General Marshall, the army chief of staff, encouraged Rogers to amend the bill. At first, he opposed women joining the army. He realized that more people were needed in an emergency. On February 7th, 194 165438, one person arrived with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He then wrote in a congressional statement: "In this matter, we must formulate an announced national policy as soon as possible." . A few months later, on May 1942 15, President franklin delano roosevelt signed Bill H.R.6293 and established the Women's Auxiliary Army (WAAC), but this did not give women the military status they wanted. In exchange for non-bat "basic services"-administration, clerical skills and cooking skills-as many as 654.38 million+500,000 women will receive wages, food, shelter and medical services, excluding life insurance, medical insurance, death allowance or the protection of prisoners of war covered by international agreements.
More than 30,000 women applied for the first WAAC training course for police officers, which consisted of 440 candidates. To qualify, women must be between 2 1 and 45 years old, with strong ability scores, good letters of recommendation and professional skills experience. Both mothers and wives can apply, and so can African Americans.
For decades, the National Armed Forces Committee of the United States has always advocated the integration of the armed forces. During the First World War, the segregated troops of black soldiers were basically non-combatants in the army, but as the only armed force that accepted African-Americans at the beginning of the Second World War, the army insisted on segregation. "The Army once argued (to the NAACP) that such a major social change plan could not be implemented during the war," wrote Betty J. Modern, a military historian of the Women's Army, at 1945- 1948.
The Army told the NAACP that 65,438+00.6% of Wacker officers and women soldiers were black (about the proportion of African-Americans in the American population at that time). Although female soldiers will have separate housing, service clubs and basic training, the Army said that black women will serve in the same military occupation as white women. 1942- 1945' s letters are all letters from frustrated black female soldiers, who tell stories about opportunities passed on to white women. 1in July, 943, they received a telegram from the Chicago branch of N.A.C.P complaining that "although many black people completed all the necessary training a few weeks ago, they were held in Des Moines with little to do. On the other hand, whites were sent out immediately after completing the required training.
White forwarded the complaint to 37-year-old Ovetta culp Hobby, who was appointed as the head of WAACs. He is the wife of the former governor of Texas and a southerner. He was not selected by the NAACP at all. She responded the following week: "Black waac was quickly transported to other places to work because their skills and training matched the positions to be filled."
The story of the stagnation of the movement has influenced the recruitment of black and white women, just like a libel campaign called waac has been organized. After investigating the sources of defamatory reports, the Army Military Intelligence Department confirmed that most of the writers were male soldiers who were either afraid of WAACs or "had difficulty dating".
Those women who started military service performed well at work, and the army needed more WAACs to receive medical support training. July 1943, 1 In order to promote conscription and solve administrative problems, Roosevelt signed a bill to turn women's auxiliary * * * into a women's army and give women soldiers status and ranks. 1944 ADAMS, then a big charity, was the director of African-American training in Des Moines. One of her favorite jobs is to train the first and only all-black women's band in the army.
Jill Sullivan, a military band historian at Arizona State University, said: "Generally speaking, society does not understand the value of military bands to men and women in the war." He claimed that military band generals needed materials to get together for entertainment and unite morale and patriotism. 1942, the first all-female band of the army was established in Des Moines Fort to replace a redistributed male band. At the same time, Sullivan said, this is also to respect the wartime military tradition. Sullivan said:
"The Ministry of War found these women a novelty." . The first WAC band (officially known as the 400th Army Service Band) immediately became a pop band, and it was also an exhibit for WAC women. In addition to local concerts, the 400th All-White ASF Band toured all over North America, performed a war bond tour and performed with bob hope, bing crosby and actor/officer Ronald Reagan. When the second WAAC center opened in Daytona Beach, Florida, musicians from Des Moines moved there and formed another band, 40 1. Then three other WAAC bands will be formed.
Black male officials have repeatedly encouraged black women to join WAC, a popular band in Des Moines. "No matter what their experiences are," Early recalled in "An Army of Female Soldiers", "whether they are music teachers in private schools and public schools, or students majoring in teaching and performance in universities and graduate schools, amateur and professional performers, they have not found that blacks are qualified to cooperate with white bands." Several musicians blamed discrimination on one person: Colonel Frank McChrystal of Mandenburg.
"Colonel McAuliffe," wrote French trumpeter Rachel Mitchell, "said that as long as he was in his post, the two races would never be confused."
Adams realized that black women were not allowed to join white bands, and she urged women to have their own bands. 1In the autumn of 943, McCormick found Sergeant Joan Lamb, the director of the 400th Parliament, and made it clear that although this was not his wish, he needed her to set up an "all-black company" to quell the discrimination between black female soldiers and civil rights leaders. He said that unless the band can hold a concert in eight weeks, the band can't live. Our relatives and friends write letters to powerful people.
These women wrote nearly 65,438,000 letters to their families, communities and civic leaders. They wrote letters to Black Newspaper, Bethune, Hobby, White and Roosevelt in the National Advertising Association. Skinner was worried that if these women were found complaining at work, the activities of * * * might lead to a military court, so he sent letters from the town instead of the base post by handcart. The news was reported in the headlines all over the country. According to the Atlanta Daily, "blacks all over the country are required to join President Roosevelt's band in order to reorganize the recently inactive black WAC band."
According to the records of the National Symphony Orchestra, White and others pointed out that "stopping this band will seriously hurt the morale of President Roosevelt." Because officers of colored people are not assigned to perform duties related to their ranks and training, the ranks of blacks are already very low. "We think it is undemocratic and unwise to initially refuse black Watt to play in a regular band in Des Moines." The National Music Association of the United States requested that these musicians be absorbed into the 400th military band.
After more than a month, the army withdrew its decision. On September 1944, WAC band 2 became the WAC band of the 404th Army Service Force. However, musicians have no musical instruments. All their players were taken away, and finally some of them fell into the hands of the 400th player. New musical instruments will take weeks to arrive, and at the same time, women must know how to serve their country. Hull and others had to re-attend the basic training courses and complete "too many unchallenged KP and guard tasks". Although the only thing they can do together is singing, the musicians continue to meet. 10 In October, their musical instruments came and the crazy practice began again. By then, they already knew that Brown would not continue to be the conductor.
"She is worried that our progress may be affected by various forces, and these forces are trying to get back at her because she has done everything she can to reunite us," Mitchell explained in a letter.
In May of the following year, No.404 went to Chicago again to participate in the seventh war bond issuance. They should only perform at the opening ceremony, but the reception was so enthusiastic that the organizer contacted Washington and asked if the band could stay for the rest of the week. The 404th man raised money in the black community of the whole city and performed with humphrey bogart and lauren bacall in high schools, the Sava Ballroom, the podium in Pennsylvania and Madison Street, and the battlefields of soldiers. Overall, the Seventh War Bond Tour raised more than $26 billion for the US Treasury in six weeks. 1945 Japan surrendered
This message indicates the end of the band, and the 404th time was cancelled together with WAC plans 1945 and 12. During the three-year WAC program during World War II, about 6,500 African-American women served. At the end of 1944, 855 black female soldiers served overseas with Major Adams in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Camp, which was the only all-black female soldier unit serving overseas. The task of this battalion stationed in Birmingham, England is to organize a warehouse to store letters from American soldiers abroad. Within a few months, they forwarded the letter to more than 7 million soldiers. 1948, President Harry Truman lifted the apartheid of the armed forces, and General Eisenhower persuaded Congress to pass the law of reorganizing the women's armed forces, and re-established the women's army as a permanent part of the army. The military also reactivated the 400th ASF band as the 14 WAC band, which was the legacy of five WAC bands during World War II, and one of them played a leading role in apartheid.