Carmen Contreras - Bozak Tech4 Carmen Contreras - Bozak , ( born December 31 , 1919 ) was the first Hispanic to serve in the U . S . Women ' s Army Corps where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions . Early years . Born Carmen Contreras in 1919 , she was the oldest of three siblings . She was born and raised in the town of Cayey , Puerto Rico , located in the central mountains of the island , where she attended elementary school . Her mother , Lila Baudilia Lugo Torres , moved the family to New York City in search of a better way of life . In New York , Contreras attended Julia Richman High School and , upon graduation , worked for the National Youth Administration . After taking and passing a Civil Service test , Contreras worked for the War Department in Washington , D . C . as a payroll clerk . World War II . The Women ' s Army Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC ) was established during World War II on May 15 , 1942 , " for the purpose of making available to the national defense the knowledge , skill , and special training of the women of the nation . " During this period , the Army was looking for bilingual Hispanic women to fill assignments in fields such as cryptology , communications and interpretation . In 1942 , Contreras joined the Women ’ s Army Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC ) and was sent to Fort Lee , Virginia for training . Contreras volunteered to be part of the 149th WAAC Post Headquarters Company the first to go overseas , setting sail from New York Harbor for Europe on January 1943 . The unit arrived in Northern Africa on January 27 , 1943 and rendered overseas duties in Algiers , in General Dwight D . Eisenhower ’ s theatre headquarters . The women who served abroad were not treated like the regular Army servicemen . They did not receive overseas payment nor could they receive government life insurance . These women had no protection if they became ill , wounded or captured . If captured , the women were considered as " auxiliaries " serving with the Army rather than in it , and did not have the same protections under international law as the male soldiers . These were factors which the Army took into consideration when they decided to integrate the Women ’ s Corps into the regular Army . On July 3 , 1943 , the WAC bill , which established the Women ’ s Army Corps as integral part of the Army of the United States , was signed into law ( Public Law 78 - 110 ) becoming effective on September 1 , 1943 . Contreras was promoted to the rank of Tech 4 ( Technical Sergeant ) which , in today ' s Army , would equal the rank of Sergeant ( E - 4 ) . Her responsibilities included the transmission of encoded messages to the battlefield . After returning home , Contreras entered Valley Forge General Hospital on July 1945 , for treatment of an eye infection which she had contracted in Algiers . There she met Theodore Bozak , a patient who would become her husband . Carmen Contreras - Bozak and Theodore Bozak had three children , two sons , Brian and Robert , and a daughter , Carmen . Later years . Contreras - Bozak lived for many years in Fort Lauderdale , Florida . There she started a chapter of WAC Vets and in 1998 founded a chapter of the Society of Military Widows . She now resides in Tampa , FL . Approximately 200 Puerto Rican women served in the Women ’ s Army Corps during World War II . Awards and decorations . Among Tech4 Carmen Contreras - Bozak ' s military decorations were the following :