Women's Army Corps (WAC) Director, COL Mary Hallaren: RIP Dear Lady!

Col. Mary Hallaren, 97, Dies; Headed Women's Army Corps
By Matt Schudel, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 4, 2005

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5731-2005Mar3.html

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By virtue of her position, she was the first woman -- other than a few medical officers -- to be sworn into duty with the regular Army when the Women's Armed Services Integration Act took effect on June 12, 1948. A diminutive woman who had to stand on tiptoe to meet the minimum height requirement of five feet, Col. Hallaren was a tough-minded leader who refused let her size or her sex limit the force of her command. She was nicknamed "the Little Colonel."

In 1942, she was in the inaugural class of officers trained for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (the term "auxiliary" was soon dropped), and the following year led the first battalion of women to serve in Europe during World War II. By the end of the war, Col. Hallaren commanded all 9,000 American WACs in the European theater.

After becoming the top WAC officer in 1947, Col. Hallaren worked with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. George C. Marshall toward merging the women's corps with the regular Army. She guided women's Army units through the Korean War before stepping down as director in 1953. She had the longest tenure of any of the nine WAC directors until the service was formally eliminated in 1978.

She was described in otherwise sober military documents as a "legendary figure" who helped her troops endure the bombing of London under the blitz of V-1 and V-2 rockets from Germany. She was especially proud that not one of her women (9,000!) went AWOL.

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The above claim is much more that *'s Air National Guard Commanders can claim, aye?

I bring this up because, although I would NOT today encourage my daughter to join the military, I was blessed to have served the Army for four years on Active Duty. Like many others, the EDUCATION Benefit funding, was THE KEY element that helped to lift our family into middle class status.

It's the intelligent and brave women before us, like Col. Mary Hallaren, who made it possible for the young women who serve today to glean similar respect to their male counterparts.

The struggle for women's equality in military service is far from over, but "my life" on active duty (81'-85') was much more tolerable due to the excellent example of those brave women like "the Little Colonel," Mary Hallaren.

May the Higher Power bless you Mary Hallaren. :pals:

However, be advised, although mine is a proud military service family, I'll do everything humanly possible to discourage my daughter from serving in TODAY's Army.