Post Card: WAACS at Right Dress Post Marked: 1945 |
Audio |
|
Post Card: WAACS at Right Dress Post Marked: 1945 |
Audio |
Memorial Honors Women
Who Helped Win World War II
A popular image of women in World War II is "Rosie the Riveter" helping build America's arsenal of democracy. Less known are the 265,000 women who joined the Armed Forces and helped win the war in uniform.
While many of these volunteers served in traditional jobs such as typist, switchboard operator, file clerk, stenographer, cook and baker, many also became aviation mechanics, radio operators, parachute riggers, laboratory technicians, photo analysts or truck drivers.
Women served in every theater of the war, including North Africa, Europe, the Pacific Islands, China, India and Burma.
Nurses served near the front lines around the world, landed with the troops in North Africa and Europe, evacuated casualties aboard hospital ships and planes, and assumed greater professional responsibilities in the operating room.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots never received the militarization promised to them until 1979 when the Air Force accepted them as a part of itself. In 1984, each was awarded the Victory Medal.
The contributions and sacrifices these women made will be honored when the National World War II Memorial is built on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
The memorial, whose cost is estimated at $100 million, will be funded primarily through private contributions. The American Battle Monuments Commission hopes to break ground by
Veterans Day 2000.
The memorial will inspire future generations to remember these women-our grandmothers, aunts, mothers and sisters-the important role they played in our country's history and the legacy of all Americans who stepped forward when their country called upon them.
Members of the World War II generation who served in uniform and on the home front can be recognized in the memorial's Registry of Remembrances, a permanent record of their contribution to the war effort.
Information about how to submit a name into the Registry and how to help build the World War II Memorial can be obtained by visiting the web site at www.wwiimemorial.com or by calling the toll-free customer service line at 1-800-639-4WW2. World War II Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 96766, Washington, D.C. 20090-6766.