Hi Iz,
Because it is the fourth of July weekend and because your thread is largely about women, I wanted to enter this snippet on one of the most significant woman of the twentieth century.
1) During World War II she headed the War Department's Women's Interest Section for a short time and then became the Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later the Women's Army Corps), which was created to
fill gaps left by a shortage of men. The members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to be in uniform. Hobby achieved the rank of colonel and received the Distinguished Service Medal for efforts during the war. She was the first woman in the Army to receive this award.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oveta_Culp_Hobby2) Oveta Culp HobbyBorn January 19, 1905
Killeen, Texas
Died August 16, 1995
Houston, Texas
Director of the Women's Army Corps
Oveta Culp Hobby was an attorney and a journalist who became director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). On July 1, 1943, WAAC was given full military status, making it part of the U.S. Army. The unit was renamed Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Hobby became the first female commanding officer in the U.S. Army. She was commissioned a WAC colonel in 1943 and remained as director until July 1945. In January of that year, Hobby received the military's Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding service to her country during World War II (1939–45).
President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969; served 1953–61) called Hobby back to Washington, D.C., in 1953. Eisenhower appointed her as administrator of the Federal Security Agency.
http://www.enotes.com/wwii-home-biographies/hobby-oveta-culp3) b]Oveta Culp Hobby[/b]
Oveta Culp Hobby (1905 - 1995) was born in Killeen, Texas. She received her education at the Mary Hardin Baylor College for Women in Texas, and from the University of Texas Law School where she received a law degree in 1925. Immediately after graduation she became parliamentarian for the Texas House of Representatives, and Assistant City Attorney in Houston. In 1931 she married William P. Hobby, former Governor of Texas, and Publisher of the Houston Post. Following her marriage she helped her husband run the Post, until 1941, when Mrs. Hobby went to Washington, D.C. as a
$1 a year executive, to head of the War Department's Women's Interest Section. From 1942 to 1945, she served as Director of the newly created Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
World War II was waged on land, on sea, and in the air over for approximately six years. Fighting a two-front war, supplying men and all needed supplies for the war effort, while sending lend-lease material to the Allies, created a critical and obvious drain on the resources of the United States. Over 150,000 American women eventually served in what would become known as the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Both the Army and the American public initially had difficulty accepting the concept of women in uniform. However, political and military leaders, realized that women could supply the additional resources so desperately needed in the military and industrial sectors.
Given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the national war effort, women seized it. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army.They were led by Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, the director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps which later became the Women's Army Corps.
As a result of the success she achieved at this position, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Following World War II, Mrs. Hobby returned to Houston to help her husband run the Post, and a newly acquired television station. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named her head of the Federal Security Agency, which, later that year, was elevated to a Cabinet position and renamed the Department of Health, Education, with Mrs. Hobby becoming its first Secretary, a position she held until 1955 when she resigned and returned to Houston to take care of her ailing husband.
Bibliography: "Oveta Culp Hobby,The Little Colonel" from the WOODSON RESEARCH CENTER, <http://riceinfo.rice.edu/Fondren/Woodson/exhibits/wac/index.html>; Oveta Culp Hobby, from "The Official Web site of the Social Security Administration" <http://www.ssa.gov/history/hobby.
Here's a link with photos and article:
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_soldiers_clothing_combat_ww2_waac.phpEdit in: I didn't intend to at the start, but I would like to salute my aunt Martha who served in the WAC's. She
was stationed served in Japan during WWII. When the uniforms changed, she was often called upon to 'model' them for the Army's WAC brochures. She has many photos. Beautiful...
tt
