This page is dedicated to my good friend
Sgt. Carol Gilliam - United States Marine
Women In The Marine Corps
What? Women Marines? You've got to be kidding ....
That was the first reaction from a group of male
Marines freed from a prison camp in the
Philippines in February 1945.
These men could hardly believe that women
were in the Corps.
American women in military uniform were rare
at the beginning of World War II. On July 30, 1942,
The Marine Corps Womens Reserve was established
as part of the Marine Corps Reserve.
The mission of the Marine Corps Womens Reserve
was to provide qualified women for duty at shore
establishments of the Marine Corps, releasing men for
combat duty.
By February 1943, American forces wiped out all enemy
opposition on Guadalcanal.
The bitter fighting there made it apparent that many
more Marines would be needed to continue the war
in the Pacific.
The Marine Corps would soon learn that there were
no differences between men and women with respect
to their fierce pride in the Marine Corps and that special
"Once a Marine, Always a Marine"
brand of loyalty.
The first group of women officers was given direct commissions
based on ability and civilian expertise.
These women were given no formal indoctrination or schooling,
but went on active duty immediately.
Women Marines were assigned to over 200 different jobs,
among them radio operator, photographer, parachute rigger, driver,
aerial gunnery instructor, cook, baker, quartermaster,
control tower operator, motion picture operator, auto mechanic,
telegraph operator, cryptographer, laundry operator, post exchange,
stenographer and agriculturist.
No organization is complete without a leader.
The first director of the Marine Corps Womens Reserve was,
Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter from Morristown, New Jersey.
By the end of World War II, 85 percent of the enlisted personnel
assigned to Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps were women.
On June 7, 1946, Commandant of the Marine Corps,
General Alexander A. Vandegrift approved the retention of a
small number of women on active duty.
They would serve as a trained nucleus for possible mobilization
emergencies.
The demobilization of the Marine Corps Womens Reserve,
17,640 enlisted and 820 officers, was to be completed by Sept. 1, 1946.
Of the 20,000 women who joined the Marine Corps during World War II,
only 1,000 remained in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve by July 1, 1946.
Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter recommended the position of director
of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve be strengthened and placed
directly under the office of the commandant.
On June 12, 1948, Congress passed legislation giving women regular
military status, placing them on a par with their male counterparts in the U.S.
armed forces.
NOTES
The first commissioned officer in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve
was Captain Anne Lentz, a civilian clothing designer who began work
on the women Marines uniforms.
The first commissioned officer class of 71 women reported to
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, in March 1943.
The first enlisted woman Marine was Lucille McClarren from
Nemahcolin, Pennsylvania.
The first enlisted class of 722 women reported to Hunter College,
New York, New York, in March 1943.
Eighty percent of the total enrollment in the
Marine Corps Women's Reserve came from only 17 states.
The average age of women Marines was 20-25 years.
In January 1945, the first detachment of women Marines arrived
in Hawaii for duty.
By wars end, the complement of women Marines in Hawaii
was approximately 1,000.
Only one woman Marine ever served with the
Office of Strategic Services in World War II.
Captain Charlotte Day Gower served in Washington, D.C.
She was formerly dean of women at Lingnan University
in Hong Kong.
When the Japanese attacked, she became a prisoner in a
Japanese internment camp for five months, where she taught
Chinese to fellow inmates.
After repatriation, Gower joined the Marine Corps Women's Reserve,
and later became its director of training.
On Nov. 10, 1943, a statue nicknamed Molly Marine was dedicated
in New Orleans, Louisiana, to honor all women Marines.
Because of building material restrictions during the war, the statue
was made of marble chips and granite.
Nineteen Navy WAVES volunteered for the
"Marine Corps Women's Reserve"
and became the first women Marine recruiters.
USMC PHOTO - CHERRY POINT - 9 MARCH 1945
PBJ CREW
The women Marine crew puts the finishing touches on a
PBJ medium bomber. Atop the engine nacelle at left is
Private First Class Thelma O. Martin.
Working on the cowling below her is Private First Class
Ruth T. Dincau, while Private First Class Eunice L. Anderson
works on the propeller.
Directing them from the ground is crew chief
Technical Sergeant Selma "Rusty" Olson.
Adjusting machine gun covers is Private First Class Bettie L. Smith.
Sergeant Margaret A. Engwald is in the cockpit and
Private Carol C. Peters is crossing under the plane to the other side.
Working on the landing gear are Private First Class Eleanor D. Moore and
Private Frances V. Gulbranson.
" Want To Meet Lady Leatherneck "
click on USMC image below
When your all done visiting the
"The Lady"
return to finish the tour
