Minorities and Women in WWII Overview
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
In addition to factory work and other home front jobs, some 350,000 women joined the Armed Services,
serving at home and abroad. At the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and women's groups, and
impressed by the British use of women in service, General George Marshall supported the idea of introducing
a women's service branch into the Army. In May 1942, Congress instituted the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps,
later upgraded to the Women's Army Corps, which had full military status. Its members, known as WACs,
worked in more than 200 non-combatant jobs stateside and in every theater of the war. By 1945, there were
more than 100,000 WACs and 6,000 female officers. In the Navy, members of Women Accepted for Volunteer
Emergency Service (WAVES) held the same status as naval reservists and provided support stateside. The
Coast Guard and Marine Corps soon followed suit, though in smaller numbers.
One of the lesser-known roles women played in the war effort was provided by the Women's Airforce Service
Pilots, or WASPs. These women, each of whom had already obtained their pilot's license prior to service,
became the first women to fly American military aircraft. They ferried planes from factories to bases,
transporting cargo and participating in simulation strafing and target missions, accumulating more than 60
million miles in flight distances and freeing thousands of male U.S. pilots for active duty in World War II. More
than 1,000 WASPs served, and 38 of them lost their lives during the war. Considered civil service employees
and without official military status, these fallen WASPs were granted no military honors or benefits, and it
wasn't until 1977 that the WASPs received full military status. On March 10, 2010, at a ceremony in the
Capitol, the WASPS received the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors. More than 200
former pilots attended the event, many wearing their World War II-era uniforms.
"Rosie the Riveter"
While women worked in a variety of positions previously closed to them, the aviation industry saw the greatest
increase in female workers. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943,
representing 65 percent of the industry's total workforce (compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years). The
munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as represented by the U.S. government's "Rosie the
Riveter" propaganda campaign. Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious
character, the strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American
history, and the most iconic image of working women during World War II.
In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs, articles and even a Norman Rockwell-painted Saturday Evening
Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force—and
they did, in huge numbers. Though women were crucial to the war effort, their pay continued to lag far behind
their male counterparts: Female workers rarely earned more than 50 percent of male wages
Canadian Women
In September 1939, Canada, still recovering from the Depression, had approximately 900,000 registered
unemployed. For the first two years of war, these workers met war production’s increased demand for labour,
but by 1942 that reserve was exhausted. When Prime Minster Mackenzie King established the National
Selective Service in March 1942, he declared recruitment of women for employment to be “the most important
single factor of the program.” In May of that year, the Women’s Division of NSS was created and Mrs. Rex
(Fraudena) Eaton of Vancouver was put in charge. For as long as possible, her office aimed their recruitment
efforts exclusively at young unmarried women, but by June 1943 that labour pool, too, had evaporated.
Gradually the target was widened to childless housewives for part-time work, next married women without
children for full-time work, then married women with young children for part-time work, and finally mothers of
young children for full-time work.
Women also served the war effort in the Armed Forces. Faced with a manpower shortage as early as June
1940, National Defence Headquarters began looking into the possibility of employing uniformed women to
release men for active service. The interests of NDHQ coincided with the keen desire of thousands of
Canadian women already organized into volunteer women’s service corps and petitioning the government for
the right to serve their country in uniform. Between July 1941 and March 1942, all three services opened their
doors to women (beyond nursing sisters): the Air Force in July 1941; the Army in August of that year, fully
integrating the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in March 1942; and the Navy in July 1942. By war’s end,
almost 50,000 women had served in one of the three women’s services: the Royal Canadian Air Force
(Women’s Division), commonly called the WDs; the CWAC; and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service
(WRCNS).
Minorities in World War II
During World War II, the U.S. Army armed forces grew to 8,225,353. There were 7,181,784 white Americans
(87%), 901,896 African-Americans (11%), and 141,673 Japanese, Hispanics, and other minority groups (2%)
(Data from selective Service and Victory: The 4th Report of the Director of Selective Service) Though tensions
of discrimination existed, American citizens with foreign ancestry were allowed to enlist and fight for the United
States.2
African-Americans
Of all the minority groups, the African-Americans contributed the most manpower. More than 900,000 enlisted
in the armed forces (equivalent to 11% of the total U.S. military population in 1945)
The 1940 Selective Service Act allowed African-Americans to be enlisted in the Army, where they joined
different military branches- Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. FDR also gave them the
permission to join the Air Corps, and to attend officer training schools.
Despite these anti-racist policies, discrimination still occurred in the Army. African-Americans had to contend
with two battles: their personal psychological conflict due to racism, and their military confrontations. Because
of this, Black activists demanded a “Double V” sign to represent two victories. Nevertheless, World War II
demonstrated the value and heroism of each Negro soldier.4
Dorie Miller was a 3rd class cook in the Navy, and he was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the American naval
base was bombed on December 7, 1941. He did not falter amidst the presence of hundreds of enemy planes
hitting them from all directions. Until that day, Miller had never fired an anti-aircraft weapon, but he did not
hesitate to use it against the adversary when opportunity presented itself.
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black
military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill,
courage and patriotism. They came from every section of the country, with large numbers coming from New
York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Each one possessed a strong
personal desire to serve the United States of America at the best of his ability. In June 1943, the Tuskegee
Airmen entered into combat over North Africa. The Airmen exemplified courage, skill and dedication in combat.
They flew P-39-, P-40-, P-47- and P-51-type aircraft in more than 15,000 sorties, completing over 1,500
missions during the war. They never lost an escorted bomber to enemy fighters. No other escort unit could
claim such a record. When the war ended, the Tuskegee Airmen returned home with one hundred and fifty
Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. The group was deactivated in
May 1946 but its success would contribute to the eventual integration of the United States military. The fruit of
the efforts of the airmen would be harvested in the eventual 1948 desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces.
American-Indians – The Navajo Code Talkers
“Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima”, commended Major Howard
Connor of the 5th Marines Division. The Navajo code talkers accompanied the island hopping military
campaign of the Marines in the Pacific.
This idea of using an “unbreakable” code to assure secure transmission during combat operations was
proposed by World War I veteran Philip Johnston. He suggested the use of the Navajo language, which is an
“unwritten language of extreme complexity.” Then Amphibious Corps commanding general Major General
Clayton B. Vogel, after seeing the skill and accuracy of Navajo code talkers as regards radio transmission,
approved the assimilation of Navajo radiomen into the Marine Corps.
The Navajo code was never deciphered by Japanese Intelligence. These code talkers were able to coordinate
American naval gunfire and air support to Japanese positions, and the enemy never saw them coming. A total
of 540 Navajos served with the Marines during World War II.
Hispanics
Exact figures for the number of Latinos who fought in World War II are not known. Estimates range from
250,000 to 500,000, or about 2.5 to 5 percent of the number of soldiers who fought in the war. The only precise
information available is for Puerto Ricans, who numbered about 53,000. In addition, some 200 Puerto Rican
women formed part of the Women's Army Corps. One reason why it is difficult to know the number of Latinos is
that, with few exceptions, they were not segregated into their own units. Rather, soldiers of Hispanic descent
could be found throughout the military, particularly those units that originated in the Southwest.
Latinos were among the first U.S. soldiers who saw combat in the war. Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
the United States sought to bolster the defense of the Philippines. Two of the units sent came from the New
Mexico National Guard, which contained a heavy representation of both Hispanic officers and enlisted men. In
part, these men were selected for their Spanish-speaking abilities because many in the Philippines still spoke
Spanish.
Many other Latinos served in noncombatant roles during the war, including numerous Hispanic members of the
713th Railway Operation Battalion of the Military Railway Service. Also known as the Santa Fe Battalion, the
713th was formed at Camp Clovis, New Mexico, in 1942 of experienced railway personnel. The unit went to
North Africa in 1943, where it operated trains, built new track, and repaired old track along the coast of North
Africa to supply U.S. and British units. The 713th later served in Italy, France, and Germany.
Latinos also played an important role on the home-front during World War II. During the Great Depression,
many Hispanic Americans, especially Mexicans, had been repatriated because of a lack of jobs. However,
once the United States entered the war, there was great demand for additional workers to replace those who
left their jobs for the military. The governments of Mexico and the United States forged an agreement known as
the Bracero Program, which brought Mexican contract laborers to work in agricultural jobs in the United States
starting in 1942. By 1947 some 200,000 Mexican workers came to the United States under this program. The
Bracero Program allowed these workers both to earn an income and to show their patriotism.
Japanese Americans – The 442nd regiment
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, resentment grew towards Americans with Japanese ancestry. They were
accused of being spies, and were considered a major threat to the nation’s security. 120,000 Japanese
Americans (or Nisei’s) were placed in internment camps, and they were forced to sell their livelihood at very
low prices.
Fortunately, in early 1943, the government gave the Japanese Americans the chance to enlist in the Army.
Thus, the 442nd regiment was born, composed of Nisei volunteers from Hawaii and the mainland. More than
33,000 Nisei’s joined the Army and fought many European campaigns.
“For their performance, the 442nd has been recognized as the most decorated unit in United States history”
After 8 major campaigns in Europe, the 442nd received a total of 18,000 awards- among these are 7
presidential unit citations, 9,500 Purple Hearts, and 52 Distinguished Service Crosses. In the process, they
earned the respect of their fellow soldiers.
WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN WWII
Key Titles or groups Where they were
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active
US WOMEN
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participants
CANADIAN
WOMEN
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AMERICAN
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participants
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achievements in the
war effort
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NATIVE
AMERICAN
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participants
HISPANIC
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participants
JAPANESE
AMERICAN
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participants
Where they were
active
Key tasks and jobs
Significance and
achievements in the
war effort