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. WACs received the same rank insignia and pay as male soldiers, and unlike their counterparts in the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps, WACs could be stationed anywhere, including behind the lines in the battlefield.
Photos of Army WACs during World War II:
Chinese checkers at WAC dormitory
Mary Agnes Hallaren, WAC Officer
Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby at Mitchel Field
WAC Detachment Marching at Oak Ridge, Tennessee
WAC Signal Corps Field Switchboard Operators
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Recruits
WACs at Randolph Field, Texas
WAAC Takes Exam For Officer Candidate School
WAACs Servicing a Truck at Fort Huachuca, Arizona
Chaplain Reads Benediction at WAC Wedding
Marian Anderson Entertains Veterans and WACs
WAC Conducts Experiment in Hospital Serology Lab
First Overseas African American WACs Undergo Inspection
WACs at Fort McClellan Bowling Alley
6888th Postal Battalion Holds Open House
First WAAC Officer Candidate Class
WAAC Officers Go Shopping
WAACs at Work in Washington, D.C.
WAC Telephone Operators at Potsdam Conference
Eleanor Roosevelt Greets WACs in New York
