Lifestyles
'Women in War' presentation by Dr. Kara Vuic of TCU
By Skipper Steely, World War II History Roundtable, Audie Murphy Chapter
Jan 23, 2025
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Work in D.C.: Mary Bell and Jane Record of Paris walk to their respective military offices unknowing they are tailed by an admiring sailor!
Greenville, Texas -- American women served World War II by the thousands--about 75,000 in medical fields, 350,000 like Louiva Webb joined the US military, others worked at flying or maintaining aircraft, and over a half-million functioned as secretaries. Those in Northeast Texas rose to the occasion, working for government functions at or near Bonham, Paris, Greenville and all the way to Texarkana and Tyler. Some, as the descendants of Jane Record and Mary Bell of Paris relate, were part of over a quarter-million ladies working at war support offices in the District of Columbia.

At 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, Dr. Kara Dixon Vuic, TCU professor of War, Conflict and Society, will discuss a few of these participants at the quarterly program of the WWII History Roundtable, Audie Murphy Chapter. The public is invited to attend at the American Cotton/Audie Murphy Museum in Greenville. The event is sponsored by the East Texas A&M University History Department. It will be filmed by GEUS for future viewing.

Dr. Vuic not only studies the vocation of women in war and their vital support functions, she has written about the wider use of women during the war. Her most recent book was published by Harvard University Press in 2019: The Girls Next Door: Bringing the Home Front to the Front Lines. This work examines the military’s use of women to regale American troops from World War I until recent encounters in the Middle East.

Dr. Kara Dixon Vuic
Professor Vuic’s talk will focus on how the US government and public thought about women’s work during WWII. The war created new demands on the American home front, and as it did, it challenged many conventional ideas about what women could—or should—do. Could respectable young women join the military? Should mothers enter the workforce? Until recently these questions may not have seemed contentious today. But as now, they divided the American public during the war.

Bell and Record became essential office workers, for instance, and Frances Geraldine Toon of Cooper became a 2nd Lieutenant as an Army nurse. Gibbons High School graduate Webb enlisted in what became the WAC, somehow avoided postal service duty with the Six Triple Eight, and was trained by the Army for LVN-type work. She served in post-war duty at Tokyo’s Army General Hospital. Webb believed her enlistment was as the only Black in the Women’s Army Corps from NE Texas. Her experience turned into a 20-year career.

Black WACs in training: Louiva Webb of Paris and Denison signed up and was accepted into the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp in January 1943 and found herself marching in basic training behind Captain Charity Adams. Webb was not part of the Netflix movie about the 6888th, currently playing on television screens, but found herself in Tokyo at Army hospital duty after the surrender in Japan. She spent 20 years in the Army before retiring to Paris.

Dr. Vuic’s talk will focus on the era’s debate about whether the United States should draft women for national and military service. Although little known today, the second world war brought the nation the closest it has ever come to drafting women. Vuic will discuss how these events transpired and their legacy today.

Currently Dr. Vuic is working on a book that discusses the drafting of women. The cost of academic books now, both in print and digital versions, is extremely high. Thus, this is a fine opportunity to learn about the subject directly from the author. There is no charge for the program. Any questions can be answered by calling 903-450-4502.