Making women soldiers was the most radical experiment ever undertaken in American gender roles. World War II was a total war, which required full utilization of womanpower. The American way of warfare was based on elaborate managerial systems; as a consequence, one-fourth of those in the military were assigned to paperwork duty. The generals wanted men to fight in combat, not "waste" their time in clerical work. The British had already successfully mobilized more of their resources than any other nation; they drafted women, assigning some to munitions factories and putting others (including Princess Elizabeth) into Army uniforms.

Mobilization

The American high command followed the British model in 1942. In May, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was created with an ambiguous status, half in and half out of the Army. In July the Navy by-passed the auxiliary stage and created...