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DOING HER PART IN WORLD WAR II -- "When we signed up

for overseas duty, we had more training, dealing with

back packs, climbing ropes, and using gas masks,

but we never had any weapon training."

Eileen Parker

For more about women veterans, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.
org/sessearch.php?q=women+veterans&op=ph

Story here... http://www.journalpilot.com/articles/2007/11/07/news/news7.txt

Story below:

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-------------------------

Women veterans: Doing her part in WWII

By Joy Swearingen
Managing editor

Eileen Parker was attending Gem City Business College in Quincy when she decided to become part of the war effort and enrolled into the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps in Quincy. That was May 12, 1943. She used her clerical skills to serve the Army for nearly three years.

“It didn't take them long to assign me to administrative work at Walter Reed Base. We completed our four weeks of basic training, and the next day they told me where I was going to work,” Parker said.

She was officially enlisted and inducted into the regular Women's Army Corps in August of 1943, and continued her work at Walter Reed for a total of 15 months.

“I did work for the first sergeant, keeping records of all the enlisted personnel on the post and preparing daily reports,” she said. “We used a lot of carbon paper. A word processor sure would have helped.”

Then she volunteered for overseas duty.

“When you volunteered you didn't know where you would go or what you would be doing,” she said. Parker was assigned to the signal corps supply duties, first at New Guinea and then in Manilla, Philippines.

They sailed from San Francisco to Ora Bay, New Guinea, on a luxury liner “Lurline” converted for soldiers. In a room designed for two to four people, 12 people shared the space for the 18 days it took to cross the ocean.

“We had several different bases and we tried to keep track of the supplies that each one had. Then if someone needed something, we knew what was available and could get it, or if necessary, they would requisition it from the U.S. That took much longer and required a lot more copies.”

Women's Army Corps was completely separate from the regular combat. Their basic training was mostly physical conditioning, calisthenics and marches.

“When we signed up for overseas duty, we had more training, dealing with back packs, climbing ropes, and using gas masks, but we never had any weapon training.”

Parker was stationed in combat areas, but she was never near any fighting.

“We had our own barracks, our own officers. In the offices we worked right with the men. Everything seemed fair. We really didn't have any problems,” she noted. “When we first went overseas, I think the guys we worked with thought, ‘We'll put all our work over on the girls.' Then when they saw that we could do it and we were getting promoted, they decided that was not so good.” She finished as a Tech-3, the same as a staff sergeant.

She could have gone on to Japan, but after 33 months, she was ready to come home. She and her future husband, Don, had known each other at Bowen High School and both were serving overseas in the military.

He was discharged before Eileen, who was discharged on Dec. 14, 1945. They were married on March 3, 1946, settling in the Bowen area.

“When I look back on it, I appreciate the chance I had to travel. I met a lot of people. It was much different than anything I had done around here. But I was very glad to get back home for a normal life.”

Ironically, later in their “normal life,” Don and Eileen took a cruise to Jamaica and ended up on that same liner, the “Lurline.”

“It was much nicer that time,” she said.

-------------------------

Larry Scott  --

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