men to move forward to the front lines of the war effort. So...the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was created in 1942 and was an auxiliary unit because it was an addition to the normal army. About a year later...it was elevated to a full active status and became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The Women’s Army Corps... during 1978...was integrated into the regular army...and within specialty-specific branches that had previously existed for men only. Prior to this...the only capacity that women ever served in the army was as nurses, but after the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women’s Army Corps were established...women started serving in many more positions and functions within the United States Army. Celeste: What role do women presently play in military service? Matthew: So...during 1942 there were only certain roles that women played...that were considered as being very traditional. Often times you will see old films from World War ll where only women were operating telephone switchboards. One of the significant individuals... Charity Adams (aka Charity Adams Earley)...graduated from Fort Des Moines and lead the all-African American 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. There were select jobs in which women served. Since 1942...more and more opportunities were opened up to women in terms of how they could serve in the military, which for many years were all in non-combat roles. Recently, (as an example) things have changed to the point that women have the ability to serve in any branch of the United States Army without restriction because of their gender. They just have to qualify to serve in the Infantry or Special Forces. They now can serve in all branches of military service. So...women play a significant and pivotal role in today’s military service. We focus on the United States Army, but similar strides have also been made in both the United States Navy and Air Force...you have women who are Air Force combat pilots now...Navy combat pilots... so we have all made great strides in recognizing that woman can serve in any role within the United States military. That is significant because when you consider that every position in the military is now available to women...and the fact that women can even serve in the military...it all first started at Fort Des Moines. The army led with the establishment of a women’s auxiliary...so all women who served in the military...in many ways...their history can be tied back to Fort Des Moines. The URBAN EXPERIENCE | 2021 43
44 Publizr Home