Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Take the women into the armed service, who then will do the cooking, the washing, the mending, the humble and homey tasks to which every woman has devoted herself? From the mouth of a man who was against women joining the Armed Forces of the United States during World Wars I (WWI) and II (WWII) (Monahan). In 1917, thousands of women served during World War I (WWI), constantly fighting a battle to become part of the United States Army, a battle they were not winning (Monahan). They were nursing, supporting and helping the military forces overseas, but they were not recognized. During that time period many Army Officers put formal requests into the War Department to allow the recruitment and enlistment of women, trying to create a bill to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, disagreed with this suggestion of a bill and the requests to establish a women’s service corps within the U.S. Army (Monahan). After the war was over the push for a WAAC was forgotten, out of sight out of mind, until World War II. The basis of the WAAC was to allow women into the Army and to try to create an equal environment for men and women from which the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence says we are built upon.
When WWII kicked off women were not considered part of the Army, but they were allowed to help with many different roles. This time period posed many opportunities for American women, both domestically as well as roles they could play in the war. A big issue that dominated women’s lives during this period was how to combine home-life with the new demands of the war economy in the public’s eyes. Women had made a few gains between WWI and WWII in the military in terms of the political influence; female workers were utilized for short-term gains during the war, with a long-term goal of seeing women return to the domestic sphere and reinforcing traditional gender roles (Crockrord).
Women who