United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve
United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (Reserve) was the
Young women were keen on serving in the military during WWII, and the Marine Corps desired only the best. The standards set for women who wished to volunteer for the Reserve were demanding. However, the Reserve did not accept
Early on, the male members of the Marine Corps subjected the women to a degree of resentment and crude language. The women overcame these indignities with their accomplishments in the workplace and the poise with which they performed. In time, most of their detractors became their supporters. For her stewardship of the Reserve, the Marine Corps presented Ruth Cheney Streeter with the Legion of Merit. On the occasion of the first anniversary of its establishment, the Reserve received a message from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in which he observed, "You have quickly and efficiently taken over scores of different kinds of duties that not long ago were considered strictly masculine assignments, and in doing so, you have freed a large number of well trained, battle ready men of the corps for action." Initially, General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, had been opposed to having women serve in the Marine Corps. Before the end of 1943, however, he reversed himself, saying, "Like most Marines, when the matter first came up I didn't believe women could serve any useful purpose in the Marine Corps ... Since then I've changed my mind."[1]
Background
At the outbreak of World War II, the notion of women serving in the
The Marine Corps delayed formation of the Reserve until 13 February 1943.[2] It was the last service branch to accept women into its ranks, and there was considerable unhappiness about making the Marine Corps anything but a club for white men.[4] In fact, General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the Marine Corps, was a well-known opponent of women serving in the corps.[5] By the end of 1943, however, he had reversed himself, saying, "there's hardly any work at our Marine stations that women can't do as well as men. They do some work far better than men. ... What is more, they're real Marines. They don't have a nickname, and they don't need one."[4] Holcomb rejected all acronyms or monikers for the Reserve; he did not believe they were compulsory. Despite Holcomb’s dislike for nicknames, several of them surfaced for the Reserve, including: Femarines, WAMS, BAMS, Dainty Devil-Dogs, Glamarines, Women's Leatherneck-Aides, MARS, and Sub-Marines. By the summer of 1943, attempts to pressure the Reserve into a nickname had diminished. "WR" was as far as Holcomb would move in that direction.[6]
Leadership
Ruth Cheney Streeter was named the first director of the Reserve; commissioned a major and sworn in by the Secretary of the Navy on 29 January 1943.[7] A year later, Streeter was promoted to colonel.[8] She was not the first woman to see active duty in the Marine Corps during World War II. Weeks earlier, Mrs. Anne A. Lentz, a civilian clothing expert who had helped design the Reserve uniforms, was commissioned a captain. Lentz came to the corps on a 30-day assignment from the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and stayed on.[7]
Streeter was born in
Colonel Streeter resigned her commission from the Reserve on 7 December 1945. (She was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel
Recruiting
The qualifications for women who wished to become members of the Reserve were stringent. The eligibility requirements for officer candidates and enlisted women were similar: United States citizenship; not married to a marine; either single or married but with no children under 18; height not less than 60 in (150 cm); weight not less than 95 lb (43 kg); good vision and good teeth. For enlisted members, the age limits were from 20 to 35, and an applicant was required to have at least two years' of high school. For officer candidates, the age limits were from 20 to 49, and they had to either be a college graduate, or have a combination of two years' of college and two years' of work experience. Later, the wives of enlisted Marines were allowed to join, and enlisted women could marry after boot camp.[13]
By way of agreement, the Navy and the Marine Corps designated the Navy's procurement offices as recruiting centers for both the WAVES and the Reserve. This helped to avoid competition in the recruiting of women for either naval service. Women applicants for either service would go to one office to enlist and to receive physical examinations. (Later on, the Reserve established its own recruiting capability.) When reservations surfaced about whether male Marine recruiters could properly select female applicants for the Reserve, the call went out for women recruiters. Nineteen WAVE officer candidates volunteered; they were transferred and assigned to procurement offices. Still in WAVE uniforms, they began recruiting the first members of the Reserve. Lucile E. McClarren of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania, appears to have been the first enlisted woman recruited on 13 February 1943.[13] The Reserve did not accept African American women or Japanese American women during the war years.[14] The first Native American woman to enlist in the Reserve was Minnie Spotted-Wolf of Heart Butte, Montana; she did so in July 1943.[15] Early recruiting was brisk, so much so that in some cases women were sworn in and put to work in procurement offices, delaying their training until later.[13]
The slogan "Free a Marine to Fight" proved to be a strong drawing card for the Reserve, stronger than any fashioned by the WAC, WAVES, or SPARS.[6] Young women were eager to serve in the military during World War II, often in defiance of their family's wishes. Marian Bauer's parents were so upset when she joined the corps that they did not see her off. Jane Taylor's father, a World War I veteran, gave her this advice: "Don't ever complain to me. You're doing this of your own free will. You weren't drafted or forced. Now, go – learn, travel, and do your job to the best of your ability." There were those parents who asked for special consideration for daughters who were too young to enlist. The minimum age of 20 years, set by law, remained the same throughout the war for the Reserve. Some parents wondered why 18-year-boys were sent into combat, and 18-year-old girls could not serve.[16] The Corps' recruiting scheme of forming platoons of about 40 women each to be recruited from the same area and sending them as a unit to Reserve training together caught on quickly. The first platoon was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, followed by Albany, Buffalo, and Central New York; Johnstown and Fayette County, Pennsylvania; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Saint Paul, Minnesota; Green Bay, Wisconsin; the state of Alabama; and northern and southern New England.[17]
Aside from patriotism, Colonel Streeter was interested to learn the reasons why young women joined the Reserve. A survey of 1,000 new enlistees was conducted at
The first group of six officers recruited was given direct commissions in the Reserve. They were recruited for their abilities and civilian experiences, considered key to the success of the fledgling program. Assignments were: public relations, First Lieutenant E. Louise Stewart; training, Captain Charlotte D. Gower; classification and detail, Captain Cornelia D. T. Williams; West Coast activities, Captain Lillian O'Malley Daly (who had been a marine in WWl); Recruit Depot, Captain Katherine Towle; and Assistant to the Director, Captain Helen C. O'Neill. These women were assigned to active duty immediately, without any military training or formal indoctrination in the corps.[20]
To capitalize on the enlisted women's experience, commission status was open to them beginning in July 1943. To be eligible, the applicant had to have completed six months' of service, be recommended by her commanding officer, and be selected by a board of male and female officers. After October 1943, the majority of women officers came from the ranks; only civilian women with specialized skills or exceptional leadership qualities were accepted for officer training.[21]
Uniforms
The uniforms of the Reserve were a matter of importance to the Marine Corps, so much so that a circular released in late 1943 stated the following:
The Marine Corps wants you to look your best at all times. The uniforms you will wear have been designed to be comfortable, practical and extremely attractive. When you don them you will know the pride of wearing a uniform that is a symbol of valor and bravery everywhere.[22]
Reserve recruits were promised uniforms upon reaching boot camp, but that was not always the case. In fact, during the summer of 1943, some recruits had to train in civilian clothing until summer uniforms were available. When the new uniforms arrived, they turned out to be winter uniforms instead of the summer uniforms expected. The seersucker summer uniforms had yet to be designed. Disputes about fabric, cut, and production had a delaying effect upon delivery. In time, these issues were resolved, and most Reserve members felt their uniforms were much better looking than those of the other women's military organizations.[23]
The winter uniform for both Reserve officers and enlisted members resembled the men's uniform in some respects. It was a forest green and consisted of a skirt, no higher than the bottom of the kneecap, an unbelted jacket with three bronze buttons, and a green cap trimmed with a scarlet cord. Marine Corps emblems were placed on the cap and the uniform lapels; scarlet chevrons were sewn on the jacket's sleeves. Under the jacket, a khaki shirt and matching field scarf were worn. Added to the ensemble were dark brown gloves, shoulder bag, and shoes.[24] For inclement weather, there was a green overcoat or a khaki trench coat, a red muffler, and black boots, or rubbers. Neither officers nor enlisted members had winter dress uniforms. However, officers were able to modify their winter service uniform into a dress uniform by substituting a white shirt and forest green tie in place of the regular khaki. The enlisted members were without such freedom.[25]
The summer uniform was a two-piece green and white outfit made of washable seersucker material. It had two pieces, a skirt and a short-sleeve jacket with a V-neck. The cap was green and decorated with a white cord, buttons were white, chevrons green, and emblems bronze. The shoes were brown, the gloves white, and the handbags light green.
Slacks of
Training
Mount Holyoke College
The Reserve officer candidates trained at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, a branch of the Navy’s Midshipmen’s School for women officers at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. On 13 March 1943, the first group of 71 officer candidates arrived at the Midshipmen's School, Mount Holyoke College. Officer candidates joined as privates and after four weeks, if successful, became officer cadets. Those who did not meet the requirements had two choices: transfer to enlisted basic training or await discharge. Cadets who completed the eight-week course but were not recommended for a commission were asked to resign. They were eventually discharged and allowed to join the enlisted ranks. The curriculum for officer candidates was the same as for the WAVES, except for drill. This was taught by male Marine drill instructors (non-commissioned officers who provided instruction and indoctrination for officer candidates and enlisted recruits), who were openly hostile to the women because they had become part of the formerly all-male Marine Corps. Candidates studied the following naval subjects: organization; administration; personnel; history; strategy; law; justice; ships and aircraft. The second part of the training was specifically on Marine Corps subjects taught by male Marines. It included the following: administration; courtesy; map reading; interior guard (to preserve order, protect property, and enforce regulations within the command); safeguarding military information; and physical conditioning. On 4 May 1943, members of the first class received their commissions in the Marine Corps. A total of 214 women officers completed training at Mount Holyoke College.[28]
Hunter College
Shortly after the first officer class reported to Mount Holyoke College, enlisted women of the Reserve were ordered to the US Naval Training School at
Camp Lejeune
Originally, the Marine Corps planned to use existing Navy facilities for all of the Reserve training, but it soon realized the advantage of having its own training schools. Although joint training with the Navy proved satisfactory, it did not engender the Marine esprit de corps that was expected. Consequently, Marine Headquarters decided to consolidate all Reserve training at
Leaving the college campuses for the Camp Lejeune training center was a change, but it introduced the officer candidates and recruits to the real Marine Corps military environment. What did not change from the time at Mount Holyoke and Hunter was the hostile behavior of the drill instructors towards the women. At Lejeune they did not try to hide their resentment, often referring to the women as BAMS (Broad Assed Marines) and using other crude references.[32][33] In the early days of the Reserve, the women were subjected to considerable verbal and psychological abuse.[34] This took a toll on the Reserve and its director, causing General Holcomb (Commandant of the Marine Corps) to take steps to end it. In time, the open hostilities subsided, and before long the women's competence, self-assurance, sharp appearance, and pride won over most of their detractors.[17]
Assignments
Assigning jobs in occupations that women had never held before was a daunting task for placement personnel. By social custom, working women did not work in the trades and they rarely supervised men. Women had worked mainly in offices, classrooms, hospitals, retail stores, libraries, and beauty shops.
Reserve members were prohibited from serving outside the continental United States; however, this impediment changed on 27 September 1944 when Public Law 441 amended 689 to allow Reserve members to serve in the Territory of Hawaii.[41] Some thought the enactment of Public Law 441 was anticlimactic. Colonel Streeter believed that sending Reserve members to Hawaii "was not worth all the trouble and cost." Nevertheless, the Marine Corps did deploy women to Hawaii.[42] Hawaiian duty was on a volunteer basis. Many members applied, but only the very best of them were accepted. The applicants were subject to the following requirements: had to have been on active duty for at least six months; commit to an 18-month tour; have a clean record; be in excellent mental and physical health; agree not to request leave to visit the mainland, and verify they had no dependents whose care might necessitate a trip back to the mainland.[43] In addition, members were expected to have a stable personality, sufficient skill to fill one of the billets for which women had been requested, and motivation to do a good job. San Diego, California, became the staging area, where a short yet intense physical conditioning course was given.[44] The first contingent of women arrived in Hawaii on 28 January 1945. At mid-year, there were about 1,000 women serving in Hawaii. By January 1946, they were all back on the mainland.[45]
Fatal accidents
Between February 1943 and September 1946, eighteen women reserve members were killed, the majority of them in off-duty automobile accidents. Only three members were killed while in the performance of their duties.[46]
On 1 October 1945, four members from the El Toro Air Station died when the automobile they were riding in was hit by a train near Irvine, California.[47] Corporal Nancy Engwall and Anna McDougall (rate unknown) were killed instantly, while Corporal Virginia Ruth Spalding and Private Shirley Kilian died later at the Long Beach Naval Hospital.[48]
Second Lieutenant Mary Rita Palowitch and Corporal Germaine C. Laville, Aerial Gunnery Instructors, were teaching at the Cherry Point Air station, when a civilian cleaning crew accidentally started a fire in their building. Initially, Laville escaped, but returned to the blaze after she heard others scream for help. Both Palowitch and Laville perished in the fire. Laville was cited posthumously for her bravery.[49]
Demobilization
At the end of the war, the task of demobilization fell to Colonel
Recognition
On its first anniversary, 13 February 1944, the Reserve received a congratulatory message from President Franklin D. Roosevelt:[1]
The nation is as proud of you as of your fellow Marines – for Marine women are upholding the brilliant traditions of the corps with a spirit of loyalty and diligence worthy of the highest admiration of all Americans. You have quickly and efficiently taken over scores of different kinds of duties that not long ago were considered strictly masculine assignments, and in doing so, you have freed a large number of well-trained, battle-ready men of the corps for action ...[1]
General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, had initially been opposed to having women serve in the Marine Corps. However, before the end of 1943, he had reversed himself, saying:[1]
"Like most Marines, when the matter first came up I didn't believe women could serve any useful purpose in the Marine Corps ... Since then I've changed my mind."[1]
See also
- Women in the Air Force (WAF)
- Women in the United States Navy
- Women's Army Corps (United States Army)
- Women's Auxiliary Air Force (British)
- Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service
- Women's Royal Naval Service (British) "Wrens"
- Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Stremlow, p. 40
- ^ a b Stremlow, pp. 1–2
- ^ Ebert and Hall, pp. 36–37
- ^ a b National Archives, p. 51
- ^ Stremlow, p. 1
- ^ a b Soderbergh, p. 21
- ^ a b Stremlow, pp. 2–3
- ^ a b Soderbergh, p. 23
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 20
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 3–4
- ^ National Archives, pp. 51–52
- ^ Soderbergh, pp. 141–142
- ^ a b c Stremlow, p. 5
- ^ National Archives, p. 346
- ^ Parkinson, pp. 1–2
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 5–6
- ^ a b Stremlow, p. 12
- ^ Stremlow, p. 7
- ^ a b c d e Soderbergh, p. 147
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 4–5
- ^ Stremlow, p. 13
- ^ Soderbergh p. 104
- ^ Soderbergh, pp. 104–105
- ^ a b Soderbergh, p. 105
- ^ Stremlow, p. 18
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 18–19
- ^ Stremlow, p. 19
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 7–9
- ^ Stremlow, p. 9
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 10–11
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 45
- ^ a b Stremlow, p. 11
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 47
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 56
- ^ a b Stremlow, pp. 20–21
- ^ Stremlow, p. 14
- ^ Stremlow, p. 21
- ^ Stremlow, p. 25
- ^ a b Soderbergh, p. 55
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 54
- ^ Stremlow, p. 31
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 122
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 125
- ^ Stremlow, p. 32
- ^ Stremlow, p. 34
- ^ Soderbergh, pp. 88–89
- ^ Soderbergh, p. 146
- ^ Ferris, p. 290
- ^ Lacy, p. 63
- ^ a b Stremlow, p. 37
- ^ Stremlow, pp. 37–38
- ^ Stremlow, p. 39
Bibliography
- Ebert, Jean; Hall, Marie-Beth (1993). Crossed Currents. McLean, VA: Brassey's. ISBN 0-02-881022-8.
- Frederiksen Ferris, Inga (2006). A Few Good Women: Memoirs of a World War II Marine. Bloomington, IN: ISBN 978-1-42510-181-7.
- Lacy, Linda Cates (2004). We are Marines!: World War I to the Present. Jacksonville, NC: Tar Heel Chapter NC-1 Women Marines Association. ISBN 1-59975-887-3.
- Moran, Jim (2018). U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve, They are Marines,Uniforms and Equipment in World War II. Barnsley, UK: ISBN 978-1-52671-045-1.
- National Archives and Records Administration (1996). Pouls, Paula Nassen (ed.). A Women's War Too: U.S. Women in the Military in World War II. United States: National Archives Trust Fund Board. ISBN 1-880875-098.
- Parkinson, Hilary (25 July 2013). "Pieces of History". National Archives. U.S. National Archives Blog. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- Soderbergh, Peter, A. (1992). Women Marines: The World War II Era. Westport, CT: ISBN 0-275-94131-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Stone, Smallwood-Medin, Rita Ellen, Bonnie (1981). Musical Women Marines, The Marine Corps Women's Reserve in World War II. USA: ICGreeting.com. ISBN 9-781514-690390.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Stremlow, Colonel Mary V., USMCR (Ret). "Free A Marine to Fight" (PDF). Women Marines in World War II. Marine Corps Historical Center. Pamphlet page numbers: 1 through 20..
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain - Stremlow, Colonel Mary V., USMCR (Ret). "Free A Marine to Fight" (PDF). Women Marines in World War II. Marine Corps Historical Center. Pamphlet page numbers: 21 through 41.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Further reading
- Campbell, D'Ann (1984). Women at War With America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era. Cambridge Massachusetts: OCLC 10605327.
External links
Media related to United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve at Wikimedia Commons
- Olive-Drab. "World War II Marine Corps Uniforms for Women".
- Women Marines in World War I
- USMCWR 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).