Massachusetts Representative Edith Nourse Rogers introduced this bill to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in December 1941. It became law the next year. Directed by Oveta Culp Hobby, the WAAC was renamed the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and incorporated into the regular Army in 1943.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
HR 6293, A bill to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, January 28, 1942
Women in the Military: World War II
During World War II, Congress authorized women to serve in auxiliary forces to assist the armed services. Some 150,000 American women joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)—renamed the Women's Army Corps (WAC)—and thousands more enlisted in women's divisions of the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines. They worked in the U.S. and overseas, providing clerical, communications, intelligence, transport, medical, scientific, and other essential military support.
Massachusetts Representative Edith Nourse Rogers introduced this bill to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in December 1941. It became law the next year. Directed by Oveta Culp Hobby, the WAAC was renamed the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and incorporated into the regular Army in 1943.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
