Name: World War II History Lecture: Women in the Military
Start: 2026-06-04T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-06-04T20:30:00-05:00
Location: East Bank Regional Library

World War II History Lecture: Women in the Military

Gwen Kelley, a librarian who specializes in genealogy and local history, will give a presentation titled “Women in the Military” on Thursday, June 4, 7 pm, at the East Bank Regional Library (4747 W. Napoleon Avenue in Metairie). This lecture will occur as part of the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the World War II Discussion Group.
According to Kelley, General Eisenhower felt that he could not win the war without the aid of the women in uniform. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps.
Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets.
Some 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 women were captured as POWs in the Philippines. More than 1,600 nurses were decorated for bravery under fire and meritorious service, and 565 WACs in the 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 materials.
The World War II Discussion Group, headed by local teacher and historian Brian Altobello, meets the first Thursday of every month at the East Bank Regional Library. Speakers focus on the global events of the 1930s and 1940s. Free and open to the public; registration is not required.