Women's Army Volunteer Corps

Women’s Army Volunteer Corp
Active	August 1942 – 1945
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Type	Paramilitary
Role	Secretary Vehicle operator
Size	400
Part of	Women's Army Corps
Commanders
Field Director	Mrs. Marjorie S. Breffeilh [1]

The Women's Army Volunteer Corps(WAVC) was an organization within the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) ^[2] which later became the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in which women could serve as office assistants or military bus drivers. ^{[3] [4]}

During World War II, women’s branches were created by the Naval Reserves who had the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) ^{[5] [6]} and the Marine's had the Marine Corps Women’s Reserves (USMCWR). ^{[7] [8]}

History

The WAVC was a civilian militia unit in Hawaii along with the Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps. It was formed in 1942 by women employees of the Office of the Military Governor, and numbered 400 personnel. ^[9] The group of female employees of Honolulu Engineer District and Hawaii Constructors were put through six weeks of special training in order to be able to assist the District with first aid, evacuation drills, and other duties normally performed by men. ^[10]

After the WAC was organized, the WAVC became federally recognized as a part of the Organized Defense Reserves. ^[9]

References

1. "Hawaii War Records Depository HWRD 1329". Hawaii War Records Depository Photos. University of Hawaii at Manoa Library. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
2. "Women in the Military During World War II (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
3. "Women's Army Corps (WAC) (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
4. "The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Act | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
5. "WAVES (United States Naval Women's Reserve) (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
6. Melissa (28 August 2025). "Creating the Women's Army Corps - GCMF" . Retrieved 26 September 2025.
7. "United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
8. "The Women's Army Corps (WAC)". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
9. Stentiford, Barry (4 June 2002). The American Home Guard: The State Militia in the Twentieth Century. Texas A&M University Press. p. 151. ISBN   9781585441815.
10. "The Pacific Connection" (PDF). Retrieved 26 September 2025.