Female Military Branches During WW2 and Its Members

WAAC Bill Gets Passed

May 14, 1942

The bill establishing the WAAC is approved by senate and signed by the president the next day, this bill allowed civilians to be auxiliaries to the army, the idea came from Oveta Culp Hobby who was assigned director, Colonel Hobby was later awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and was the first woman to do so.

WAVES Mildred McAfee

Jul 1, 1942

86,000 women join the navy as WAVES led by Mildred McAfee, these women performed jobs in administration, medicine, supply, intelligence, communication and other positions.

WAFS Nancy Love

Sep 10, 1942

The WAFS are formed and led by Nancy Love as their leader. This group contained 28 of the most highly-qualified female pilots, whom required a high school diploma, 200-horsepower rating, and 500 hours flying time. Nancy Love was certified to fly 19 different types of military aircraft.

Cornelia Fort

Sep 10, 1942

Fort was an original WAFS, she joined the same day Nancy Love took charge of them, her determination for joining started when she witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack while she was instructing other pilots.

WFTD

Sep 25, 1942

The Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) is born from the idea that Jacqueline Cochran was double-crossed, she claimed to be the first to introduce the idea of a female pilot military group.

SPAR Dorothy Stratton

Nov 1, 1942

The Coast Guard establish the SPAR in order to cope with its need for extra personel, about 11,000 women join during WW2 and are led by Dorothy Stratton, a former WAVE officer and former Dean of Women at Purdue University.

Margaret Lindeen Routon

Dec 5, 1942

Margaret Lindeen Routon joined the WAVES and began training in Georgia, she was assigned to Great Lakes Naval Training Station where she worked in the base's public relaitons office interviewing returning servicemen and sending the information to the newspaper, she helped inform civilians of their loved ones' actions/situation.

MARINES

1943

The Marines finally admit women, they had no acronym like the others, they were simply identified as Marines like the men were.

Elizabeth Arden

1943

Elizabeth Arden designs shade of lipstick in honor of the female marines, with the name Moctezuma Red, this helped distinguish marines from other military branches.

WASP

1943

All active female pilot members are joined and named the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Jackie Cochran takes the position of director and Nancy Love takes charges of the Ferrying Division of the WASP.

Iris Cummings Critchell

1943

Iris Cummings Critchell joined the WASP in late 1943, her pupose for contributing for the war began at the age of 15 while performing in the Olympics hosted by the one and only Adolf Hitler.

Ruth Cheneey Streeter

1943

Ruth Cheneey Streeter, a pilot, becomes first director of the female Marines.

Dorothy Cole Libby

Jan 10, 1943

Dorothy Cole Libby was in the WAVES from January 1943 to February 1946 where she served as secretary to Commander William J. Sebald, the navy's top authority on the Japanese.

SPAR LORAN

1944

The SPAR begin work on the LORAN, an electronic system that transmits simultaneous radio signal from one point to the other, which identified the location of our ships at sea.

Ruby Messer Barber

Mar 15, 1945

Out of six sisters, Ruby Messer Barber became interested in joining the WAVES, she knew it was something she wanted to do, she trained in the Bronx and worked Personel at the Atlanta Naval Air Station.