Over 200,000 women served in the army during World War II – 60,000 of them in the Army Nurse Corps, and another 150,000 as WACs (Women’s Army Corps). Although the army nurses had served in the first World War, the WAC wasn’t created until 1943 (preceded briefly by the WAAC), opening up a variety of opportunities for women to serve. Thousands were sent to the European and Pacific theaters, and many others remained stateside to fill the vacancies left by the men who’d gone overseas to fight.
Army Nurses of WWII
More than 59,000 American nurses served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. Nurses worked closer to the front lines than they ever had before. They served under fire in field hospitals and evacuation hospitals, on hospital trains and hospital ships, and as flight nurses on medical transport planes.
Army WACs of WWII
Over 150,000 American women served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II, filling a multitude of noncombatant positions throughout the service including air controllers, mechanics, postal clerks, switchboard operators, sheet metal workers, weather forecasters, and more. Originally established as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1942, it was converted to the WAC just a year later, and its members became a part of the regular army.
