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JANUARY 2016
A supplement to Eagle News
The women of World War II Seven decades since war’s end, stories of women vets often go untold By Sarah Hall Editor Seventy years ago this past summer, World War II came to an end. Some 16.1 million Americans served in the war between Dec. 1, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946. Often forgotten among that number are 350,000 women, all volunteers who signed up to join the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Nurse Corps after 1942. While they were barred from combat, women made their own sacrifices, leaving behind home and family to serve their country in its time of need. As World War II veterans die at a rate of approximately 492 a day, according to the U.S. Veterans Administration, it’s more important now than ever to share their stories.
Library of Congress
The Army WAC
When Margaret Sims’ husband Ralph joined the Air Force in 1942, she thought she should do something to serve her country, as well. “My husband was in the service, and I wanted to do my part,� said Sims, who lives in Warners. Sims signed up for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which later became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The WAAC was created as a result of a bill put forth by Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers from Massachusetts in 1942. Originally, the WAAC had no military status, but Rogers changed that with another bill in 1943 that authorized the enlistment and appointment of women in the Army. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill in July of that year, and thus the WAAC was dissolved and replaced with the WAC. Sims then reenlisted as a member of the Army, joining some 150,000 other women who served throughout the course of the war. While her husband, a B-17 navigator pilot who flew on the D-Day mission over Normandy, was stationed in England, Sims spent the majority of her time in Cairo, where she worked in censorship. “If [the soldiers] had anything in their letters going home —a port or a town or battalion or a company — we had to cut that out.,� she said. Throughout the course of the war, Sims could only correspond with her husband by mail. “One time he did fly down to Tripoli, but I never got to see him,� she said. Sims said she’ll always remember the friends she made, though now, 70 years later, she’s the only one left. “I’m 94 now,� she said. “All of my friends are gone.� After the war, Sims and her husband, Ralph, made their home in Warners, where
Propaganda posters encouraged women to join up for the war effort. they went on to have four children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. While she appreciates the recognition given to the
Library of Congress
Greatest Generation, Sims said she thinks women vets from the World War II era often
WWII
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