Mildred Inez Bailey
Mildred Inez Bailey | |
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Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit | |
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Roy Carson Bailey
(m. 1943; died 1966) |
Mildred Inez Bailey (née Caroon; April 18, 1919 – July 18, 2009) was a United States Army officer, who served as the eighth director of the Women's Army Corps from August 1971 until July 1975. She was the third woman in United States Army to reach the rank of brigadier general.[1]
Early life
Mildred Inez Caroon was born in
Military career
Bailey joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later the
Bailey was assigned to the United States Army Air Corps and stationed in Daytona Beach, Florida, until mid-1943, when the company she commanded was transferred to George Field Army Air Base in Illinois. Bailey was then sent to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, for a short time before moving to Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, where she taught English to members of the French Air Force until the end of the war in 1945.[citation needed]
Bailey remained in the army after World War II and was sent to Miami, Florida, where she served as vocational guidance and counselor officer for veterans. In 1949, she was transferred to Stuttgart, Germany, with an intelligence assignment. She was then sent to Munich to command a WAC attachment at the 98th General Hospital.[citation needed]
In 1953, Bailey returned stateside to Washington, D.C., where she worked in the intelligence branch of the
On August 2, 1971 Bailey became the director of the Women's Army Corps and was promoted to brigadier general. As director, Bailey is remembered for designing the army's female drill sergeant hat in 1972. Her design was taken from the Australian bush hat, and was beige in color. In 1983, the color was changed to green with the style remaining unchanged.[3]
Bailey retired from the army in July 1975.[4]
Personal life
In 1943, she married Marine Sergeant Major Roy Carson Bailey.[1] They remained married until he died in a car accident in 1966.[2]
Bailey died at the Knollwood military retirement facility in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 18, 2009. She had Alzheimer's disease.[1][5] She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[6]
Decorations
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| 1st Row | Army Distinguished Service Medal
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Legion of Merit | Meritorious Service Medal | ||||||
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| 2nd Row | Army Commendation Medal
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American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | ||||||
| 3rd Row | World War II Victory Medal
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Army of Occupation Medal | Oak Leaf Cluster
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References
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Morden, Bettie J. (1990). "The Women's Army Corps, 1945–1978". history.army.mil. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ "History of the Drill Sergeant". Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ Oral history with M.I. Bailey, Women Veterans Historical Collection, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, [1]
- ^ "Mildred Bailey Obituary – Alexandria, Virginia – Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home". tributes.com.
- ^ "Burial detail: Bailey, Mildred Inez Caroon". ANC Explorer. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
External links
- Women Veterans Historical Collection – digitized letters, diaries, photographs, uniforms, and oral histories from WACs, including Mildred I. Bailey
- Women in the U.S. Army
- WAAC/WAC history and WWII women's uniforms in color — World War II US women's service organizations (WAC, WAVES, ANC, NNC, USMCWR, PHS, SPARS, ARC and WASP)
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