Wac

Don claimed that if Emmy ever became a Wac, he "wouldn't have anything to do with her."

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

Responding to a letter from a Wac who criticized fraternizing soldiers and signed herself Disgusted, and How!!!,

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

"[T] he Wac here are doing a land office business and I'm not kidding," he wrote to a female friend.

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

I use Waac and Wac to refer to corps members. back

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

Worried about his girlfriend Emmy's interest in enrolling, Don L described a purportedly unladlylike Wac named Phyllis in a letter home to his parents.

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

The latter charge was particularly damning and circulated in the form of an oft-repeated story: An infantryman starts up a conversation with a Wac sitting near him in a service club.

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

A panel of GI judges selected Cpl. Ruby Newell as the "the prettiest Wac in the United Kingdom."

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

Encouraging servicemen to take advantage of this opportunity to hear from "girls back home," the newspaper published a list of the new arrivals organized by hometown and state. 30 The following year the Stars and Stripes even sponsored a competition to crown "the prettiest Wac in the United Kingdom," calling on servicemen to send in photographs of likely candidates for publication and public admiration. 31

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

Many accounts of Wac immorality were designed to discourage loved women from enlisting or to justify the prohibition.

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008

Sgt. Robert B's account of Wac sexual misconduct was particularly graphic.

Miss Yourlovin: GIs, Gender, and Domesticity during World War II 2008