General released a survey of 71,570 active-duty servicemembers revealing that 80 percent of those who filled out questionnaires reported
hearing „offensive“ antigay remarks. Nearly 10 percent said they had witnessed physical assault. Significant numbers also reported „offensive or hostile gestures,“ „threats or
intimidation,“ graffiti, vandalism, „limiting or denying training and/or career opportunities,“ and „disciplinary actions or punishment“ not of the assailants but of their vic-
1212
D’Amico, Appendix Tailhook, 235.
„You can't separate this policy from sexual harassment,” says Michelle Benecke, a lawyer,
former captain of US Army and co-director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
(SLDN). „A lot of the perception that women in the services are gay stems from the fact that
they're not sleeping with anyone in their unit,” Benecke says. Ireland, Doug. „Search and Destroy.“ The Nation 271.2 (2000): 11-16. See also Shapiro, Rape’s Defenders.
1214
Ireland, Search and Destroy.
1213
345
tims.1215 Madeline Morris, professor at Duke University Law School and at the time the
Army’s special assistant on gender relations, recommended, „the Army give up its ‘macho posturing’.” In a law review article she pointed out: „There is much to be gained,
and little to be lost by changing this aspect of military culture from a masculinist vision
of unalloyed aggressivity to an ungendered vision combining aggressivity with compassion.“ „There is substantial evidence“ Morris goes on, „of themes of hypermasculinity,
adversarial sexual beliefs, promiscuity, hostility toward women and possibly acceptance
of violence against women within current military structures“.1216
From the War of Independence to the present military operations in Iraq women have
participated in the nation’s wars by serving in a variety of capacities - as soldiers, defense workers, nurses and wives. At the same time, as Madeline Morris has put it,
„within traditional military culture, women are cast largely as the sexual adversaries or
target, while men are cast largely as promiscuous sexual hunters.”1217
Gender technologies, I have argued, have taken on different forms: During WWII it was
the rhetoric of „respectability“ that was hoped to bridge the gap between the woman and
the warrior, the necessary „othering“ of women soldiers and the need to utilize their
services. As was the case during the Cold War and after, their mere presence was
structured by a discourse on their sexuality: Women were either being desexualized or
hypersexualized, sometimes both. Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski, the Commander of the
800th Military Police Brigade, who was in charge of running prisons in Iraq, stated in an
online interview in May 2004: „I believe there were some male commanders particularly in the active component who resented my success in a theater of war and communicating to me at times that I was not going to succeed and how dare I think I could succeed in their theater of war. I got the distinct impression it was an insult to their warrior
1215
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Conduct Unbecoming: The Seventh Annual Report on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass'. 2001. Web Page. URL:
http://www.sldn.org/templates/press/record.html?section=3&record=257. 3 August 2005.
1216
Morris, By Force of Arms, 651.
1217
Ibid.
346
instinct and to their masculinity.“1218 After more than sixty years of women’s service
from enlisted ranks to general officers, the “gender wars” continue. Even if the lines of
demarcation now run through the military itself, the notion of the woman|soldier remains contested.
1218
Karpinski, Janis L., and Washington Post. Prison Abuse Scandal: Abu Ghraib. 2004. Web
Page. URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24845-2004May13.html. 11
August 2005.
347
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