Free a Marine to Fight:

Women Marines in World War II

by Colonel Mary V Strernlow, USMCR (Ret)

ome stories sound too

contrived to be true,

•yet are repeated too

often to be dismissed as

mere folklore. One

such tale was rescued and restored to

its rightful place in history when

Mary Eddy Furman confirmed that,

yes, the portrait of Archibald Henderson, 5th Commandant of the Marine Corps, crashed from the wall to

the buffet the evening that Major

General Commandant Thomas Holcomb announced his decision to

recruit women into the Corps. Mrs.

Furman, then a child, was a dinner

guest at a bon voyage dinner party

given for her father, Colonel William

A. Eddy, and the Commandant's son,

Marine Lieutenant Franklin Holcomb, on 12 October 1942 when the

Commandant was asked, "General

Holcomb, what do you think about

having women in the Marine Corps?"

Before he could reply, the painting of

Archibald Henderson fell.

We can only surmise how Archibald Henderson would have reacted to the notion of using women to

relieve male Marines "for essential

combat duty:' On the other hand,

General Holcomb's opposition was

well-known. He, as many other Marines, was not happy at the prospect.

But, in the fall of 1942, faced with

the losses suffered during the camOn the Cover: "Free a Marine to Fight"

could well be the caption of this picture

as women Marine recruits pass male MaTines Ifl combat gear heading for field

training at Camp Lejeune in 1943.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC)

6153

At left: A WI? color guard is photographed at Headquarters, Marine

Corps, summer 1944. Photo courtesy of

Mary R. Rich

paign for Guadalcanal — and potential future losses in upcoming

operations — added to mounting

manpower demands, he ran out of

options.

With 143,388 Marines on board

and tasked by the Joint Chiefs of

Staff to add 164,273 within a year,

the Marine Corps had already lowered its recruiting standards and

raised the age ceiling to 36. At the

same time, President Roosevelt's plan

to impose a draft threatened the elite

image earned by the selective, hardfighting, disciplined Marines, and so,

the Commandant did what he had to

do. In furtherance of the war effort,

he recommended that as many women as possible should be used in noncombatant billets.

The idea was unpopular, but

neither original nor unprecedented;

women were already serving with the

Army and in the Navy and Coast

Guard Reserves. In fact, during

World War I, 300 "Marinettes" had

freed male Marines from their desks

and typewriters at Headquarters,

Marine Corps, to go to France.

Periodically, between World War

I and World War II, prodded by people like Army Chief of Staff General

George C. Marshall and Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, military and elected leaders gave fleeting

thought to the idea of a women's

corps. Marshall knew that General

John I. Pershing had specifically

asked for, but not received,

uniformed female troops. Rogers, a

Red Cross volunteer in France in

1917, was angry that women who

had been wounded and disabled during the war were not entitled to

health care or veterans' benefits. She

promised that ". . . women would not

again serve with the Army without

the protection the men got:'

Yet, until 1941, not many people

took the available studies seriously

and even advocates could not agree

on whether the women should be enlisted directly into the military or be

kept separate, in an auxiliary, where

they would work as hostesses, librarians, canteen workers, cooks,

waitresses, chauffeurs, messengers,

and strolling minstrels.

Congresswoman Rogers eventually

compromised and settled for a small

auxiliary and in May 1941 she introduced H.R. 4906, a bill to establish the Women's Army Auxiliary

Corps (WAAC) to make available

'1 . . to the national defense the

knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation:' The

legislators argued and stalled. Even

the brazen Japanese attack on Pearl

Harbor was not enough to move

them to pass the bill until 15 May

1942.

Unfortunately, the notion was

doomed from the start and the

WAAC, an auxiliary of women who

were neither military nor civilian, ultimately was reorganized and converted to full military status as the

Women's Army Corps (WAC) in late

summer 1943. Meanwhile the Navy

watched the unraveling of the WAAC

very closely as it struggled with its

own version of a plan for women.

Some say there were naval officers

who preferred to enlist ducks, dogs,

or monkeys to solve the manpower

shortage, but the decision was made

at the highest level to use women and

furthermore, recognizing the fate of

the failed WAAC, the women would

be "in" the Navy. With sideline help

from Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the

Navy bill, Public Law 689, was

signed on 30 July 1942, establishing

the first woman on active duty in the

World War II Marine Corps. A few

weeks earlier, Mrs. Anne A. Lentz,

a civilian clothing expert who had

helped design the uniforms for the

embryonic MCWR, was quietly

commissioned with the rank of captain. She had come to Marine Headquarters on a 30-day assignment

from the WAAC and stayed.

By all accounts, the selection of

Mrs. Streeter to head the MCWR was

inspired. It fell to this woman who

had never before held a paying job,

to facilitate recruiting, training, administration, and uniforming of the

new Women's Reserve.

Mrs. Streeter, 47, president of her

class at Byrn Mawr despite completing only two years of college, wife

of a prominent lawyer and businessman, mother of four including three

sons in service and a 15-year-old

daughter, and actively involved for

20 years in New Jersey health and

welfare work, was selected from a

field of 12 outstanding women

recommended by Dean Virginia C.

Giidersleeve of Barnard College,

Columbia University. Dean Gildersleeve chaired the Advisory Educational Council which had earlier

recommended to the Navy the selection of Lieutenant Commander

Mildred McAfee, Director of the

WAVES.

Colonel Littleton W. T. Wailer, Jr.,

Director of Reserve, and his assistant,

Major C. Brewster Rhoads, travelled

across the country to interview all

candidates personally, and discreet

inquiries also were made about the

nominees. The Commandant firmly

believed the success of the MCWR

would depend largely on the character and capabilities of its director.

Mrs. Streeter must have seemed an

obvious choice. She was confident,

spirited, fiercely patriotic and highprincipled. Discussing the interview

in later life, she said:

As nearly as I can make out,

General Holcomb said, "If I've

got to have women, I've got to

have somebody in charge in

whom I've got complete confidence:' So he called on General

Wailer. General Waller said, "If

I've got to be responsible for the

women, I've got to have somebody in whom I have complete

confidence." And he called on

Major Rhoads. So then the two

of them came out to see me.

Having passed muster with both

Colonel Waller and Major Rhoads,

Mrs. Streeter was scheduled for an

interview with General Holcomb. In

the course of the first meeting, he

asked repeatedly whether she knew

any Marines. Dismayed, and convinced she would be disqualified because she did not know the right

people, she answered honestly that

she knew no Marines. In fact, this

was exactly what the Commandant

wanted to hear because he worried

that if she had high-ranking friends

in the Corps, she might circumvent

the chain of command when she

couldn't get her way. After the interview, Colonel Wailer said he thought

it went well, but the appointment still

had to be approved by the Secretary

of the Navy. That was good news for

Mrs. Streeter since Secretary Knox

was a close friend of her mother and

Ccl Streeter poses with two other won-zen's reserve directors: Capt Dorothy St ratton, head of the Coast Guard SPARS, left, and Capt Mildred McAfee, of the WAVEs.

Photo courtesy of Mary R. Rich

3
her in-laws, and her husband had

been the Secretary's personal counsel.

Throughout her long life, Ruth

Streeter remained a devoted Marine,

but the Corps had not been her first

choice. After the fall of France in

1940, Mrs. Streeter believed the United States would be drawn into war.

In interviews she spoke of German

submarines sinking American ships

a mile or two off the New Jersey

shore, in plain sight of Atlantic City.

So, fully intending to be part of the

war effort, she learned to fly, earned

a commercial pilot's license, and

eventually, bought her own small

plane. In the summer of 1941 Streeter

joined the Civil Air Patrol, and

although her plane was used to fly

missions aimed at keeping the enemy subs down, to her enormous frustration, she was relegated to the

position of adjutant, organizing

schedules and doing ". . . all the dirty

work:'

In later years, retired Colonel

Streeter reminisced that British wOmen were flying planes in England early in the war and she expected

American women to be organized to

ferry planes to Europe. When, at last,

the quasi-military Women Air Service Pilots (WASPs) was formed under the leadership of the legendary

aviatrix, Jackie Cochran, Mrs. Streeter was 47 years old, 12 years beyond

the age limit. Nevertheless, she tried

to enlist four times and was rejected

four times before she asked to meet

Jackie Cochran personally, and then

she was rejected the fifth time.

In January 1943, before the public knew about the Marine Corps'

plan to enlist women, Mrs. Streeter

inquired about service in the WAVES.

She asked about flying in the Navy

but was told she could be a ground

instructor. She declined and a month

later found herself in Washington,

the first director of the MCWR.

After Major Streeter and Captain

Lentz were on board, six additional

women were recruited for positions

considered critical to the success of

the Women's Reserve. They were

handpicked because of their special

abilities, civilian training and experience, and then, with neither military training nor indoctrination, they

were commissioned and assigned as

follows: Women's Reserve representative for public relations, First Lieutenant E. Louise Stewart; Women's

Reserve representative for training

program, Captain Charlotte D. Cower; Women's Reserve representative

Capt Henry W Bransom speaks to a group of WAVES who

volunteered to transfer to the Marine Corps and work in

recruiting offices, such as this one in Washington, D.C. They

wore WAVE uniforms until USMC uniforms were ready.

Photo courtesy of Marine Corps Gazette

4
for classification and detail, Captain

Cornelia D. T. Williams; Women's

Reserve representative for West

Coast activities, Captain Lillian

O'Malley Daly (who had been a

Marinette in World War I and personal secretary to the Commandants

from that time); Women's Reserve

representative for recruit depot, Captain Katherine A. Towle; and Assistant to the Director, MCWR,

Captain Helen C. O'Neill.

The somewhat dubious distinction

of being last to take women had its

benefits. The missteps and problems

of the WAACs, WAVES, and SPARS

were duly noted and carefully avoided by the Marines, but more significantly, the other services were

generous in sharing advice and

resources. Right from the beginning,

the Navy was a full partner in getting the fledgling MCWR off to a

good start.

There was widespread skepticism

about whether men could properly

select female applicants, so women

were sought immediately for recruiting duty. The Navy sounded a call

among WAVE officer candidates and

19 volunteers were selected for transfer and assigned to Marine procurement offices where, still dressed• in

their Navy uniforms, they set to

work recruiting the first Marine

women.

By agreement between the Navy

Bureau of Personnel and Headquarters, Marine Corps, and to avoid competition in the recruiting of women

for either naval service, Naval

procurement offices were used by

Marine procurement sections. Women interested in joining the WAVES

or the Marines went to one office to

enlist and receive physical examinations. In time, however, the Marine

Corps developed its own network of

recruiting offices. The official announcement finally came on Saturday, 13 February 1943, and women

enthusiastically answered the call to

"Be a Marine ... Free a Man to

Fight:' Although enlistments were

scheduled to begin on the following

Monday, the record shows that at

least one woman, Lucille E. McClarren of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania,

signed up earlier, on 13 February.

Women who aspired to serve as a

WR had to meet rather stringent

qualifications which prescribed not

only their age, education, and state

of health, but their marital status as

well. At the start, the eligibility requirements were similar for both

officers and enlisted women: United

States citizenship; not married to a

Marine; either single or married but

with no children under 18; height not

less than 60 inches; weight not less

than 95 pounds; good vision and

teeth.

For enlisted or "general service;' as

it was called, the age limits were from

20 to 35, and an applicant was required to have at least two years of

high school. For officer candidates,

requirements were the same as for

WAVES and SPARS: age from 20 to

49; either a college graduate, or a

combination of two years of college

and two years of work experience.

In time, regulations were relaxed

so that the wives of enlisted Marines

were allowed to join, and enlisted

women could marry after boot camp. S

Black women were not specifically

barred from the segregated Marine

Corps, but on the other hand, they

were not knowingly enlisted. While

it is rumored that several black women "passed" as white and served in the

MCWR, none have been recorded.

Officially, the first black women Marines, Annie E. Graham and Ann E.

Lamb, arrived at Parris. Island for

boot training on 10 September 1949.

Early recruiting was so hectic that

in some instances, women were

sworn in and put directly to work in

the procurement offices, delaying

military training until later. American women were determined to do

their part even if it meant defying the

objections of parents, brothers, and

boyfriends who tried to keep them

from joining up.

Marian Bauer's parents were so

shaken at her decision to enlist that

they refused to see her off. But then

there were the lucky ones like Jane

Taylor, who remembers the wise advice from her father, a World War I

sailor, "Don't ever complain to me.

You're doing this of your own free

will. You weren't drafted or forced.

Now, go — learn, travel, and do your

job to the best of your ability:' Zetta

Little, the daughter of Salvation

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 147-81

The first WR recruits to be shipped to New York for training at Hunter College

receive instructions from lstLt Helen Perrell at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.
Army officers, joined because, ".

someone waved a flag and said my

brother would come home from the

war sooner if I did."

The Marines were serious about

the weight limits and just as underweight male enhistees have always

done, underweight women devoured

bananas washed down with water to

bring their weight up to the required

95 pounds. Audrey Bennington, after being rejected by a Navy doctor

because she was underweight, left the

induction center to gorge herself, and

when she returned, the corpsman

turned accomplice, looked away as

she climbed on the scale clutching her

fur coat and shoes. An equally accommodating corpsman rested his

foot on the scale and wrote down 95

pounds when diminutive Danelia

Wedge was weighed the second time.

"Wedgie" got as far as Camp Lejeune

but was afraid her military career

was over when a doctor asked what

had caused her to lose so much

weight since enlistment. He accepted her quick response, 'Well, sir, long

train rides don't agree with me."

Throughout the war the minimum

age, set by law, remained unchanged

even though it was sometimes

difficult to defend. After all, some

teenagers argued, 18-year-old girls

were able to enlist in World War I,

and even some 17-year-olds joined

with their parents' consent. Others

wondered why 18-year-old boys

could be sent to combat, yet 18-yearold girls could not serve at all.

While some parents fought to keep

their girls home, others asked special

consideration for daughters who

were too young to enlist. One of the

most poignant letters came from a

World War I holder of the Distinguished Service Cross who wrote to

the Commandant in January 1943,

even before news of the Women's

Reserve was announced:

I know this is no time to

reminisce, but I do want to

bring this to your attention. I

am the Marine from 96th Company, Sixth Regiment:, who was

with Lieutenant [Clifton B.]

Cates and a few other Marines

that captured Bouresches,

France, and I turned over the

first German prisoner and

machine gun to you that our

battalion captured on the night

of 6 June 1918. I have a big request to ask . . . As I have no

sons to give to the Marines, I

would be more than happy if

you. . . would recommend my

daughter to the newly-formed

Marines Women Reserve

Corps. While I appreciate that

her age may be a little young,

she will be 18 this June . . . I

LtCol Streeter welcomes national officers of the Marine Corps

League Auxiliary to the WR barracks at Henderson Hull. From

left are Mrs. Mabel Murry, LtCol Streeter, Auxiliary President

Mrs. Louise Jacobsen, and Mrs. Olyse Marc hi. LtCol St reefer

never missed an opportunity to reassure civilians that a

motherly figure was watching over her women Marines.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 12270

6
feel sure she could fit into your

program . . . surely this is not

too much for a D.S.C. exMarine to ask of you . Recruiting for the MCWR was

almost too successful and one

procurement officer, cautioning that

the number of applicants so far exceeded the quotas that he feared a

backlash of ill will, suggested that

publicity be curtailed. Within one

month of MCWR existence, while

Marine forces regrouped after the

campaign for Guadalcanal, and prepared for the move to New Georgia

and the advance up the Solomons

chain, Colonel Waller reported: "The

women of the country have responded in just the manner we expected

• . . . Thousands of women have

volunteered to serve in the Women's

Reserve and from them we have already selected more than 1,000 for

the enlisted ranks and over 100 as

officers:'

Naturally, each service wanted to

recruit the very best candidates, and

the women directors, joined in a singleness of purpose, set aside interService rivalry to get the job done.

Typically, the four leaders, Major

Streeter; Major Oveta Culp Hobby,

WAAC and WAC; Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee,

WAVES; and Lieutenant Commander

Dorothy C. Stratton, SPARS, ironed

out their differences on recruiting

women from the war industries, civil

service, and agriculture, and submitted a recommendation to the Joint

Army-Navy Personnel Board which

eventually became an all-Service

policy.

Women working in war industries

were discouraged from enlisting, but

some were persistent and in the end

were required to go to the local office

of the United States Employment

Service for approval. Civil Service

employees needed a written release

"without prejudice" from their agency and when a reluctant employer

released the employee "with

prejudice;' none of the Armed Services would consider her application

for 90 days. Marines went a step further and barred their own civilian

women employees who enlisted from

working in their original jobs even

if classified to a similar military occupational specialty.

Almost immediately, Major Streeter and the public relations officer,

Lieutenant Stewart, toured the United

States, speaking at many gatherings

such as womens clubs and Chambers

of Commerce, to explain the purpose

of the MCWR and to win public support. A more subtle but equally important reason for the tour and

indeed for having a Director of

Women's Reserve at all, according to

Colonel Streeter, ". . . was because the

parents were not going to let their little darlings go in among all these

wolves unless they thought that

somebody was keeping a motherly

eye on them:'

Families had good reason to be apprehensive; the early months were

difficult for the Women Reservists.

Of all the problems, ranging from

barracks obviously designed only for

male occupancy to the scarcity of

uniforms, the most trying were the

stares and jeers of the men which in

the words of Colonel Katherine A.

Towle, second Director of the

MCWR, ". . . somehow had to be

brazened out:'

From the start, the directors of

the WACS, WAVES, SPARS, and

MCWR focused their energy on the

war effort, but it was difficult not to

be distracted by the change in attitude of the fickle public whose early enthusiasm for women in uniform

gave way to a nasty, demeaning

smear campaign that started as a

whisper and grew to a roar. The

WAAC took the brunt of the abuse

and never really recovered. It was so

bad that some suggested it might be

part of an enemy plot to sabotage the

nation's morale. Sadly, a military intelligence investigation showed

otherwise.

Nevertheless, the MCWR met its

7

goal on schedule and reached

strength of 18,000 by 1 June 1944.

Then, all recruiting stopped for nearly four months and when it was resumed on 20 September 1944, it was

on a very limited basis.

Everyone agreed that the MCWR's

recruiting success was directly tied to

the Marine Corps' reputation — the

toughest, the bravest, the most selective. Women like Inga Frederiksen

did not hesitate to accept the

challenge of joining the best. When

a SPAR recruiter told her she was

smart not to join the Marines because

they were a lot rougher, Inga knew

she had to be a Marine.

Thanks to the Navy, officer training began when the MCWR was only

one month old. Sharing training facilities saved time and precious manpower in getting the women out and

on the job. Moreover, Marines

benefitted from the Navy's close relationship with a group of prominent

women college presidents, deans, and

civic leaders who gave sound advice

based on years of experience with

women's programs. Just as important

they offered several prestigious college campuses for WAVE and subsequently, MCWR training.

The Navy's Midshipmen School

for women officers, established at

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, later branched out to

nearby Mount Holyoke College in

South Hadley. Enlisted women were

trained at Hunter College in New

York City, and without question, the

distinguished reputations of these

two institutions enhanced the public image of the WAVES and the

women Marines.

The first group of 71 Marine

officer candidates arrived at the U.S.

Midshipmen School (Women's

Reserve) at Mount Holyoke on 13

March 1943. The women Marines

were formed into companies under

the command of a male officer,
Major E. Hunter Hurst, but, similar

to Marine detachments on board

ships, the WR unit was part of the

WAVES school complement, under

final authority of the commanding

officer of the Midshipmen School.

Officer candidates joined as privates and after four weeks, if successful, were promoted to officer cadet,

earning the right to wear the coveted silver OC pins. At that point

women who failed to meet the standards were given two options: transfer to Hunter College to complete

basic enlisted training or go home to

await eventual discharge. Cadets

who completed the eight-week course

but were not recommended for a

commission were asked to submit

their resignations to the Commandant. In time, they were discharged,

but permitted to reenlist as privates

unless they were overage.

A disappointment shared by members of the first Officer Candidates'

Class (0CC) and recruit class was

the scarcity of uniforms. Both trained

for several weeks in civilian clothes

because uniform deliveries were so

slow. In fact, the official photo of the

first platoon to graduate from boot

camp at Hunter College is a masterful bit of innocent deceit because as

Audrey L. Bennington tells it, "Only

the girls in the first row—and a few

in the second row— had skirts on. We

in the other rows had jackets, shirts,

ties and caps, but—NO skirts. Lord

and Taylor was a bit late in getting

skirts to you:'

Recruits received very precise and

clear instructions before leaving

home. They were told to bring raincoat and rain hat (no umbrellas),

lightweight dresses or suits, plain

bathrobe, soft-soled bedroom slippers, easily laundered underwear,

play suit or shorts for physical education (no slacks), and comfortable

dark brown, laced oxfords because,

experience has proven that drilling tends to enlarge the feet:' They

were also warned not to leave home

without orders, not to arrive before

the exact time and date stamped on

the orders, and not to forget their ration cards.

During the first four weeks the

B

MCWR curriculum was identical to

that of the WAVES, except for drill

which was taught by reluctant male

drill instructors transferred to Mount

Holyoke from the Marine Corps

Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South

Carolina. Officer candidates studied

naval organization and administration, naval personnel, naval history

and strategy, naval law and justice,

and ships and aircraft. The second

phase of training was devoted to Marine Corps subjects taught by male

Marines and later, as they, themselves became trained, WR officers.

This portion of training was conducted apart from the WAVES and included subjects such as Marine Corps

administration and courtesies, map

reading, interior guard, safeguarding

military information, and physical

conditioning.

On 6 April, members of the first

officer class received their OC pins

and on 4 May history was made as

the first women ever became commissioned officers in the Marine

Corps. Retired Colonel Julia E. Hamblet, who twice served as a Director

The last class of WRs to graduate from boot camp at Hunter

College, The Bronx, are at the far end of the formation of Marifles and WAVES held on the grounds of Columbia UniversiPhoto courtesy of Evelyn Waliman Gins

ty. Between 27 March and 10 July 1943, more than 3,000

women Marines were fully trained at Hunter before all

MCWR schools were moved to Camp Lejeune later that year.
of Women Marines, recalled the comical reactions she and other women

of the first officers class received:

"That first weekend, we were also

mistaken for Western Union girls:'

The Marine Corps section of the

Midshipmen School operated on a

two-part overlapping schedule, with

a new class arriving each month. The

first three classes each received sevenand-a-half weeks of training. In all,

214 women officers completed 0CC

training at Mount Holyoke.

Meanwhile, Headquarters, Marine

Corps, was making plans to consolidate all MCWR training at Camp

Lejeune, North Carolina, by 30 June.

The women of the fourth Officer

Candidates' Class reported to Mount

Holyoke on 5 June, were promoted

to cadet on the 29th, boarded troop

trains for the two-day trip to Camp

Lejeune on 1 July, and finally graduated on 7 August.

Two weeks after the first officer

class reported to Mount Holyoke, enThe 1st Platoon, U.S. Naval

ter College in New York City,

only the women in the first

listed women were ordered to the

U.S. Naval Training School (Women's

Reserve), at Hunter College in The

Bronx, New York City. Seven

hundred twenty-two "boots" arrived

in three increments between 24 and

26 March and were billeted in nearby apartment houses. On the 26th,

21 platoons of women Marines began training with the WAVES and on

25 April they graduated. Since the

school was designed for WAVE indoctrination, the curriculum was

largely geared for the Navy. Some

subjects were clearly not pertinent

for Marines, so modifications were

made and once again reluctant male

Marines were pulled from Parris Island to be instructors. Training sessions varied from three and a half to

five weeks and besides the dreaded

physical examinations, time was allotted for uniforming, drill, physical

training, and lectures on customs and

courtesies, history and organization,

administration, naval law, map reading, interior guard, defense against

chemical attack, defense against air

attack, identification of aircraft, and

safeguarding military information.

Between 26 March and 10 July

1943, six classes of recruits, of approximately 525 each, arrived incrementally every two weeks. Of the

3,346 women who began recruit

training at Hunter, 3,280 graduated.

And again, as at Mount Holyoke,

separate Marine companies were

formed into a battalion under the

command of a regular officer, Major

William W. Buchanan, who reported to Navy Captain William F Amsden, commanding officer of the

school. Captain Katharine A. Towle,

who had been specifically recruited

from the University of California at

Berkeley and commissioned directly

from civilian life without any Marine

training, was Major Buchanan's

senior woman staff officer. Actually, she was the only woman Marine

officer at Hunter until the first

officers' candidate class was commissioned. The rest of the Marine Corps

staff included 33 male instructors —10 officers and 23 enlisted

men — to teach classroom subjects to

the Marine women and 15 to 20 male

drill instructors to supervise the close

order drill of all "boots," WAVES and

Marines.

Captain Towle, destined to be the

second director of the MCWR and

the first Director of Women Marines

after passage of the Women's Armed

Forces Integration Act of 1948,

described her indoctrination into the

Corps in a 1969 interview:

No one could have been

greener or less military than I

in those early days. I even came

aboard the school in my civilian

clothes. My uniforms were still

in the process of being tailored

for me in New York. I could tie

the four-in-hand uniform tie for

my uniform khaki shirt, but

that was about all. I was soon,

however, to learn basic procedures under the kind and

watchful tutelage of the Marine

Training School (Women's Reserve), gathered at HunApril 1943. Because uniform shipments were delayed,

row and a few in the second wore uniform skirts.

Photo courtesy of Audrey L. Bennington

9
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 310463 

Col Katherine A. Towle, second director 

of the Women's Reserve and first postwar Director of Women Marines, was a 

dean at the University of California, Berkeley, before entering the Marine Corps. 

Corps detachment's sergeant 

major, a Marine of some thirty 

years' service. He really must 

have had some bad moments. 

What you will do when 

you're a good Marine, is really 

something. Every day for the 

first week he would escort me 

to a quiet room away from curious eyes (which was just as 

well) and give me instructions 

in how to salute properly, as 

well as other helpful lessons on 

what was expected of a Marine 

Corps officer. And I shall certainly always be grateful to Sergeant Major [Halbert A.] 

McElroy . . . for helping to 

make a proper officer out of 

me. He really personified the 

pride of being a Marine and he 

soon indoctrinated me with this 

same feeling. I was determined, 

no matter what happened, not 

to let him down after he had 

spent so much time on me, and 

I don't believe I really ever did. 

Training: Camp Lejeune 

ing, but Marines soon saw the advantage of having their own schools. 

It wasn't only that Mount Holyoke 

and Hunter Colleges were overcrowded and st retched beyond 

reasonable limits by the number of 

women arriving every week. There 

was a larger motive for moving 

MCWR schools to Camp Lejeune 

and, simply, it was the famed Marine 

esprit de corps. Camp Lejeune, where 

thousands of Marines were preparing for deployment overseas was the 

largest Marine training base on the 

East Coast and offered sobering opportunities for the women to observe 

field exercises and weapons demonstrations, and to see the faces of the 

young men they would free to fight. 

Major Hurst, commanding officer 

of the Marine Detachment at Mount 

Holyoke, understood almost immediately the drawbacks of trying to 

indoctrinate and train Marines in 

such patently civilian surroundings 

as a college campus. Less than a 

month after training began he wrote 

Brigadier General Waller: 

In drawing these up [training 

schedules], I found myself wishing more and more that we 

could include some weapons 

instructions, at least pistol, for 

our women . . . . I have found 

that the women come into the 

Marine Corps expecting to learn 

to shoot and I, of course, would 

like to see them become the first 

women's reserve in the country 

to take up the specialty of their 

men if Headquarters considers 

the idea at all feasible. I 

wouldn't have had the nerve to 

suggest it if Mrs. Franklin D. 

Rooswelt hadn't asked me on 

her visit last week how soon 

they were going to learn to 

shoot. She expressed surprise at 

learning that the women of the 

U.S. were not learning as much 

about weapons as the women 

of other countries . . . . 

Nearly a half century later, the retired 23d Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Wallace M. 

Greene, Jr., expressed a like sentiment when he wrote in 1990: 

I commenced to realize the 

meaning of sexism in the armed 

The headquarters of the Women's Reserve Schools at Camp Lejeune supervised the 

recruit training of more than 18,000 women during the come of World War 11. 

Photo courtesy of Mary R. Rich 

Planners originally thought to use 

existing Navy resources and facilities 

for all MCWR recruiting and train- 
forces while I was a Marine

Corps observer with the British

army during the Battle for Britain. During a night bombing

raid against London, I watched

the women gunners in an antiaircraft battery battle the incoming German planes. I

suddenly asked myself, "Why

aren't our women —able, loyal,

and patriotic as they are —

permitted to participate in this

fashion?"

The Marine Corps Women's Reserve Schools — officer candidate and

boot training along with certain

specialist schools — opened in July

1943 under the command of Colonel

John M. Arthur. Officer candidates

and recruits in training at Mount

Holyoke and Hunter Colleges were

transferred to Camp Lejeune, New

River, North Carolina, where nearly 19,000 women became Marines

during World War II.

Just one month before the MCWR

schools opened, Major Streeter asked

that weapons demonstrations be

made a regular part of the curricula. Frankly, she wasn't satisfied with

mere classroom lectures on combat

equipment, landing operations, and

tactics so she tactfully suggested:

If it is possible to arrange

transportation and schedules

that would not interrupt the

training of the men in these

lines of work, I believe it would

be a definite inspiration to the

Marine Corps Women's Reserve

to see them actually in training.

As usual, her instincts were right

on target and the envious WRs attended two half-day sessions observing demonstrations in hand-to-hand

combat, use of mortars, bazookas,

flame-throwers, guns of all sorts, amtracs, and landing craft.

The recruits traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina, on women Marine troop trains of about 500,

commanded by a woman lieutenant

and two enlisted assistants. They arrived at the depot as civilians, but the

transition to Marines began immediately. The women were lined up, issued paper armbands identifying

them as Marine "boots;' ordered to

pick up luggage—anybody's lug11

gage — anybody's — and marched

aboard the train. The process accelerated at the other end where they were

met by shouting NCOs who herded

them into crowded buses to be taken

to austere, forbidding barracks with

large, open squadbays, group shower

rooms, toilet stalls without doors,

and urinals.

The women were quartered in the

red brick barracks in Area One set

aside for the exclusive use of the

women's schools. Their patriotism

and idealism was sorely tested and

some readily admit they cried when

they realized what they had done.

Others wondered why they had done

it at all. There was, however, no time

in the schedule for adjustment.

General processing, medical examinations, uniforming, and classification tests and interviews to assess

abilities, education, training, and

work experience were top priority.

Orientation classes and close order

drill were scheduled for the first day

and a strict training regimen kicked

off with 0545 reville.

One thing hadn't changed from the

days at Mount Holyoke and

Hunter — the male Dl's weren't happy. Shaping up a gaggle of "BAMs"

("broad-assed Marines") was not

what they wanted to do with a war

going on. Feeling the scornful scrutiny of fellow Marines, it seemed that

the DIs took on a touch more bravado than they dared on the college

campuses. One boot felt the DIs

resented the women, "... more than

a battalion of Japanese troops:' She

was probably right.

For the first year, at least, many

male Marines didn't take the trouble

to disguise their resentment. Disregarding the Commandant's wishes about nicknames, some Marines

visibly enjoyed embarrassing the

WRs with the derogatory label,

BAMs. Some women took it in their

stride, but it became tiresome and

many were furious. When the famous bandleader, Fred Waring,

referred to the WRs as BAMs, a conDepartment of Defense Photo (USMC) 6180

WI? recruit Mary C. Harris learns first-hand about a carbine from GySgt Daniel

Carroll, a member of Edson's Raiders recently returned from the Southwest Pacific

WRs were the only military women to receive combat training during boot camp.
Marines in post exchanges,

moving picture houses, and

other places in the hearing of

members of the Women's

Reserve. . . . This conduct.

indicates a laxity in discipline

which will not be tolerated.

Commanding officers will be

held responsible . By mid-1944 open hostility gave

way to some sort of quiet truce and

it wasn't long before the women's

competence, self-assurance, sharp appearnce, and pride won over a good

many of their heretofore detractors.

It was put in perspective by a young

corporal wounded at Guadalcanal:

"Well, I'll tell you. I was kinda sore

about it (the women Marines) at

first. Then it began to make sense —

though only if the girls are gonna be

tops, understand:' And, in time, Marines could even be counted on to

take on soldiers and sailors who

dared to harass WRs in their

presence.

tingent got up and walked out during a performance at Camp Lejeune.

Marjorie Ann Curtner recalled a

particularly mean-spirited stunt engineered by a group of Seabees who

corralled every stray dog in the area,

shaved them like poodles, painted

"BAM" on their sides, and set them

free to roam the ranks of a graduating WR platoon.

For the first time in their lives,

many of the women experienced the

hurtful sting of coarse epithets as

men vented their feelings about the

Corps taking "niggers, dogs, and

women." Crude language and blatant

disdain took its toll on the morale of

the Women's Reserve and its director, causing the Commandant to take

steps to end it. In August 1943, he

sent a clear message, fixing responsibillity for change on unit commanding officers when he wrote:

Information reaching this

Headquarters indicates that

some . . . officers and men of

the Marine Corps treat members of the Women's Reserve

with disrespect . . . . Coarse or

even obscene remarks are being

made without restraint by male

12

In September 1943, the first female

hometown platoon, made up entirely of women from Philadelphia

reported for boot camp. The public

relations gimmick of forming a platoon of women recruited from the

same area and sending them to training as a unit caught on quickly and

on 10 November, the 168th birthday

of the Marine Corps, the Potomac

Platoon of women from Washington,

D.C., and the first of two WR platoons from Pittsburgh were sworn in

at fitting ceremonies.

Seventeen more hometown platoons followed; from Albany, Buffalo

(two), and Central New York; Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Fayette County,

and Westmoreland County, Pennslyvannia; Dallas and Houston, Texas;

Miami, Florida; St. Paul, Minnesota; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Seattle,

Washington; the state of Alabama;

northern New England; and southern

New England. Each platoon was ordered to duty en masse, completed

boot training together, and afterPhoto courtesy of Raelyn Harman Subramanian

To the WR recruits, uniform shortages were routine in the early days. Rose M. Nigro,

one of the five women in the author's family who seroed with the women Marines

in World War II, and Betty Hall, had a long wait for a full issue. Here they wear

recruit badges, oxfords, and caps at boot camp at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
wards, received individual orders to

specialist schools or duty.

From 15 March 1943 until 15 September 1945, 22,199 women were ordered to recruit training and of these,

21,597 graduated. The remaining 602

were separated for medical reasons or

because they were found unable to

adapt to military life.

All women in the early Officer

Candidates' Classes were Class VI(a)

reservists recruited directly from

civilian life without the advantage of

enlisted experience. Consequently,

for the first seven Officer Candidate

Classes, the primary emphasis was

on attitude adjustment, forming new

habits, learning the Marine Corps

"way;' and adopting a military perspective. Close order drill was used

to instill discipline and teach the

women to respond to orders with

precision. To their dismay, old salts

found that the renowned tactics famous for making Marines out of

civilians weren't working very well

with women: shouting, "reading off;'

and threats were virtually useless.

The methods were changed eventually, but only after the original staff

members were removed. Colonel

Outstanding "boot," PFC Mary C. Harris, earned an immediate appointment to

Officer Candidates Class at Camp

Lejeune in December1943. Officer Candidate (OC) pins were earned after four

weeks of successful officer training,

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 6164

Streeter lamented that the problem

was never satisfactorily resolved since

there were so few experienced officers

on hand to work on it and there was

no time for experimentation.

For approximately seven months,

from December 1943 to June 1944,

the Officer Training School ran on a

three-block plan with two candidates'

classes and a post-commissioning

course, Reserve Officer Class (ROC),

meeting at the same time. Each class

of about 60 was organized into a

company of two platoons, with a

company commander and two platoon leaders. As the manpower

crunch waned and the goal of 18,000

women was reached, the three-block

system gave way to two-block in June

1944, with one officer candidate class

and one ROC in session concurrently. A single-block plan was adopted

13

in January 1945 and continued until

the school closed on 15 October.

A significant change occurred

when, in July 1943, commissioned

status was opened to enlisted women to take advantage of their experience, and at the same time, build

morale and esprit de corps. To be

eligible, a Marine had to complete six

months service, be recommended by

her commanding officer, and be

selected by a board of male and female officeri convened at Headquarters, Marine Corps. The eighth officer

class, in October 1943, was made up

of both Class VI(a) and Class VI(b)

reservists — the latter being Women's

Reserve enlisted. Thereafter, the

majority of new women officers

came from the ranks and from that

point on, only civilian women with

critical, specialized skills or excepMarine Corps Historical Collection

On 13 February 1944, "Col Mike," the mascot of the Central Procurement Division

in Chicago, tells 2dLt Florence Bailey what it was like in the Old Corps. The "Free

a Marine to Fight" recruiting poster in the background has a portrait of a woman

Marine painted by famed artist Douglas Crockwell. The original painting hung

in the office of the Director of Women Marines until the billet was abolished in 1977.
described how they could assist line

officers. ROC was immensely successful, principally because it was so

practical, and even experienced

MCWR officers, especially those

who had been working in limited

fields such as recruiting, were sent for

advanced training.

Nine hundred sixty-five women,

including the 11 with direct commissions and the 19 transferred from the

WAVES at the start, were eventually commissioned in the Marine Corps

Reserve. Of the 589 Class VI(a) reservists who began officer training, 72

or 12 percent were dropped and of

the 641 Class VI(b) reservists selected from the ranks, 223 or 35 percent

were not commissioned.

tional leadership qualities were accepted for Marine officer training.

Commissioning large numbers of

NCOs caused the MCWR to shift the

focus from making Marines out of

civilian women to making officers

out of enlisted women. An entirely

new attitude and point of view was

called for and this led tothe creation

of the Reserve Officer Class (ROC)

for the newly commissioned officers

in early December 1943.

It was meant to be a two-week introduction to life as an officer, but,

almost immediately it was lengthened to four weeks to broaden the

students' perspective and lessen the

pressures that built up during basic

officer training. Classes were less formal, privileges and responsibilities

were given, and rational problem

solving was stressed. The ROC staff

tried to teach the new officers what

they, if anyone, should have already

known: toughness and threats are

poor substitutes for firmness and

motivation.

The staff revised and refined the

course content for several months until finally, by the end of the third

ROC, it was satisfied. Experienced

officers from Camp Lejeune, nearby

posts and stations, and Headquarters, Marine Corps augmented the

regular staff. Outside speakers such

as the Red Cross field director, the

chaplain, and post psychiatrist

14

From the very beginning, selected

officers and enlisted women were

given specialist training and by the

end of the war, 9,641 women—8,914

enlisted and 727 officers—attended

schools run by civilians, the Army,

Navy, and Marine Corps. The earliest Navy courses were: Aviation

Machinist's Mate at the Naval Training School, Memphis, Tennessee;

Link Training Instructor at the Naval

Air Station, Atlanta, Georgia; and

Aviation Storekeeper at Indiana

University, Bloomington, Indiana.

The first Marine Corps schools

opened to women were: cooks and

bakers, motor transport, quartermaster, and non-commissioned

officers. After graduation from 0CC

at Mount Holyoke, several officers

were sent to the Navy's Communications School in South Hadley.

All in all, by the end of the war

women attended some 30 specialist

schools and the variety is a testament

to the dramatic shift in thinking on

what women could do: first sergeant,

paymaster, signal, parachute rigger,

aerographer, clerical, control tower

operator, aerial gunnery instructor,

celestial navigation, motion picture

operator/technician, aircraft instruments technician, radio operator,

Department of Defense Photo (IJSMC) 7184

Capt B. E. Tucker, Sgt Rita Schwartz, PFC Jeanette Walker, and PEC Jane Russell are

shown in the fuselage of a Link Trainer, with the celestial dome in the background.

By August 1944, WRs conducted all courses of Link instruction at Cherry Point.
radio material teletypewriter, post exchange, uniform shop, automotive

mechanic, carburetor and ignition,

aviation supply, and photography.

The basic wardrobe was pretty

much chosen before the public announcement of the Marine Corps

Women's Reserve. In mid-December

1942, the Commandant asked that

Mrs. Anne Adams Lentz, an employee of the War Department, be assignedto Headquarters "for a period

of approximately 30 days:' Before the

war, Mrs. Lentz worked in the school

uniform department of a large New

York City retail store, and then for

eight months she assisted the

WAACS with the design of their uniform. Action on the Commandant's

letter was swift and Mrs. Lentz came

on board in early January. After a

preliminary consultation with the

Depot Quartermaster in Philadelphia, she went to New York to oversee the design and construction of

model uniforms for the Women's

Reserve by the Women's Garment

Manufacturers of New York. The

Commandant's guidance was specific; he wanted the women dressed in

the traditional Marine forest green

with red chevrons and he insisted

they look like Marines as much as

possible. This was in stark contrast

to the Navy which denied its women the privilege of wearing gold braid

throughout the war.

Before her 30-day assignment ex15

Photos courtesy of Sarah Thornton

assigned to aviation units.

pired, Mrs. Lentz decided to become

a Marine, and became the first Woman Reservist when she was sworn in

as a captain on 15 January 1943. The

oath of office was administered by

her husband, Brigadier General John

M. Lentz, USA, who was attached to

the Army Ground Forces Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

On 11 June 1943, a Uniform Unit

was created as part of the Women's

Reserve Section at Marine Corps

Headquarters to arrange for uniforming enlistees when assigned to active

duty, replenishing clothing from time

to time, and planning for future

needs. Soon after, on 17 June, the

Marine Corps Women's Reserve Uniform Board was established to suggest articles of clothing and make

The photographs in this collage show various duties given to WRs
recommendations to the Commandant. The original uniform regulations were published in August 1943

after approvals from the Uniform

Board, the Commandant, and the

Secretary of the Navy. But, this was

not an issue so easily settled and a

final version reflecting numerous

changes, modifications, and additions, was reissued on 30 April 1945

as Uniform Regulations, U.S. Marine

Women's Reserve, 1945. These regulations remained in force and the uniforms of women Marines changed

very little until a new wardrobe was

designed by the French couturier,

Mainbocher, in 1952.

Officers were paid a uniform allowance and gratuity of $250 and enlisted women received $200. With

this the women bought two winter

uniforms, hats, shoes, summer outfits, a purse, wool-lined raincoat,

specified accessories, and undergarments. To make certain that the carefully designed uniforms looked

exactly as intended and met the

Corps' high standards, 13 women

officers were ordered to a six-week intensive training session where they

were drilled in the techniques of

tailoring, alterations, clothing construction, and fitting before being assigned to uniform shops run by the

post exchanges at major Marine

Corps posts throughout the country.

The seemingly excessive attention

to the women's uniforms reflected not

only the Corps' well known concern

with appearance, but it showed an

astute appreciation of the problems

encountered by the other services.

16

The early WAAC uniform, for example, had been designed over a man's

suit form with broad shoulders, no

bosom, and slender hips. Although

the prototype looked just fine, the

real thing caused endless problems.

Unfortunately, the Marine Corps

Women's Reserve adopted the

WAVES' flawed system of supply and

distribution, selling clothing

manufactured by various firms at a

10 percent mark-up to retail stores

and then reselling it at a 30 percent

mark-up to the Women Reservists.

The arrangement was abandoned

within a year because the prices were

excessive, shortages were the rule,

and the women refused to pay for

uniform items with defects—no matter how minor. The latter problem

caused a log jam which would have

For a publicity photograph, the women of Company H, 2d

Headquarters Battalion, Henderson Hall, model the various

work and dress uniforms worn by women Marines during the

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 13061

course of World War II. From left are PFC Florence Miller,

Cpl Lois Koester, Cpl Carol Harding, Sgt Violet Salela, Cpl

Grace Steinmetz, Cpl Rose Mazur, and PFC Mary Swiderski.
been avoided if uniforms were simply

issued with no arguments allowed.

Major reform was called for and

on 16 February 1944, the Uniform

Unit of the Women's Reserve Section,

Reserve Division, Procurement

Branch was transferred to the Office

of the Quartermaster General and became the Women's Reserve Section,

Supply Division, Quartermaster

Department. The first action was, to

terminate all retail agreements and

take responsibility for uniforming

away from post exchanges.

Then, in August, four women

officers became inspectors, visiting

manufacturers and doing whatever

they could to expedite the fulfillment

of contracts. But despite the several

organizational changes and system

modifications, in her final report at

the war's end, Colonel Streeter wrote,

'1 . . the supply of MCWR clothing

was one of the few problems to

which a satisfactory solution had not

been found at the time that demobilization of the Women's Reserve

began:'

Col Katherine A. Towle, second director

On one point everyone agreed: all

matters of supply of the women's uniforms should have been handled as

it was for enlisted men.

Tailored femininity was the goal,

and by all accounts, it was achieved.

The widespread and enthusiastic approval of the attractive uniforms gave

everyoners morale a big lift, especially

because once on active duty, Marines

could not wear civilian clothing even

on liberty. Colonel Streeter was especially proud of their appearance

and demeanor. In her words, "You

know, they had a certain reserve.

They always looked well. They held

themselves well. They had a certain

dignity. And that was each one of

them

The MCWR uniform mirrored

what was worn by all Marines in

color and style, but was cut from a

lighter-weight cloth. Generally,

officers and enlisted women wore

identically styled uniforms of the

same fabric: this was not true of male

of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve,

Department of Defense Photos (USMC) 7416

2dLt Elizabeth McKinnon, left, wears the

summer service uniform with detachable green officer's epaulets added so that

rank insignia could be seen more easily.

Marines. Women officers wore green,

detachable epaulets on the shoulder

straps of summer uniforms and had

additional dress uniforms. For dress,

they wore the Marine officers' traditional gilt and silver emblems and the

enlisted women wore the gilt emblems of enlisted Marines. Both wore

the bronze eagle, globe, and anchor

on their service uniforms, but positioned it differently. While the vertical axis of the hemisphere paralleled

the crease line of the jacket collar for

officers, it was worn perpendicular

to the floor by enlisted women.

Coats, caps, shoes, gloves, handbags,

and mufflers were the same for all

ranks. Enlisted women wore the same

large chevrons as the men.

Officers and enlisted women wore

a forest green, serge man-tailored

jacket and straight, six-gore skirt during the colder seasons. A longsleeved khaki shirt with four-in-hand

necktie, green cap, brown shoes and

gloves, and bronze metal buttons

completed the outfit. Women Reservists were easily recognized by their

unique, visored bell-crowned hat,

trimmed with a lipsick-red cord

which set them apart from the

inspects WRs wearing winter service green at MCRD, Parris Island, in 1945.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Thornton

17
Department of Defense Photo (EJSMC) 13024

Pvt Anna K. Peterson, a clerk in the Family Allowance Section at Headquarters, Marine Corps, enlisted to help

shorten the war so that her Navy husband could return as soon us possible.

The fabric of her seersucker summer

service uniform was selected for comfort.

WACs, WAVES, and SPARS whose

hats closely resembled one anothers.

They had a heavy green overcoat or

khaki trenchcoat with detachable lining, always worn with a red muffler

in winter. All women Marines owned

black galoshes, boots, or rubbers to

fit the unpopular, but comfortable

oxfords.

Women Marines did not have a

dress blue uniform until 1952. During World War II and for the seven

years following, officers turned their

winter service outfit into a dress uniform with a white shirt and forest

green tie in place of the routine

khaki. Enlisted women had no comparable dress option.

The summer service uniform, a

distinct departure from tradition, was

a two-piece green and white seersucker or plisse dress. The fabric was

specially selected by Captain Lentz

for its comfort and laundering ease.

V-necked and fastened with white or

green plastic buttons, the jacket was

available with short or long sleeves.

The first summer hat, a round cap

with a snap brim, was short-lived

and was replaced by one styled after the winter hat, but in spruce green

with white cap cord and bronze buttons. Later a garrison-style cap in the

same light green shade and trimmed

with white piping was added. Shoes,

oxfords, or pumps, were brown and

a white rayon muffler was worn with

the trenchcoat. When it was realized

that officer rank insignia could not

be seen on the striped dress, green

shoulder boards were added and they

were fastened to the epaulets by the

shoulder strap button and the rank

insignia.

The hands-down favorite uniform

of all World War II WRs was the

short-sleeved, V-necked white twill

uniform worn with gilt buttons on

the jacket and cap, dress emblems,

and white pumps. The stiffly

starched uniform never failed to

evoke compliments. Enlisted women

were disheartened when, after the

war, because enlisted men had no

equivalent uniform, it was discontinued.

Officers could choose among three

summer dress uniforms: the white

one worn by the enlisted women but

with added green shoulder straps,

summer dress "B' and summer undress "Cf' The latter two, made of

white twill, worsted, or palm beach

material were worn with a shortsleeved white blouse, and without a

necktie or green shoulder straps. The

"C" uniform was long sleeved and

Pvt Billie J. Redding married her hometown beau, Navy Ens William A. Lewis,

in a military wedding in San Diego. The bride and her maid of honor, Helen Taylor, violated uniform regulations by wearing corsages on their white dress uniforms.

Photo courtesy of Billie J. Redding Lewis

18
in ranks. Since nylon, rayon, and silk

stockings were rationed because of

wartime shortages, some women in

other services were allowed to use leg

makeup, but not women Marines.

Covert slacks were worn for certain duties, but the most common

work uniform was the olive-drab,

cotton utility uniform worn with the

clumsy, heavy, high-topped shoes

known as boondockers. The trousers with a bib front and long, crossed

straps were worn over a shortsleeved, matching shirt or white tee

shirt and topped by a long-sleeved

jacket. Enlisted women stenciled their

rank on the shirt and jacket sleeves.

For recreation, field nights, and

physical conditioning, women Marines wore the "peanut suit;' so

named because of its color and crinkled appearance. It was a tan, seersucker, one-piece, bloomer outfit

with ties at the bottom of the shorts.

In keeping with prevailing standards

of propriety, the women modestly

covered their legs with a frontbuttoned A-lined skirt when not actively engaged in sports, exercise, or

work details.

collarless. On these two uniforms,

the officers wore their dress emblems

not on the collar as usual, but on

their epaulets, near the armhole

seams, and they centered the rank insignia between the emblem and epaulet button. One WR reminisced that

even a lieutenant looked like a fourstar general with so much metal on

her shoulders.

Women Marines had only one

handbag, a brown, rough textured

leather purse with a shoulder strap

and spring closure. They learned to

wear it over their left shoulder, leaving their right hand free to salute.

The same brown bag became a bright

summer accessory with the addition

of a removable, spruce green, cotton

purse cover and matching shoulder

strap. Everyone wore dark brown,

smooth leather oxfords or pumps

with the winter service uniform and

similar white pumps for dress in the

summer. The dress pumps, with heels

between one and one-half and two

inches high, were trimmed with a flat

bow.

Ladylike and fashionable fulllength, beige, seamed stockings were

de rigeur with all service and dress

uniforms and cotton hose was worn

19

One of the first lessons learned by

the women Marines was that there

were rules for everything. Lipstick

and nail polish could be worn, and

in fact were encouraged, but the

color absolutely had to harmonize

with the red cap cord of the winter

cap, regardless of the season. The

favorite color was Montezuma Red,

designed in their honor. Rouge, mascara, and hair coloring were permitted, but had to be inconspicuous.

Realistically, it was nearly impossible for a woman to tint or bleach her

hair because the color had to match

the information on her identification

card. The regulations favored feminine hair styles with hair neither too

short nor too long; by directive, hair

could touch, but not cover the collar.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Baker Rosinski

WRs Arlene Wij5on and Barbara Baker model work and dress versions of the summer uniform. For dress, a bright green cotton cover was used over the purse.
Department ol Defense Photo (USMC) 301456

Cpl Constance H. Bacon, a bank teller

before the war, worked as an auditor in

the Paymaster Department, Headquarters, Marine Corps. On her fingernails is

regulation "Lipstick Red" nail polish,

which was formulated to match the red

cap cord of the winter service uniform.

In 1943 the country desperately

needed womanpower, but almost no

one knew for certain just how far the

limits of tradition could be stretched

or, more likely, breached. By custom,

working women were mainly employed in offices, classrooms, hospitals, retail stores, libraries, beauty

shops, or in homes as domestics. Not

many women drove trucks, or buses,

and they certainly didn't fix them.

Photo courtesy of Eleanor Nocito Tuomi Women did not work in the trades—

Pvt Eleanor Nocito, in dungarees and snap brim hat, served at MCAS, El Toro. plumbing, ekcticity, carpentry—and

Not even something as personal as A woman Marine bicycles at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in a seersucker "peanut

underwear escaped strict regulation. suit," named for its beige, crinkly fabric and bloomer legs, and worn for its comfort.

Bras and girdles—whether needed or Photo courtesy of Raelyn Harman Subramanian

not— and full length white slips were

always worn underneath the service

and dress uniforms. Handkerchiefs

could be khaki when the khaki shirt

was worn, otherwise, they had to be

white.

Hair ornaments were forbidden

and the only jewelry allowed were

simple rings and wrist watches.

The uniforms were fashionable

and admired and thankfully belied

the never-ending logistical problems

surrounding their design, specifications, sizing, inspections, supply, and

distribution.

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