05/15/2026
, May 15, 1942, the U.S. Army’s Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established.
The WAAC was officially formed when President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law a bill introduced by Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts. The bill allowed women, whose roles had previously been limited largely to medical and volunteer communication roles, to serve in a broader range of positions, including teaching, clerical work, stenography, and telephone operations.
The Army initially set a recruitment goal of 25,000 women. That number was reached by November 1942, prompting an increase to 150,000. Beginning in October 1942, WAAC members began assignments with the Aircraft Warning Service, and their responsibilities quickly expanded to service with Army ground and air forces.
WAAC recruits received uniforms, pay, medical care, and food and lodging. They were not, however, initially granted equal pay, government life insurance, veterans’ medical benefits, or protections accorded to Prisoners of War under the Geneva Convention. In July 1943, the WAAC was redesignated as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), granting women full military status. Their roles expanded to include specialized work such as cryptography, photo analysis, and weather observation, as well as positions as air traffic controllers, parachute riggers, electricians, and radio operators.
WAAC station compliments were assigned to Camp Shelby and Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, throughout World War II.
From the collection: Photographs of the 45th Women’s Army Corps Detachment stationed at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, ca. March 1943 [2015.007.869; 2015.007.872]
