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SUMMARY:World War II Discussion Group -
UID:25158
DTSTAMP:20260418T155000Z
DTSTART:20260605T000000Z
DTEND:20260605T013000Z
LOCATION:4747 West Napoleon Ave, Metairie, LA 70001, United States
ROOM: Jefferson Room
DESCRIPTION:Gwen Kelley, a librarian who specializes in genealogy and loca
 l 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. Nap
 oleon, Metairie. This event occurs as part of the regularly scheduled mont
 hly meeting of the World War II Discussion Group.According to Kelley, Gene
 ral Eisenhower felt that he could not win the war without the aid of the w
 omen in uniform. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at
  home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxilia
 ry Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women�
 �s Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Wo
 men’s Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Ar
 my Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps. Women in uniform took office a
 nd clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They a
 lso drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, ri
 gged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew mil
 itary aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and ev
 en trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets.Som
 e 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 wom
 en were captured as POWs in the Philippines. More than 1,600 nurses were d
 ecorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service, and 565 WACs in t
 he 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 ma
 terials. The World War II Discussion Group, headed by local teacher and h
 istorian Brian Altobello, meets the first Thursday of every month. Speaker
 s focus on the events of the 1930s and 1940s. Free and open to the public;
  registration is not required.
URL:https://calendar.jplibrary.net/event/world-war-ii-discussion-group-251
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