WWII Women's Army Corps (WAC) Members Including Two African Americans Stationed in Corsica Photo Archive

Women’s Army Corps

Photograph

WWII era Women’s Army Corps photo archive documenting servicewomen, including two African Americans,and four partially identified individuals. Creation of the WAC in 1942 marked the first permanent institutional incorporation of women into the U.S. Army, placing female personnel into administrative, communications, intelligence, and logistical roles across both domestic bases and overseas commands. One photograph identified on the verso as “Gynnie + Polly Corsica ’45,” provides additional documentation of Black women serving overseas in segregated Army units during the final year of the war.

Archive of 18 silver gelatin photographs from W.W.II. Photographs measure approximately 3 x 2 inches to 6 x 3.5 inches. The images depict American servicewomen in a range of wartime contexts including official uniform portraits, informal snapshots, and scenes taken in European cities damaged by combat. Several photographs show women wearing standard WAC dress uniforms with garrison caps and enlisted insignia, while others depict personnel wearing British style battledress associated with American administrative units stationed in Europe. One photograph shows three uniformed personnel, two women and one man, standing at attention before a formal government building likely in Britain. Another image places a uniformed American servicewoman before the gilded equestrian statue of Joan of Arc in Paris, a landmark associated with Allied presence in liberated France. Additional photographs depict ruined urban landscapes with bombed churches and collapsed structures, suggesting scenes from Germany or France shortly after liberation. A photograph inscribed “Chattanooga Tenn.,” shows a woman standing in civilian clothing at the entrance of a home, indicating a stateside context connected to the servicewoman’s life before or after deployment. Another photograph labeled “Ann & Lillie Mother” shows two women standing outside a residence, likely relatives of one of the servicewomen.

Women’s military service expanded rapidly during World War II as the War Department created organizations such as the Women’s Army Corps and the Navy’s WAVES to address labor shortages across the armed forces. Overseas deployments placed WAC personnel in newly liberated European cities and military headquarters throughout the Allied command structure. Light toning, minor edge wear, and occasional handling marks. Overall, very good condition. Although African American women served within segregated units, their participation in overseas assignments including Mediterranean theater postings marked a significant shift from earlier military policy, which had typically limited Black women’s service to domestic assignments within segregated support units.

Item #21430

Price: $1,850.00