Elna Jane Hilliard Grahn
Elna Jane Hilliard Grahn (November 15, 1913 – August 3, 2006) served in the
Early life
Elna Jane Hilliard was born on November 15, 1913, in Baraboo, Wisconsin to Charles Hilliard and Anna (Eagan) Hilliard.[1] She went to school in Baraboo and Madison, Wisconsin, and in Winona, Minnesota.
Military service in World War II
During World War II, first, Hilliard served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), where she headed up a secret Army experiment to determine the way that women might be used in an anti-aircraft battery.[1]
After the WAAC was dissolved she commanded the 2525th Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit in Fort Myer, Virginia.
Teaching career
In 1931 she entered the
Hilliard earned M.S. in math and education in 1941 from the University of Wisconsin. In 1941-42 she went on to be a math instructor and women's counselor in Emmetsburg, Iowa at a junior college and high school.[1][2]
After interrupting her teaching career for military service during World War Two, in 1946-47 she returned to teaching as a math instructor at
Personal life
Hilliard met Edgar Grahn, a fellow faculty member at University of Idaho, and they married in 1950.[1] Edgar Grahn died in 1995.[2]
Death and legacy
Grahn died on August 3, 2006, and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.[2]