In both World Wars and Korea, artillery was the deadliest threat to soldiers. In Vietnam, because the enemy had relatively little heavy weaponry, most injuries were caused by machine gun fire, mines, and booby traps. As a consequence, the rate of major amputations as a percentage of all battle injuries actually increased to 3.4% from 1.4% in Korea and 1.2% in World War I [114]. Blast injuries, often from beneath the injured soldier, caused deep penetration of foreign material into the thigh and often hips and knees. After battlefield evacuation, usually by helicopter, surgeons evaluated the wound, and the decision to amputate was made by an orthopaedic specialist. The open-flap amputation was the preferred procedure, with delayed closure, although the circular method also was allowed. Amputation was performed at the most distal point, with all nonviable tissue dÃbrided [8]. Although experience from previous wars and official recommendations called for continuous skin traction, a 1970 study of 300 amputees indicated only 44% had been treated with some form of skin traction [145]. Pins and plaster were applied before evacuation to a stateside hospital.
Not until the Korean War did Puerto Ricans have the chance to prove themselves in battle in significant numbers. Following the surprise outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula in June 1950, the sudden and urgent need for manpower propelled the 65th Regiment to the front lines where they engaged in some of the most heated fighting of the entire war. Although the armed forces had been desegregated in 1948 by presidential order, the 65thRegiment, comprised entirely of islanders, remained an all-Puerto Rican unit. Proud of their service, they soon adopted the nickname the Boriqueneers, a name that was both a tribute to the island's original indigenous name, Boriquen, and possibly as well a nod to Puerto Rico's pirate past and the time of the buccaneers. Thrust in the thick of a war that featured a dramatically shifting front line across a rugged, mountainous terrain, these island soldiers also slogged through mud and snow as they faced both North Korean and Chinese enemy soldiers. By the end of 1951, the 65th Infantry Regiment had been in battle for 460 days, suffered 1,535 battle casualties and taken 2,133 enemy prisoners, meaning it had fought more days, lost fewer men, and taken more prisoners than comparable regiments on the front line. Little wonder that General Douglas MacArthur, who until April 1951 was in charge of military operations in Korea, said that the 65th "was showing magnificent ability and courage in field operations." A later study by the Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico also concluded that Puerto Ricans suffered disproportionate casualty rates as a result of the tremendous role played by the 65th.
Highly relevant today, World War II has much to teach us, not only aboutthe profession of arms, but also about military preparedness, global strategy,and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism. During thenext several years, the U.S. Army will participate in the nation's 50thanniversary commemoration of World War II. The commemoration will includethe publication of various materials to help educate Americans about thatwar. The works produced will provide great opportunities to learn aboutand renew pride in an Army that fought so magnificently in what has beencalled "the mighty endeavor."World War II was waged on land, on sea, and in the air over severaldiverse theaters of operation for approximately six years. The followingessay on the critical support role of the Women's Army Corps supplementsa series of studies on the Army's campaigns of that war.This brochure was prepared in the U.S. Army Center of Military Historyby Judith A. Bellafaire. I hope this absorbing account of that period willenhance your appreciation of American achievements during World War II.
The Women's Army Corps in World War II Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) duringWorld War 11. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nursesto serve within the ranks of the United States Army. Both the Army andthe American public initially had difficulty accepting the concept of womenin uniform. However, political and military leaders, faced with fightinga two-front war and supplying men and materiel for that war while continuingto send lend-lease material to the Allies, realized that women could supplythe additional resources so desperately needed in the military and industrialsectors. Given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the nationalwar effort, women seized it. By the end of the war their contributionswould be widely heralded. The Women 's Army Auxiliary Corps Early in 1941 Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts met withGeneral George C. Marshall, the Army's Chief of Staff, and informed himthat she intended to introduce a bill to establish an Army women's corps,separate and distinct from the existing Army Nurse Corps.Rogers remembered the female civilians who had worked overseas withthe Army under contract and as volunteers during World War I as communicationsspecialists and dietitians. Because these women had served the Army withoutbenefit of official status, they had to obtain their own food and quarters,and they received no legal protection or medical care. Upon their returnhome they were not entitled to the disability benefits or pensions availableto U.S. military veterans. Rogers was determined that if women were toserve again with the Army in a wartime theater they would receive the samelegal protection and benefits as their male counterparts.As public sentiment increasingly favored the creation of some form ofa women's corps, Army leaders decided to work with Rogers to devise andsponsor an organization that would constitute the least threat to the Army'sexisting culture. Although Rogers believed the women's corps should bea part of the Army so that women would receive equal pay, pension, anddisability benefits, the Army did not want to accept women directly intoits ranks.The final bill represented a compromise between the two sides. The Women'sArmy Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established to work with the Army,"for the purpose of making available to the national defense the knowledge,skill, and special training of the women of the nation." The Army wouldprovide up to 150,000 "auxiliaries" with food, uniforms, living quarters,pay, and medical care. Women officers would not be allowed to command men.The Director of the WAAC was assigned the rank of major. WAAC first, second,and third officers served as the equivalents of captains and lieutenantsin the Regular Army, but received less pay than their male counterpartsof similar rank. For example, although the duties of a WAAC first officerwere comparable to those of a male captain, she received pay equivalentto that of a male first lieutenant. Enlisted women, referred to as "auxiliaries,"were ranked in descending order from chief leader, a position comparableto master sergeant in the Regular Army, through junior leader, comparableto corporal, and down to auxiliary, comparable to private.Although the compromise WAAC bill did not prohibit auxiliaries fromserving overseas, it failed to provide them with the overseas pay, governmentlife insurance, veterans medical coverage, and death benefits granted RegularArmy soldiers. If WAACs were captured, they had no protection under existinginternational agreements covering prisoners of war. Rogers' purpose inintroducing the WAAC bill had been to obtain pay, benefits, and protectionfor women working with the military. While she achieved some of her goals,many compromises had been necessary to get the bill onto the floor.Rogers introduced her bill in Congress in May 1941, but it failed toreceive serious consideration until after the Japanese attack on PearlHarbor in December. General Marshall's active support and congressionaltestimony helped the Rogers bill through Congress. Marshall believed thatthe two-front war in which the United States was engaged would cause aneventual manpower shortage. The Army could ill afford to spend the timeand money necessary to train men in essential service skills such as typingand switchboard operations when highly skilled women were already available.Marshall and others felt that women were inherently suited to certain criticalcommunications jobs which, while repetitious, demanded high levels of manualdexterity. They believed that men tended to become impatient with suchjobs and might make careless mistakes which could be costly during war.Congressional opposition to the bill centered around southern congressmen.With women in the armed services, one representative asked, "Who will thendo the cooking, the washing, the mending, the humble homey tasks to whichevery woman has devoted herself; who will nurture the children?" Aftera long and acrimonious debate which filled ninety-eight columns in theCongressional Record, the bill finally passed the House 249 to 86.The Senate approved the bill 38 to 27 on 14 May. When President FranklinD. Roosevelt signed the bill into law the next day, he set a recruitmentgoal of 25,000 for the first year. WAAC recruiting topped that goal byNovember, at which point Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson authorized WAACenrollment at 150,000, the original ceiling set by Congress.The day the bill became law, Stimson appointed Oveta Culp Hobby as Directorof the WAAC. As chief of the Women's Interest Section in the Public RelationsBureau at the War Department, Hobby had helped shepherd the WAAC bill throughCongress. She had impressed both the media and the public when she testifiedin favor of the WAAC bill in January. In the words of the Washington TimesHerald, "Mrs. Hobby has proved that a competent, efficient woman whoworks longer days than the sun does not need to look like the popularidea of a competent, efficient woman."Prior to her arrival in Washington, Hobby had had ten years' experienceas editor of a Houston newspaper. The wife of former Texas Governor WilliamP. Hobby, Oveta Culp Hobby was well versed in national and local politics.Before her marriage she had spent five years as a parliamentarian of theTexas legislature and had written a book on parliamentary procedure.Oveta Culp Hobby was thus the perfect choice for Director of the Women'sArmy Auxiliary Corps. The position needed a woman with a proven recordof achievement. The individual selected had to be politically astute, withan understanding of how things got done in Washington and in the War Department.Most important, the Director of the WAAC had to show a skeptical Americanpublic that a woman could be "a lady" and serve as a member of the armedforces at the same time. This was crucial to the success of the WAAC. Avolunteer force, the WAAC had to appeal to small town and middle-classAmerica to recruit the skilled clerical workers, teachers, stenographers,and telephone operators needed by the Army. The values and sensibilitiesof this middle class were very narrow, as exemplified by the words of CharityAdams, a WAAC officer candidate and later lieutenant colonel: "I made aconscientious effort to obtain every item on the list of suggested suppliesfor training camp except the slacks and shorts. I had never owned either,feeling that I was not the type to wear them." In small town America in1942, ladies did not wear slacks or shorts in public.Initially, Major Hobby and the WAAC captured the fancy of press andpublic alike. William Hobby was quoted again and again when he joked, "Mywife has so many ideas, some of them have got to be good!" Hobby handledher first press conference with typical aplomb. Although the press concentratedon such frivolous questions as whether WAACs would be allowed to wear makeupand date officers, Hobby diffused most such questions with calm sensibility.Only one statement by the Director caused unfavorable comment. "Any memberof the Corps who becomes pregnant will receive an immediate discharge,"said Hobby. The Times Herald claimed that the birth rate would beadversely affected if corps members were discouraged from having babies."This will hurt us twenty years from now," said the newspaper, "when weget ready to fight the next war." Several newspapers picked up this theme,which briefly caused much debate among columnists across the nation.Oveta Culp Hobby believed very strongly in the idea behind the Women'sArmy Auxiliary Corps. Every auxiliary who enlisted in the corps would betrained in a noncombatant military job and thus "free a man for combat."In this way American women could make an individual and significant contributionto the war effort. Hobby's sincerity aided her in presenting this conceptto the public. In frequent public speeches, she explained, "The gaps ourwomen will fill are in those noncombatant jobs where women's hands andwomen's hearts fit naturally. WAACs will do the same type of work whichwomen do in civilian life. They will bear the same relation to men of theArmy that they bear to the men of the civilian organizations in which theywork." In Hobby's view, WAACs were to help the Army win the war, just aswomen had always helped men achieve success.WAAC officers and auxiliaries alike accepted and enlisted under thisphilosophy. A WAAC recruit undergoing training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia,whose husband was serving in the Pacific, wrote her friend, "The WAAC missionis the same old women's mission, to hold the home front steadfast, andsend men to battle warmed and fed and comforted; to stand by and do dullroutine work while the men are gone." Recruitment and Training Major Hobby immediately began organizing the WAAC recruiting drive andtraining centers. Fort Des Moines, Iowa, was selected as the site of thefirst WAAC training center. Applications for the WAAC officer trainingprogram were made available at Army recruiting stations on 27 May, witha return deadline of 4 June.Applicants had to be U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 withno dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more.Over 35,000 women from all over the country applied for less than 1,000anticipated positions.On 20 July the first officer candidate training class of 440 women starteda six-week course at Fort Des Moines. Interviews conducted by an eagerpress revealed that the average officer candidate was 25 years old, hadattended college, and was working as an office administrator, executivesecretary, or teacher. One out of every five had enlisted because a malemember of her family was in the armed forces and she wanted to help himget home sooner. Several were combat widows of Pearl Harbor and Bataan.One woman enlisted because her son, of fighting age, had been injured inan automobile accident and was unable to serve. Another joined becausethere were no men of fighting age in her family. All of the women professeda desire to aid their country in time of need by "releasing a man for combatduty."The press was asked to leave Fort Des Moines after the first day soas not to interfere with the training. Although a few reporters were disgruntledbecause they were not allowed to "follow" a candidate through basic officertraining, most left satisfied after having obtained interviews and photographsof WAACs in their new uniforms. Even the titillating question of the colorof WAAC underwear (khaki) was answered for the folks back home. Lettersthe women wrote home were often published in local newspapers.The forty black women who entered the first WAAC officer candidate classwere placed in a separate platoon. Although they attended classes and messwith the other officer candidates, post facilities such as service clubs,theaters, and beauty shops were segregated. Black officer candidates hadbackgrounds similar to those of white officer candidates. Almost 80 percenthad attended college, and the majority had work experience as teachersand office workers.In July Army recruiting centers were supplied with applications forvolunteers to enlist in the WAAC as auxiliaries (enlisted women). The response,although not as dramatic as the officer candidate applications, was stillgratifying. Those who had applied unsuccessfully for officer training andwho had stated on their applications that they would be willing to comein as auxiliaries did not have to reapply. Women were told that after theinitial group of officers had been trained, all other officer candidateswould be selected from the ranks of the auxiliaries as the corps grew.The first auxiliary class started its four-week basic training at FortDes Moines on 17 August. The average WAAC auxiliary was slightly youngerthan the officer candidates, with a high school education and less workexperience. These women enlisted for the same reasons as the officer candidates.Many with family members in the armed forces believed that the men wouldcome home sooner if women actively helped win the war and that the mostefficient way a woman could help the war effort was to free a man for combatduty.Although the first WAAC officer candidate class started its trainingbefore the enlisted class, the first enlisted WAACs entered training beforetheir future officers graduated. Consequently, the first classes of bothWAAC officer candidates and enlisted personnel were trained by male RegularArmy officers. Col. Donald C. Faith was chosen to command the center. Faith'sbackground as an educator and his interest in the psychology of militaryeducation rendered him well suited for his position.Eventually and gradually WAAC officers took over the training of therest of the corps. The majority of the newly trained WAAC officers, thefirst of whom finished their training on 29 August, were assigned to FortDes Moines to conduct basic training. As officer classes continued to graduatethroughout the fall of 1942, many were assigned to staff three new WAACtraining centers in Daytona Beach, Florida; Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; andFort Devens, Massachusetts. Others accompanied WAAC companies sent to U.S.Army field installations across the country. Black officers were assignedto black auxiliary and officer candidate units at Fort Des Moines and FortDevens. WAACs on the Job The first auxiliary units and their officers to reach the field wentto Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) units. The U.S. Army Air Forces couldnot re