Women’s Baseball

America was in the middle of World War II. Baseball was at
risk because, as citizens saw generously paid athletes
"swatting balls while their loved ones were dying on foreign
shores," interest declined and criticism went up


"war and baseball fished in the same stream.
Both demanded the young and vigorous."

Could baseball survive when all of its players were needed in
combat?

The president of the professional league wanted it to end
because he thought that interest was gone and the league
would lose money, but President Roosevelt convinced him
otherwise.

Roosevelt fought unemployment during the Depression by
creating jobs.

Now the war brought new jobs. Working men left to serve
just when factories needed them for war production.

Many of the workers who replaced them were women.

Wrigley believed these women could help more by playing
baseball.

Wrigley believed that baseball's survival depended on
women during the war. "By 1942, when Wrigley was
forming his professional women's league, the sight of a
woman wearing pants was no longer offensive, as it had
been. . . . But women who competed were still frowned
upon,"
Roles for Women in
WWII

WWII opened up the doors for women to fill
hundreds of typically male dominated roles
in the workplace.

However, most of these roles evaporated
quickly after the war was over.

According to a survey done at the
Springfield Aresonal in Massachusetts, 81%
of women said they hoped to continue
working after the war.

Within one week of VJ, every woman had
been fired.

Similarly, a survey in Detroit found that
72% of women workers that had been laid
off after the war wanted to work but
couldn't find a job.
Rosie the Riveter

Who is Rosie the Riveter? Most people think of Rosie the Riveter as the image
that appeared on the War Production Coordinating Committee Poster that was to
be posted in factories in February of 1943, however, she was first dubbed Rosie
by Norman Rockwell on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in May of 1943.

Before they took jobs in factories, most women didn't wear pants on a regular
basis, nor did many of them hold down jobs after they got married. After all, a
woman's role had traditionally been in the home, taking care of the children.

Their children, and sometimes even husbands didn't believe that they were smart
enough or strong enough to hold down a real job, and some of the first Rosie's
struggled in their new roles at first, as they found that the factories has almost
been exclusively male.

To some of the new female factory workers, however, the job boom was a
godsend.

The depression of the 1930's had left many families still not completely
financially stable.

Women moved into cities and crammed into tiny flats with several roommates to
make some extra money.

For those families that were hit hardest during the depression, the chance for a
wife to earn a paycheck while her husband was getting his overseas pay was
almost a lucky break.

But. Rosie the Riveter surprised no
one, when she - hundreds of thousands
of her - took to factories across the
nation to launch the war machine into
high gear.

Perhaps, she surprised the factory
foreman who was skeptical of her
ability to handle a rivet gun and a drill
press, and she forever revolutionized
factory safety when, for the first time,
things like long hair were considered
safety hazards around machinery.

Rosie the Riveter too became the true
sweetheart of all the men overseas who
knew that she was the riveter, welder,
drill-press operator or machinist behind
each and every tank, airplane, and
machine gun that saved their life.

A little known fact about Rosie the Riveter is that
she in fact hurt the restaurant and laundry
business.

Restaurants were forced to close because they
couldn't find waitresses, because the women
holding those jobs were quiting to make better
money in factories.

Prior to WWII, most women who held a job had
been stereotypically young and single - waiting to
meet Mr. Right.

Of women age 14 and up, 27% of women had a
job in the workplace in 1940 - it rose to 35% in
1944 and had declined again to 29% by 1947.

Interestingly, even though factories were
desperate for laborers, older women had a difficult
time finding work.
The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross had seen service
in WWI as nurses, drivers, and canteen
volunteers, so it's service in WWII was
only a natural progression.

As of 1941, the American Red Cross was
divided into several Corps:

Note that during WWII there was no
nurse corps designation, only aides and
volunteers.

Red Cross women serving with the
military during WWII were sometimes
designated as Military Welfare staff.

These women had regular military
uniforms, and were even sent overseas.

The most well known of American
Red Cross women volunteers were
sometimes called "Donut Dollies“

although they worked with
Canteens throughout the US and
Europe, as well as Clubmobiles mobile canteens where the donuts
could be made right in the back of a
truck.

Other Red Cross volunteers were
stationed overseas during WWII,
most notably the Motor Corps, or
drivers, who had also been stationed
overseas during the first world war.
The USO during WWII

The USO was formed in 1940 out of 18 national organizations,
including the YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army, the National Jewish
Welfare Board, National Catholic Community Service and travelers
Aid-International with the intent of forming a wholesome recreation
and moral supporting services to young Americans would soon be
serving in the Armed Forces.

With the help of the Federal government, they formed the USOND
or United Service Organizations for the National Defense, which
was officially established on February 4th, 1941.

Also part of the USO were a several travling theaters or
"Campshows" as they were called.

The USO shows brought the talent to the GI's during WWII and
continue that tradition today.

Most traveling units had one or two major stars, and a few "B"
entertainers that traveled in one of 119 different companies across
the United States, Europe and the Pacific.

During WWII, many famous stars either got their start, or spent
time on the USO circuit, touring sometimes just behind the front
lines.

Over 5,000 entertainers were on the USO's payroll at some point
during WWII, including Mickey Rooney, Bing Crosby, and Judy
Garland
WAC: Women's Army Corps

During WWII the Women's Army Corps was one of
few women's units to have been sent to both the
European and Pacific theaters.

Known as the WACS, they provided a variety of
support roles to the Army and the Army Air Forces.

Initially, it was hoped that women could act as
secretaries and in administrative positions so that
men could be relieved for more physical roles, and
take on fighting roles.

However, by the end of the war, women were
performing in more than just secretarial tasks, an
working as everything from radio operators in
England to truck drivers and airplane mechanics in
the Pacific Islands.

However, in large majority, over 70 percent of the
the WACs roles were desk jobs of some sort,
regardless if it was a supply depot clerk or a
telegraph operator.

Eleanor Roosevelt was among the first to realize that
women should be used in the U.S. Army, as well as other
branches of the service.

The debate became an outright congressional argument,
but somehow, by December 31st of 1941, there was an
officially proposed bill to create a women's auxiliary for the
army.

The bill took until May of 1942 to become written into law.

The initial class of WACs had their work cut out for them.
In an attempt to intimidate women, there were grueling
tests, both mental and physical.

The Army seemed to think that a women had to out
perform a man, and the WAC's lived up to the challenge.

A WAC private was required to be a high school graduate,
while men were required to be able to read.

The average officer was 30 and possessed a graduate
degree.

many of the enlisted WACS, too, had degrees, and their
roles in the army were quite restricted by their Auxiliary
status, and in the hopes of keeping the program alive,
since the need for troops far outweighed the need for
women's rights at the time.

On July 1, 1943, the WAC's became a part of the
military.

There were several reasons for the change, but
mostly, the Army had several loopholes that the WACs
seemed to fall through, and, as more and more WACs
were sent overseas, it was clear that they needed to
eliminate some of the vulnerabilities the Auxiliary had
created.

On V-E day, in 1945, there were 99,388 WACs serving
with the Army and Army Air Force.

1946, six months after V-J day, the WACs were to be
disbanded.

However, so many generals, including Generals Patton
and Eisenhower, the Army's new chief of Staff, realized
their value, and the WACs were rescued and officially
made part of the military on January 15, 1946.

It wasn't until 1978 that the Women's Army Corps was
dissolved and women were fully integrated into the
army.
WAVES

The Navy had observed the Army's negative publicity in
establishing a women's division, and in establishing their
own women's reserves, was quick to side step many of the
Army's mistakes.

The WAVES, or the Women's Reserve of the United States
Naval Reserve, was dubbed WAVES so in an effort to create
a pleasant, naval sounding acronym for its women's
division, avoiding the jokes about the Army's "Wacky"
women.

Established in May of 1942, WAVES stands for "Women
Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service."

During WWII, over 50,000 women joined the WAVES,
serving throughout the continental US.

To attract enlistees, and avoid the issues that
the Army had with WAC uniforms, the Navy
employed fashion designers to create the
WAVES uniform smart navy blue uniform.

The Navy accepted Enlistees between 20 and
36 years of age to serve only in the
continental US for the duration of the war.

The WAVES were to be discharged within six
months after the war. (Full Enlistment
Information as of 1943).

Interestingly, initial regulations prohibited
them to marry Naval personal, although there
were no regulations against marrying Coast
Guard or other Services personal.

This regulation was later relaxed, however,
the wives of US Naval officers were prohibited
from joining the WAVES.
Nurses in WWII: The Army
Nurse Corps

The oldest US women's military organization.

In fact, Army nurses were caught in some of the first cross fire of the
Second World War, having been stationed at Pearl Harbor and in the
Philippines during the time of their attack on Dec 7th, 1941.

During WWII, the Army Nurse Corps was awarded more than 1,600
military decorations.

Army Nurses had landed on the beaches of Anzio on the day of the
invasion, and Normandy just 4 days after.

Contrary to popular belief, all nurses stationed overseas were Army
Nurses.

Eligible civilian nurses signed up with the American Red Cross Nursing
Service, however, upon volunteering to serve overseas, one was officially
sworn into the Army.

At one point, so many nurses were needed to fill Army positions both
here and abroad, that some serious consideration was given to drafting all
available nurses into the military.

While not all Army Nurses were stationed
overseas, many did, working with field and
evacuation hospitals.

These hospitals were often close to the front
lines, and condtions were not always ideal.

Nurses often lived in tents or huts in the field,
and worked exhausting hours with sometimes
little or no supplies and difficult sanitary
conditions, subject to the same combat
situations as the fighting troops.

The Army Air Forces also used specially trained
nurses as part of their flight evacuation program.

These nurses, known as flight nurses, were
specially trained to help transport stable patients
from frontline makeshift hospitals in Europe to
regular medical facilities in England for further
medical treatment, using the same transport
planes that the Airborne used to "drop"
paratroopers.

Although considered experimental for most of
the war, the flight nurse program was considered
highly successful, and were believed to have
saved thousands of lives.
The Navy Nurse
Corps

At the time of Pearl Harbor, the Navy had just under active 1000 navy
nurses, with another 1,000 on reserves.

Nurses in the Navy were considered officers, however, full commission
status wasn't granted until 1944.

During the height of WWII the Navy Nurse Corps had over 11,000 total
nurses serving both stateside and abroad.

Some of the Navy Nurses on duty during Pearl Harbor were literally
attacked during the bombing.

Still others were under fire while aboard hospital ships in the Pacific.

The Navy Nurse Corps also it's own flight evacuation service

The first air evacuations started in January of 1945 and continued until
the end of the war.

Flight Nurses and Navy Corpsmen flew in "air ambulances", which were
converted troop carrier planes that could carry men
Women Marines

Women Marines had existed during WWI, and the program was
reenstated in November of 1942.

While unpopular with the head brass in the Marine Corps, the idea
was popular with the Roosevelts, and Mrs. Roosevelt ensured that
the women Marines were trained even in the use of fire arms.

They were trained, and received the same pay and benefits as
male Marines with the exception of a dependants allowance.

Unlike most women's organizations, they had no official
nicknames.

The Corps felt that they didn't need one, however, several
"unofficial" ones appeared - Lady Leathernecks, SheMarines,
FeMarines, BAMS (Bad Assed Marines).

More than 20,000 Women Marines to serve in the Western
Hemisphere (including Alaska and Hawaii) during WWII.

Like the WACs, the Women Marines often supported Marine air
squadrons in roles such as parachute riggers, aviation mechanics,
although they also served as typists, drivers, clerks,
photographers, accountants and chemists. The control tower at
Cherry Point, NC. was operated almost entirely by women
Marines.

The Women Marines wore a similar uniform to that of their male
counterparts in traditional Marine green.
WASP: Women's Air Service Pilots

In 1942 the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, and the training
facility

Although they were under military authority, the WASPs were
considered Civil Service employees and were paid less than the
standard pilots pay.

37 WASPs were killed and 36 were injured during the group's
existence between 1942 and 1944.

25,000 women applied to join the WASP program, and only
1,830 were admitted with just over half of the admitted pilots 1,074 women total - completing the training program.

The original idea was for women to ferry training aircraft.

However, between 1942 and December, 20, 1944, the WASP's
racked up more than 9,000,000 miles in the air, and had flown
seventy seven different single and twin engine airplanes,
including the famed B-17, P-51, and P-38.

The WASP were disbanded in December of 1944, before General
Arnold could get them militarized.

General Arnold, himself, felt strongly that the Air Force should
be its own branch separate from the Army, and the two agreed
to postpone the WASP's full integration into the Air Force.

So, the WASP were not included in the 1943 merger of the
WAC into the regular army.
The women who were spies

During WWII, it was realized that women
were perfect for certain types of intelligent
work.

The expanding roles of women allowed them
to play a larger role in spying and yet still slip
through the enemy's fingertips much easier
than men.

Although women often lacked the necessary
background for reporting specific technical
information, they were often able to extract
"intimate" knowledge of German military
intentions from military officers in a variety of
ways.

Often, the women found jobs as servants or
otherwise transplanted themselves into the
lives of the enemy, allowing themselves to
become part of the officer's dating pool or
social circle.

*Julia Child She helped the U.S. spy agency
develop shark repellent, a critical ingredient in
protecting explosives used to sink German Uboats during World War II.
Russian Women Snipers:

In Russia one of the key fighting forces for
the Red Army was their use of Women
snipers: