Gladys Schuster Carter | |
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Died | Chesapeake, Virginia, US | June 30, 2009
Gladys Schuster Carter was one of 885 women who served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II, helping to process backlogged mail in the European theatre. [1]
Carter served for two years in the WAC, from February 1943 to November 1945. and achieved the rank of Private First Class. She was a founding member of the local chapter of the National Association of Black Military Women in Greater Hampton Roads, Virginia. [2]
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes on the West Coast because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage. As the war progressed, many of the young Nisei, Japanese immigrants' children who were born with American citizenship, volunteered or were drafted to serve in the United States military. Japanese Americans served in all the branches of the United States Armed Forces, including the United States Merchant Marine. An estimated 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military during World War II, of which 20,000 joined the Army. Approximately 800 were killed in action.
The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Its first director was Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. The WAC was disbanded on 20 October 1978, and all WAC units were integrated with male units.
Edith Rogers was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who served as a Republican in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Until 2012, she was the longest serving Congresswoman and was the longest serving female Representative until 2018. In her 35 years in the House of Representatives she was a powerful voice for veterans and sponsored seminal legislation, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, which provided educational and financial benefits for veterans returning home from World War II, the 1942 bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the 1943 bill that created the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She was also instrumental in bringing federal appropriations to her constituency, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
Mary Agnes Hallaren was an American soldier and the third director of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) at the time that it became a part of the United States Army. As the director of the WAC, she was the first woman to officially join the U.S. Army.
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS) is an officer training program that trains, assesses, and evaluates potential commissioned officers of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. Officer Candidates are former enlisted members, Warrant Officers, inter-service transfers, or civilian college graduates who have enlisted as an "09S" to attend OCS after they have completed Basic Combat Training (BCT).
The military history of African Americans spans African-American history, the history of the United States and the military history of the United States from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans during the colonial history of the United States to the present day. African Americans have participated in every war which has been fought either by or within the United States, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangetown, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embarkation camp used during World War II.
Tech4 Carmen Contreras Bozak, was the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WAC) where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions.
Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in the American Civil War and in every conflict which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II, more than 65,000 Puerto Rican service members served in the war effort, including the guarding of U.S. military installations in the Caribbean and combat operations in the European and Pacific theatres.
Charity Adams Earley was a United States Army officer. She was the first African-American woman to become an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and was the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which was made up of African-American women serving overseas during World War II. Adams was the highest-ranking African-American woman in the army by the completion of the war.
Major General Jeanne Marjorie Holm was the first female one-star general of the United States Air Force and the first female two-star general in any service branch of the United States. Holm was a driving force behind the expansion of women's roles in the Air Force.
The United States Army Nurse Corps (USANC) was formally established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the six medical special branches of officers which – along with medical enlisted soldiers – comprise the Army Medical Department (AMEDD). The ANC is the nursing service for the U.S. Army and provides nursing staff in support of the Department of Defense medical plans. The ANC is composed entirely of Registered Nurses (RNs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN).
Anna Mac Clarke was a Women's Army Corps officer during World War II. She became the first African American woman to be a commanding officer of an otherwise all-white regiment. She became a first lieutenant.
American women in World War II became involved in many tasks they rarely had before; as the war involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale, the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable. Their services were recruited through a variety of methods, including posters and other print advertising, as well as popular songs. Among the most iconic images were those depicting "Rosie the Riveter", a woman factory laborer performing what was previously considered man's work.
There have been women in the United States Army since the Revolutionary War, and women continue to serve in it today. As of 2020, there were 74,592 total women on active duty in the US Army, with 16,987 serving as officers and 57,605 enlisted. While the Army has the highest number of total active duty members, the ratio of women-men is lower than the US Air Force and the US Navy, with women making up 15.5% of total active duty Army in 2020.
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed the "Six Triple Eight", was a predominantly Black battalion of the US Women's Army Corps (WAC) that managed postal services. The 6888th had 855 women and was led by Major Charity Adams. It was the only predominantly Black US Women's Army Corps unit sent overseas during World War II. The group motto was "No mail, low morale". The battalion was organized into five companies: Headquarters, and Companies A, B, C, and D. Most of the 6888th worked as postal clerks, but others were cooks, mechanics and held other support positions, so that the 6888th was a self-sufficient unit.
Millie Dunn Veasey was an American veteran, who served from 1942 to 1945 in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC).
Romay Davis was a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female unit to serve overseas during World War II. In 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the 6888th in recognition of its members' contributions. Davis was one of the Battalion's last surviving members.
Elizabeth Ann Richardson (1918–1945) was a volunteer for the American Red Cross during World War II known for being one of the four women buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.
Lena Derriecott Bell King was a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female unit to serve overseas during World War II. Known as the "Six Triple Eight", this battalion played a critical role in maintaining morale for U.S. troops in Europe by clearing a massive backlog of undelivered mail. In 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the 6888th in recognition of its members' contributions. King was one of the Battalion's last five surviving members.