Women's Army Corps Partially Identified & Captioned Photo Archive and Recruitment Handbill, 1944-1946

WAC Photo Archive WAC Women’s Army Corps

Photograph

Women’s Army Corps photo archive documenting service and personal relationships during World War II and its immediate aftermath, partially identified and captioned. Established in 1943 following its auxiliary predecessor, the WAC gave women military status within the Army. These portraits and snapshots document the service life, relationships, friendships and recreational activities accompanying women’s expanding military participation.

Photo archive of 28 black and white photographs, including studio portraits and vernacular snapshots, with one WAC recruitment brochure, circa 1944–1946. Des Moines, Iowa; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; San Diego, California; and Italy. Several women recur throughout, some identified en verso. 9 photos trace to a woman named Sylvia; she appears in uniformed portraits and aboard a boat during an outing captioned “Boat Trip to Provincetown June 1946,” Massachusetts. Another photograph places her at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in March 1946; a portrait mount bears a photographic-service sticker from Camp Edward, Massachusetts. Particularly noteworthy is the stamp on the reverse of her portrait reading “Compliments / Boston / Jewish Welfare Board / Army & Navy Club,” documenting a connection with Jewish military welfare services without establishing her religious identity. One photo shows a woman standing before the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego. One photo shows a woman smiling in uniform with the en verso written caption "July - 44 / me - by the lake Chicago - beforer going on duty." Another photo shows a group of WACs in a military vehicle being driven by a man in uniform, signs in the distance read in Italian. Other named women include "Lorraine Montecarlo," and "Barbara (Bobby) Evans. Another set of photos showcase a WAC in a domestic setting with a sailor. The accompanying recruitment brochure declares, “The Army needs more WACs at once!” and that "Every eligible woman is needed!"

The WAC’s establishment in July 1943 granted its members military status and Army pay and benefits, replacing the more limited protections of auxiliary service. Their work helped sustain Army operations at home and overseas while opening military occupations to women on an unprecedented scale. Handwritten identifications and dated captions connect the portraits with particular places and social occasions. Some toning and edge wear with mounting remnants on some versos and pronounced corner wear to one print. Prints and captions remain legible and clear. Overall in very good condition. This archive preserves the intimate and active duty lives of just some of the 150,000 women that served in the Women’s Army Corps and its auxiliary predecessor during World War II.

Item #24042

Price: $2,250.00