may 14, 1942 - WAACs at Fort Des Moines
Description:
Women were first allowed into the military through the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, and their first training center was Iowa's Fort Des Moines. On May 14th, Oveta Culp Hobby was the first woman appointed to the rank equivalent to major, though she was not given the same title as her male peers.
Fort Des Moines already had a history of serving those excluded from other training, as during World War 1, this same fort had been home to the first officer training available to Black men. The training was originally to be held in Washington, D.C., but the federal government feared media backlash should the candidates fail. Iowa provided a space far enough outside of the public eye that failure would not reflect badly on the United States and the experiment could be swept under the rug if candidates performed poorly.
Added to timeline:
United Way JWC History
Date:
Images:
![]()
