Women's Army Corps uniform worn by Private First Class Ara Belle Brown Jennings
date: label: Date
content: 1944
name: label: Issued by
content: Women's Army Corps, American, 1942 - 1978
label: Worn by
content: Ara Belle Brown Jennings, American, 1920 - 1993
label: Manufactured by
content: Unidentified
notes: label: Caption
content: Private First Class Ara Belle Brown wore this Women's Army Corps (WAC) uniform while serving with the 4705th Army Air Forces Base Unit in Fresno, California. Approximately 6,500 Black women served in the WAC during World War II.
label: Description
content: This is a Women's Army Corps uniform worn by Ara Belle Brown Jennings. It consists of an olive brown wool jacket (a) and matching skirt (b). The uniform jacket buttons up the front with four gold-colored buttons, with the bottom button missing. The gold-colored buttons have a raised decoration of the Great Seal of the United States. The jacket has two upper chest pockets with flap closures and button fasteners, and two angled hip pockets. On the inside back collar is a smudged stamp that reads “[illegible]B Brown / [illegible]4[illegible]703.” Next to the stamp is a sewn-on tag that is coming unsewn. The white cloth tag has black text and reads “SHORT / 14.” The uniform skirt is an A-line style with a side button and zipper. There is a small white tag sewn into the inside of the waistband. At the top of the tag is handwritten text that reads “4972.” Below this is printed text that reads “SIZE 14.
place: label: Place used
content: Fresno, Fresno County, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Women
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Military Uniforms
label: Exhibition
content: Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Ara Belle Brown Jennings and Robert Sydnor Jennings (La Vinia Delois Jennings, Executrix) Oct. 2022
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2022.91.1ab
objectType: label: Type
content: military uniforms
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: wool with metal, plastic, and synthetic fiber
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (a: jacket): 26 3/16 × 15 3/8 × 1/2 in. (66.5 × 39 × 1.3 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (b: skirt): 25 11/16 × 12 × 3/8 in. (65.3 × 30.5 × 1 cm)