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Proclamation recognizing and celebrating the women veterans who selflessly served our country during World War II.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County salutes and remembers the many American female veterans who have courageously and honorably served in the military on behalf of our nation; and
WHEREAS, women have formally been a part of the United States Armed Forces since the inception of Army Nurse Corps in 1901, but have proudly served alongside and supported our nation’s military since the American Revolution; and
WHEREAS, women achieved full military status during World War II, and tens of thousands served with distinction as members of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WACS), Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES), and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP); and
WHEREAS, the poster of “Rosie the Riveter,” produced by Westinghouse, was part of the national campaign in the United States to enlist women in the workforce. Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women in the World War II era. More than six million female workers helped to build planes, bombs, tanks and other weapons that would eventually win World War II; and
WHEREAS, in peacetime and in time of peril, and in a variety of demanding roles, women service members have demonstrated great skill, sacrifice, and devotion to freedom;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Allegheny County Council, on behalf of the citizens of Allegheny County, does hereby salute and thank the World War II Women Veterans and generations of American servicewomen and their families, who have proudly served our great county, the Commonwealth and the nation, doing their part to protect our land, people, freedoms and legacy.
Ila Cole
Ila served from May 1945 until November 1947 as a WWII navy WAVE which was created after Congress passed a law that allowed the Navy to accept women in the reserves during wartime. Ila began as a Yeoman and was transferred to Naval Air Station (NAS) Moffett Field in San Francisco, California. She was trained to assist in airplane transport and earned the rank of Specialist V. Ila made what was then a 14-hour flight from San Francisco to Hawaii to ship supplies, transport family members or injured soldiers along with nurses and medical personnel.
Beverly Kreger
Beverly was the first woman from Meadville, PA to serve in the Women’s Army Auxillary Corps (WAAC), which in 1943 became officially known as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Beverly left Pittsburgh on November 4, 1942 for Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan, then transferred to the U.S. Army base post office in England sorting and distributing mail destined for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) by military unit number. After serving three years in the WAC, Beverly returned home in November of 1945.
Julia Parsons
Julia served 3 years as a WWII navy WAVE. She studied cryptology at Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College, and then was ordered to Washington, D.C. for top secret duty. She joined section SHARK, whose job it was to de-code German U-boat message traffic sent via the Enigma machine. The intelligence Julia and her fellow Allied cryptologists gleaned from this source was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort.
Francis Pawlick
Francis is a “Rosie the Riveter,” representing all of the women who worked in factories and steel mills during WWII. Before the war, no women were employed in the production areas of steel plants. Francis worked for J&L Steel Corp. at their Second Avenue steel mill until the end of the war. She was primarily responsible for moving large pieces of sheet metal. Prior to J&L, Francis worked in the Dravo Shipyard on Neville Island. Francis and these women answered their nation’s call and joined the workforce to fill the demand for labor during wartime.
Florence “Shutsy” Reynolds
Shutsy served as a WWII WASP, the first female pilots to fly for the United States military who ultimately were denied military status by Congress and were sent home before the war was over and their work was done. WASP members flew almost every type of military aircraft, including the B-26 and B-29 bombers. They ferried new planes long distances from factories to military bases, tested newly overhauled planes, towed targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, and transported cargo. The WASPs were not entitled to benefits nor receive a military burial until a law passed in 1977 granting them veteran’s status.