American Women in World War II
American Women in World War II
ABOVE: 1942. A women performs the torpedo bomber final assembly check list at the Beaufort plant, in Melbourne, Australia.
FRONT COVER: A young woman is training to work on the assembly line of a war plant. She is learning to weld.
BACK COVER: July 1942. A woman welds parts of the aircraft cooling system directly to the supercharger.
BELOW: August 1942. Two young women operate a centerÂless grinder, at Republic Drill and Tool Co., Chicago.
American women had
important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives. Reluctant to enter the war when it erupted in 1939, the United States quickly committed itself to total war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That commitment included utilizing all of America’s assets—women included. The Axis powers, on the other hand, were slow to employ women in their war industries. Hitler derided Americans as degenerate for putting their women to work. The role of German women, he said, was to
LEFT: August, 1942. A 21 year old woman operates an air compressed grinder in an aircraft motor plant. RIGHT: July, 1942. A young employee of a drill and tool plant, pushes the button on a machine that welds drills to their shanks.
be good wives/mothers and to have more babies for the Third Reich. When the war began, quickie marriages became the norm, as teenagers married their sweethearts before their men went overseas. As the men fought abroad, women on the Home Front worked in defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations, in addition to managing their households. In New Orleans, as the demand for public transportation grew, women even became streetcar “conductorettes� for the first time. When men left, women “became proficient cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned
Boeing aircraft plant, Seattle, WA. December, 1942. Checking electrical wiring assemblies for the B-17F, or “The Flying Fortress� bomber airplanes.
Boeing aircraft plant, Seattle, WA. December, 1942. Production of B-17 'Flying Fortress' bombers. Routing and labeling electrical wires on template prior to installation.
to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands that were consistently upbeat.” Rosie the Riveter helped assure that the Allies would have the war materials they needed to defeat the Axis. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps. General Eisenhower felt that he could not win the war without the aid of the women in uniform. “The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non of the invasion effort.” (Ambrose, D-Day, 489).
LEFT: June, 1942. A young woman is bending steal for an aircraft at an engine manufacturing plant.
RIGHT: July 1942. Agnes Mahan, bench lathe operator, makes oil drills for .50- cal. machine gun barrels.
TOP: July 1942. A woman inspects metal cogs, for nearly 8 hours a day, that allow for aircraft engines to run smoothely. TOP LEFT: December 1942. A team of men and women workers complete the assembly of and the fitting operations on the interior of a fuselage section for a new B-17F, or The Flying Fortress. LEFT: December 1942. A woman operates a router that drills holes in a part for a new B-17F bomber airplane.
Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets. Some women served near the front lines in the Army Nurse Corps, where 16 were killed as a result of direct enemy fire. 68 American service women were captured as POWs in the Philippines. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service, and 565 WACs in the Pacific Theater won combat decorations. Nurses were in Normandy on D-plus-four. At the war’s end, even though a majority of women surveyed reported wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home and by the downturn in demand for war materials. Women veterans encountered roadblocks when they tried to take advantage of benefit programs for veterans, like the G.I. Bill. The nation that needed their help in a time of crisis, it seems, was not yet ready for the greater social equality that would slowly come in the decades to follow. As World War Two raged on throughout Europe and the Pacific, men were called up to fight for their country. An often overlooked and understated element of the war effort has been the contributions of women on the homefront during wartime. As men left their factory jobs to go and fight, women stepped up to produce the
RIGHT: February, 1942. This worker used to assemble toy locomotives in a toy factory; here, she uses the same screwdriver to assemble parachute flare casings
heavy machinery needed for the war and at home to keep the country running. Women quickly picked up and excelled at historically male-dominated trades such as welding, riveting and engine repair. However, women were essential for the production and supply of goods to our troops who were fighting abroad Their efforts during wartime challen the misconception that women are incapable of manual and technical labor. Though these women showed up at the factories to offer their services for the war effort, some employers still tried to deny them equal pay. Before the war, employers often classified work into “male” and “female” jobs, paying the “female” jobs less. When the war came, employers automatically classified the newer positions as “female” jobs so they
would not have to pay as much. Some union officials attacked these classifications and demanded “equal pay for equal work�. These officials were not only interested in securing fair pay for the women. They were also concerned that after the war, veterans would return to work and find that they had
LEFT: April 1942. A group of women learn to weld in an aircraft construction class, at the Volusia Vocational School. RIGHT: July, 1942. A woman uses her flash light to uncover any internal defects in the tubing used for fuel, de-icing in a bomber airplane. BELOW: Aug., 1942. Two women thread shroud cords through silk material, that will become a parachute.
suffered pay cuts and reductions because their jobs had been re-classified as “female” positions while they were fighting overseas. After the war, many women faced problems when their jobs were taken away and given to male veterans, who were returning to work. Women who wanted to remain in the workforce were transferred back to “female” jobs which received less pay, and often did not have any union representation.