--- title: Women Soldiers: Photos of America's Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, 1942 description: LIFE celebrates the pioneers of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps -- the WAACs -- who enlisted, donned uniforms and learned to soldier for the United States in the early days of the Second World War. canonical: https://time.com/3877591/photos-of-americas-womens-army-auxiliary-corps-1942/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-07-03T20:52:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:51.549Z og:title: Women Soldiers: Photos of America's Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, 1942 og:description: LIFE celebrates the pioneers of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps -- the WAACs -- who enlisted, donned uniforms and learned to soldier for the United States in the early days of the Second World War. og:url: https://time.com/3877591/photos-of-americas-womens-army-auxiliary-corps-1942/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23e6800dba5db7b3/69884a080b72e3ffcc6e3571/05550352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: WAACs, 1942 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Women Soldiers: Photos of America's Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, 1942 twitter:description: LIFE celebrates the pioneers of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps -- the WAACs -- who enlisted, donned uniforms and learned to soldier for the United States in the early days of the Second World War. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23e6800dba5db7b3/69884a080b72e3ffcc6e3571/05550352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Take off the Silk, Put on the Khaki': America's First Women Soldiers, 1942 by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jul 3, 2013 8:52 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. "In their first gas-mask drill the WAACs took two minutes to get their masks adjusted." Fort Des Moines, Iowa, June 1942. Caption from LIFE. "In their first gas-mask drill the WAACs took two minutes to get their masks adjusted." Fort Des Moines, Iowa, June 1942.Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jul 3, 2013 8:52 PM UTC In light of recent reports of rampant sexual violence against women in America’s armed forces — with an estimated 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact last year, “rampant” is hardly too strong a word — combating sexual assault without relying on the military itself to safeguard its female troops is now high on lawmakers’ agendas. In fact, with the news that the Army is investigating yet another officer who might have been preying on those he was charged with protecting, Michigan’s Carl Levin, who heads the Senate’s armed services committee, acknowledged that “the depth of the sexual-assault problem in our military was already overwhelmingly clear before this latest highly disturbing report.” [**\[MORE: “Yet Another Sexual-Assault Investigation Likely to Spur Congressional Action.”\]**](http://nation.time.com/2013/05/15/yet-another-sexual-assault-investigation-likely-to-spur-congressional-action/) All the more remarkable, then — and all the more moving, in a way — to recall how America’s very first “women soldiers” were viewed when they came on the scene, seven decades ago. The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was founded in May 1942, and the women who first served in the corps were instantly pegged with the now-famous collective moniker, WAACs. (From 1943-1978, renamed the Woman’s Army Corps, or WAC, it was an official branch of the U.S. Army.) More than 150,000 American women served in the corps during World War II, and did their jobs so well, and so uncomplainingly, that no less an authority on proper soldiering than Gen. Douglas MacArthur reportedly characterized the WACs as “my best soldiers.” When LIFE magazine published an article on the corps just a few months after its inception, in September 1942 — an article that featured a full-page version of Marie Hansen’s striking, now-famous photograph of gas-masked WAACs — the tone of the article was a remarkable mix of the laudatory and the patronizing. (See excerpt below.) But overall, all these years later, the magazine’s take on this strange and perhaps inevitable new phenomenon of American women in uniform comes across as a straightforward piece of reportage — even if, say, describing the formidable head of the corps as a “a svelte and definite Texas lady” might sound almost comically condescending to modern ears. In LIFE’s own words: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. "In their first gas-mask drill the WAACs took two minutes to get their masks adjusted." Fort Des Moines, Iowa, June 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps with gas masks, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "WAACs practice close-order drill across dewy parade grounds at Fort Des Moines." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "At assembly, regimental commander inspects ... seeing that hair is above collar, stocking seams are straight." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Inoculation against typhoid fever, tetanus, and smallpox, which are given to all soldiers, are also given to all WAACs." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Mary Yates, 26, is the wife of a coast artillery captain who was sent to the Philippines." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Julie Getas, 25, worked for the Walgreen drugstores in San Francisco and was concerned with buying, display and merchandising." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Ruby Braun worked for a cosmetics company as supervisor of sales in the Los Angeles area when she enlisted in the WAACs last spring." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Lorna V. Kubli, 28 and single, was working as an office manager in the War Department when she joined the WAACs, glad of the chance to get out from behind the desk and do something active." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Hair-do is shorter when hairdresser is done. Proper length is 2 in. above collar." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "WAACs wash own undergarments and stockings. The heavy clothing is sent out to commercial laundries in Des Moines." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "The WAACs walk is regulation 30-in. Army stride. Sidewalks are measured off so that WAACs can practice between classes." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps doing calisthenics, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps doing calisthenics, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Calisthenics come every day. The exercises are designed to foster flexibility and endurance, not bulging muscles." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Group sport has not gone beyond softball which the WAACs play with great enthusiasm and uneven skill." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps members, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps members, Iowa, 1942. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Driving a jeep is fun for Candidate Kenna. She wants to do recruiting work after she graduates and she might have to drive a jeep. So she borrows one and bounces around the post." Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "With military snap, WAACs walk through post saluting passing officers. WAACs love to salute. An officer abroad when WAACs are moving has to keep his arm pumping briskly as he goes." 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