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The WASP program meanwhile employed women pilots to ferry planes across the country, tow targets for artillery practice, deliver cargo, and do other aviation work. Members of the WAC could also serve overseas.
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Most of the corps eventually employed women as drivers and mechanics in the motor pools, electricians, laboratory technicians, ordnance engineers, and more. As women successfully completed the initial work offered to them, the corps offered extended training for more technical and traditionally masculine positions. They did clerical, administrative, and communications work, which included switchboard operation, codebreaking, stenography, and more. Many of the jobs available to women were similar to the work they performed as civilians.
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The requirements and duties of each group varied, but their main goals were the same: using women in non-combat roles in order to free more men for combat duty. Other branches quickly followed, with the Navy’s WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the Marine Corps’ Women’s Reserve (MCWR), the Coast Guard’s SPARS-“Semper Paratus-Always Ready,” and a program for women pilots called the WASP (Women’s Airforce Service Pilots).
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Congress established the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in early 1942, initially as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Despite the demobilization efforts for both male and female servicemembers, the Armed Forces continued to emphasize the importance of women’s participation with the military.īy the end of World War II, the US military had been utilizing women’s participation for several years. An article on the occasion in The New York Times added that the Army was asking for former members of the WAC to rejoin the service to help with the post-war occupation work. Eisenhower gave a speech expressing his appreciation for the corps’ work during the war and congratulated the women still serving as well as those already demobilized and returned home. As part of the festivities, General Dwight D.
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In May 1946, the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) celebrated its fourth anniversary with parades and parties. The WACs pictured here are giving new directions to bomber crews whose aircraft were damaged or had lost their bearings returning from a mission over Germany. Top Image: In England, WACs worked with the Army Air Forces.
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