World War II Discussion Group

Gwen Kelley, a librarian who specializes in genealogy and local history, will give a presentation titled “Women in the Military,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 2, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and open to the public. This event occurs as part of the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the World War II Discussion Group.

According to Kelley, General Eisenhower felt that he could not win the war without the aid of the women in uniform. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps. 

Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets.

Some women served near the front lines in the Army Nurse Corps, where 16 were killed as a result of direct enemy fire. Sixty-eight American service women were captured as POWs in the Philippines. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service, and 565 WACs in the Pacific Theater won combat decorations.

At the war’s end, even though a majority of women surveyed reported wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home and by the downturn in demand for war materials. 

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

The World War II Discussion Group, headed by local teacher and historian Brian Altobello, meets the first Thursday of every month. Speakers focus on the events of the 1930s and 1940s. Free and open to the public; registration is not required.