$Unique_ID{bob01110} $Pretitle{} $Title{(A) History Of The Women Marines 1946-1977 Chapter 4: Part 1} $Subtitle{} $Author{Stremlow, Col. Mary V.} $Affiliation{U.S. Marine Corps Reserve} $Subject{platoon first women lieutenant reserve wr marine captain corps battalion} $Date{1986} $Log{} Title: (A) History Of The Women Marines 1946-1977 Author: Stremlow, Col. Mary V. Affiliation: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Date: 1986 Chapter 4: Part 1 The Korean War Years Organized Reserve Gets Underway Of equal importance to the integration of women into the regular service was the development of a strong women's Reserve. During the early phases of planning, in 1946-47, Colonel Pate, Director, Division of Reserve, was a strong advocate of Organized Reserve units for women. He frequently found himself defending this relatively unpopular idea - an idea unique to the Marine Corps. Senior Marines at Headquarters recognized the need for a women's Reserve, but Marines, by and large, shuddered at the thought of this female intrusion. Little by little, the concept gained wider acceptance especially when it was considered as an alternative to women Regulars. It effectively solved the problem of maintaining the affiliation of the WRs and of training a group who would eventually take their place. Until February 1949, the Division of Reserve still thought in terms of 30 women's companies with a total strength of 60 officers and 1,500 enlisted women, but in reviewing the Marine Corps budget for fiscal year 1950, the Bureau of the Budget reduced the estimate and eliminated the provisions for drill pay for organized women's companies. The Division of Plans and Policies reexamined the location of existing organized units with the purpose of determining those in which women's detachments could readily be justified. Based upon the premise that any locality in which 500 or more enlisted personnel were administered would justify a women's Reserve detachment, the study recommended the activation of 30 women's platoons. By March, the plans were finally approved for 15 platoons of two officers and 50 enlisted women each. Major Hamblet and Lieutenant Hale studied the case files of former WRs and made projected plans based on the size of existing male Reserve units, the geographic concentration of WR veterans, and upon available training facilities. In the end, they settled on the seven most promising locations in which to begin: Kansas City; Boston; Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Seattle. A mix of Regular and Reserve officers on continuous active duty would administer the program. Women were needed to serve as Inspector-Instructor for each planned unit and for duty in the various Reserve District offices to give overall supervision to women's matters. Accordingly, a board was convened in March and the following selections were made for Inspector-Instructors: Captain Shirley J. Fuetsch, Los Angeles; Captain Helen A. Wilson, Philadelphia; First Lieutenant Frances M. Exum, Seattle; First Lieutenant Mary C. MacDonald, New York; and First Lieutenant Kathryiri E. Snyder, San Francisco. For duty in Reserve District offices, the following officers: Captain Constance Risegari-Gai, Boston; Captain Barbara Somers, New York; First Lieutenant Dolores L. Dubinsky, Philadelphia; First Lieutenant Lucille M. Olsen, Washington, D.C.; First Lieutenant Annie V. Bean, New Orleans; First Lieutenant Mary E. Roddy, Chicago; Fint Lieutenant Elva B. Chaffer, Los Angeles; First Lieutenant Beatrice R. Strong, San Francisco; First lieutenant Mildred N. Cooke, Seattle; and First Lieutenant Mary W. Frazer, Atlanta. Mission and Administration Reserve Memorandum 15-49 of 14 March 1949 published the specifics of administration and training of the women's portion of the Organized Reserve. The mission of these units was to provide individual women trained to meet mobilization needs of the Marine Corps. They were not classified by specialty as the male Reserve units were or as post-Korea women Reserve platoons would be. Designated women's Reserve platoons (WR platoons), they were attached directly to the major parent male unit as an organic element (e.g., WR Platoon, 11th Infantry Battalion) and not to any subunit. Inasmuch as the women were neither assigned to, nor trained for, combat duties, they were grouped into five subdivisions under Reserve Class VI in order to permit immediate distinction between men and women in case of mobilization. The male Inspector-Instructor staff was augmented by one woman officer, designated an assistant I&I, and one or two enlisted women who administered the WR platoon. The platoon was under the direct command of the commanding officer, a platoon leader, and a platoon officer. In many ways the platoon was autonomous since the platoon leader was responsible for recruiting, administration, training, rank distribution, and the mobilization state of readiness of her platoon. Furthermore, she was directed to render administrative assistance to the male unit to compensate for the increased workload caused by the existence of the WR platoon. Very often, however, the women actually took over much of the parent unit's administration. The WR platoons held weekly two-hour training periods during which their time was divided between formal classes, basic military indoctrination courses for the nonveterans, and specialist training classes in subjects like administration, disbursing, or training aids depending upon the background of the members, and giving clerical assistance to the male unit. It was expected that the basic course, closely resembling recruit training, and consisting of classes in drill, military customs and courtesies, history of the Marine Corps, naval law, interior guard duty, first aid, defense against chemical attack, uniform regulations, and current events would take about two years to complete. Officers were procured only from among former WR officers and successful graduates of the WOTC at Quantico. Enlisted members were recruited from among WRs, women veterans of the Armed Forces, and nonveterans who met the qualifications. For veterans, the age limits specified that all previous active military service plus all inactive service in the Reserve must, when deducted from their actual age, equal 32 or less. Aspiring Reservists with no prior service had somewhat less stringent requirements than women being recruited for active duty: age, 18- 31; and education, high school graduate, or high school student and pass the equivalency test. Regular recruits, on the other hand, had to be 20 years old and high school graduates. To complete the organization, the Division of Reserve requested that WAVE pharmacist mates be included in the naval personnel allowance for those units which had a WR platoon. The decision was approved in the interest of public opinion, as well as health and accident security. The First Seven WR Platoons The first WR platoon was activated on 14 April 1949 at Kansas City, Missouri. A Regular officer, First Lieutenant Ben Alice Day, was appointed Assistant I&I of the 5th 105mm Howitzer Battalion, USMCR, and Major Helen T. Chambers was assigned platoon leader. In a very short time the platoon was up to its authorized strength. First Lieutenant Pauline "Polly" F. Riley, Irish and from Maine, was sent to Boston to activate the second WR platoon. Lieutenant Riley, formerly enlisted, was a member of the last WR officer candidate class in 1945. The class was made up entirely of enlisted WRs, and when World War II was declared over about a week before commissioning, the students were given three options: return to enlisted status, take a discharge if they had the required points, or accept the commission and remain on active duty for one year. Most of the candidates took the discharge or returned to enlisted status, but Lieutenant Riley was commissioned in August 1945 and served at Headquarters until 1947 on the Postwar Personnel Reorganization Board. She was released to inactive duty when the board was terminated and later was among the first 20 Regular women officers. With her New England background, it was logical to send Lieutenant Riley to Boston, where the WR Platoon, 2d Infantry Battalion, USMCR, was established on 22 April 1949 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Dugan and with Lieutenant Carolyn Tenteris as the platoon officer. Former WRs Staff Sergeant Frances A. Curwen, Staff Sergeant Katherine Keefe, Corporal Hazel A. Lindahl, and Corporal Dorothy M. Munroe were early members of the Boston unit. Among the nonveterans was Private Eleanor L. Judge, who originally enlisted in the Reserve because she happened to be free on Wednesday evenings, the women's scheduled drill night. But that was only the beginning; in 1977 with 27 years active service as a Regular, she reenlisted for three more years. Sergeant Major Judge remembered that the women were "put through a pace." There were classes to attend as well as battalion administrative work to be done. The non-veterans were not issued regulation shoes and they drilled in their own civilian shoes which proved impractical and uncomfortable. The classes in naval law, taught by Sergeant Mary L. Attaya, a lawyer, were complete with mock trials in which the women played active roles, and there were Hollywood-made movies featuring the Marine Corps. For all of this, a private was paid $2.50 per drill and a captain received $7.67. Captain Risegari-Gai, formerly the commanding officer of VTU 1-1(WR), Boston, was not a member since she had been selected for a continuous active duty billet in the office of the First Reserve District, which in those days was located in the Fargo Building in Boston. When Captain Risegari-Gai reported for duty, Colonel George O. Van Orden, District Director, and a Virginia gentleman, was quoted in the Boston newspaper as saying that his first sergeant needed a week off to recuperate because he was, ". . . the finest cussin gent yo'all ever did hear. Had to pretty up his language, though, with all these lady Marines around. He's a beaten man." The colonel, himself, had never seen a woman Marine until he arrived in Boston, saw Captain Risegari-Gai, and described himself as "thunderstruck." The next five platoons were organized by Reserve officers on continuous active duty, and it was necessary for them to go to Washington for a briefing before taking up their new duties. Captain Helen A. Wilson was then sent to Philadelphia where recruiting was simplified when the entire VTU under the command of Captain Dorothy M. Knox transferred to the Organized Reserve. The unit became the WR platoon, 6th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, with Captain Knox as platoon leader and First Lieutenant Emily Hornet as platoon officer. From Philadelphia, Captain Wilson kept Colonel Towle informed of the platoon's progress and activities. By Christmas of 1949, recruiting was so successful that the unit was permitted to exceed its authorized strength by 10 percent. When the male commanding officers of other battalions heard of this, they were very much interested in receiving a similar authorization. The women in Philadelphia formed a rifle team, and a bowling team, and even fielded a team for a swim meet. In response to one of Captain Wilson's informal reports, Colonel Towle, always conscious of the service woman's image, wrote: I think you were wise to put a stop to post drill activities such as drinking in bars while in uniform. There is nothing intrinsically wrong, of course, but the very fact that a woman is in uniform makes her liable to criticism even though she is behaving herself in every respect. As you say, Women Marines have established a fine reputation and it would be most unfortunate to have any criticism leveled at them, especially when we ourselves can do much to prevent it. I think you have shown excellent judgement in your decision. First Lieutenant Kathtyn E. Snyder, who had served at the Department of the Pacific during World War II, was assigned as Assistant I&I, 12th Infantry Battalion, Treasure Island, and together with the Reserve officers Lieutenants Katherine W. Love and Marjorie J. Woolman, started San Francisco's WR platoon, whose roster included Sergeant Alameda Blessing; Corporal Rosita A. Martinez, who eventually integrated and retired as a master gunnery sergeant; and Corporal Ouida Ctaddock, who also went Regular, and later became the Sergeant Major of the Women Marines. Captain Shirley J. Fuetsch and First Lieutenant Frances M. Exum drove west together and parted at Denver - Fuetsch to go to the 13th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, in Los Angeles and Exum to go to the 11th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, at Seattle. In Los Angeles, two Reserve First Lieutenants, Esther N. Gaffney and Christine S. Strain, took the reins of the WR platoon while the Seattle unit was headed by Captain Nancy M. Roberts and First Lieutenant Fern D. Anderson. First Lieutenant Mary C. MacDonald, who before the war had been personal secretary to Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, was sent to New York to activate the WR platoon, 1st Infantry Battalion, USMCR, at Fort Schuyler. Captain Mildred Gannon and First Lieutenant Elizabeth Noble filled the two Reserve officer billets. Like Philadelphia, the Fort Schuyler platoon also increased its strength to 55, but eventually the authorization was rescinded, and the women had to "keep on their toes" to stay in. Those with poor attendance records were transferred involuntarily to the Inactive Reserve, and the platoon maintained a waiting list of potential recruits. Add Six More Platoons After the original seven platoons were well established, plans were announced for an additional four. On 15 October 1949, WR platoons were activated as elements of the 4th Infantry Battalion, Minneapolis; the 5th Infantry Battalion, Washington, D.C.; and the 9th Infantry Battalion at Chicago. On 1 November, the fourth WR Platoon was activated at St. Louis as part of the 3d Infantry Battalion. Chicago's WRs were led by First Lieutenant Genevieve M. Dooner who had compiled quite a record as a volunteer recruiting officer in the postwar years. She was assisted by platoon officer Lieutenant Isabel F. Vosler and I&I Lieutenant Dorothy Holmberg. First Lieutenant Elaine T. Carville, although of French background and from Louisiana, was ordered to Minneapolis because "she looked like a Swede." A Reserve officer on extended active duty, she activated the WR Platoon, 4th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, which came under the leadership of First Lieutenant Ardath Bietlein and Second Lieutenant Phyllis Davis. Well known for her enthusiasm and esprit de corps, Lieutenant Carville soon had a unit made up of 10 former WIIs, 37 non-veterans, 2 ex-WAVES, and 1 ex-SPAR. Minneapolis-St. Paul had been chosen for a WR platoon from among a number of cities which had asked for one. The large number of wartime WRs from Minnesota plus the personal interest in the project displayed by Lieutenant Colonel Emmet O. Swanson, commanding officer of the 4th Battalion, combined to bring the unit to the "Twin Cities." When plans for the platoon were first announced, 250 inquiries flooded the Reserve office at Wold Chamberlain Naval Air Station. Lieutenant Carville personally interviewed 150 applicants. The first group of 45 selectees was sworn in on 2 November 1949 by Brigadier General Elmer H. Salzman in a ceremony at the airfield. Wartime WRs included Master Sergeant Cecilia Nadeau, Staff Sergeant Lucille Almon, Staff Sergeant Leona Dickey, Ste Sergeant Betty Guenther, Sergeant Gladyce Pederson, Sergeant Anna Homza, Private First Class Betty Lemnke, Private First Class Grace Moak, Private First Class Ruth Mortenson, and Private First Class Kathleen Schoenecket. Among the nonveterans was Private Julia L. Bennke, who later went on to a full active duty career and retired in 1970 as a master sergeant. Despite the commanding officer's enthusiasm for a WR platoon some members of his staff were concerned at the changes it would bring. Reportedly, Sergeant Major Thomas Polvogt said that on occasion he would issue rifles to the women Marines so they would know what they were dealing in when they handled records for M-1's issued to guards, but he was not going to be responsible for powder puffs "or them other things they are going to issue." Lieutenant Carville assured him that the women would be issued full Marine Corps uniforms "from the skin out" and Sergeant Major Polvogt would not have to worry about "them other things." Captain Jeanette Pearson, Assistant I&I of the 5th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, Washington, D.C., activated that WR platoon with Major Mary L. Condon as platoon leader and First Lieutenant Ethel D. Fritts as platoon officer. Theresa "Sue" M. Sousa, later president of the Women Marines Association, was an early member of that very active unit which met at 230 C Street, N.W. After the first WOTC, Captain Nita Bob Warner, selected for a three-year active duty contract, left Quantico for a Headquarters Marine Corps briefing before setting out for St. Louis to form the WR Platoon, 3d Infantry Battalion, USMCR. Officially activated on 1 November 1949, the unit received a great deal of publicity. On the night that enlistments opened, more than 100 applicants - one of whom was former WR Peggy Musselman, later assigned as the platoon leader - came to the Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at the foot of Ferry Street. According to retired Lieutenant Colonel Warner, this unit was supposed to be self-contained. That meant they were to recruit or train women to handle all matters of administration, supply, recruiting, disbursing, or whatever else it took to run an efficient organization. Like the rest of the women Marine Reservists, those in St. Louis were shod in civilian shoes of various shades of brown and tan - an intolerable situation to Captain Warner. She enlisted the help of Staff Sergeant Mabel Otten, stationed at Headquarters Marine Corps, who sent a full case of cordovan brown shoe dye to the WR platoon. All 50 Reservists spent one drill period outside the armory ". . . wielding a bottle of cordovan brown shoe dye and shoe polish, dying their shoes dark brown and then learning how to give them a Marine Corps spit shine." When St. Louis saw its first women Marines, a proud group, on 20 May 1950 in an Armed Forces Day parade, they were stepping out in regulation cordovan brown shoes. As it turned out, the shoe color problem was mote easily solved than that of providing the Reservists with summer uniforms. There were none In the summer of 1950, Headquarters allowed the platoon two weeks of active duty for training at the armory, which they performed wearing the utility uniform - bib overalls and white T-shirts - which Lieutenant Colonel Warner laughingly recalls, ". . . made really quite a handsome outfit." February 1950 saw the formation of the last two WR platoons. Second Lieutenant Doris Kleberger left Quantico to become the Assistant I&I, 17th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, Detroit, with Captain Cecelia Vanden Bossche as the platoon leader. Captain Mary J. Hale went from Parris Island to Dallas where she served as Assistant I&I, 23d 155mm Howitzer Battalion, USMCR. She remembers that the Marines, Regular and Reserve, were very proud of the preparations they had made to welcome the WR platoon. On the night of the open house, planned to kick off the recruiting effort, Dallas was the scene of a "terrible ice storm," but the Texans were undaunted and the unit was off to a good start. Captain Hazel C. Tyler was platoon leader and First Lieutenant Grace E. Kathan was platoon officer. Captain Hale, scrupulous in her explanation to recruits of a Reserve unit's mobilization potential, was asked by the I&I if she really had to emphasize the point so strongly. Fortunately she continued to make an issue of it because within six months mobilization became a fact. Mobilization of Organized Reserve Units, Korea Within 15 months of the initiation of women into the Organized Reserve, the value of the program was realized with the mobilization of all 13 WR platoons. Women, as a result of the Korean crisis, and for the first time in American history, were called involuntarily to military service along with men. Mobilization of Reserves, including women veterans, was announced in June 1950. Since a number of women Reservists had belonged to organized platoons for only a few months, the term "veteran" was defined as women who had: a) served 90 days or more on active duty with the Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve: or b) attended 36 drills as members of an organized platoon; or c) attended 30 drills and 10 days active duty for training. Those women who did not meet the criteria were classified as nonveterans, transferred to the Volunteer Marine Corps Reserve, Class III, and directed to await orders to recruit training at Parris Island. Unfortunately, the 3d Recruit Training Battalion had closed down for the summer. Recruiting was something of a disappointment and thus far, no women recruit platoon had reached its authorized strength of 50. That fact coupled with the manner in which WOTC was organized - as a temporary unit established anew each summer - led to the decision to terminate training at Parris Island and to assign the staff to Quantico temporarily to conduct officer training. Platoon 2A, graduating in May, was the last scheduled class until 18 September. Three officers and seven enlisted women from the permanent staff of 3d Recruit Training Battalion were temporarily reassigned to a subunit activated at Quantico on 2 June. The first group to leave Parris Island included Captain Jeanette I. Sustad, Second Lieutenants Joan Morrissey and Betty Preston, Technical Sergeant "A" Fern Schirmer, Staff Sergeant Bertha Schultz, and Sergeants Rosa V. Harrington and Ruth Ryan. Sergeants Grace M. Karl and Agnes C. Thomas and Private First Class Allis V. Wall soon followed. They were barely established in Virginia when the news of mobilization broke and the urgent need for recruit training was realized, but it was too late to change plans as WOTC would be without a staff. So, when the WR platoons left for military duty, the nonveterans stayed behind expecting orders to Parris Island in early September. The women Reserve officers were not mobilized in order to maintain a sufficient number of stateside billets to allow the rotation of male officers. Before the plan was published, several officers gave notice to their employers and prepared to leave for duty. The decision to exclude WM officers caused a morale problem at several levels of the women's Reserve program. According to retired Lieutenant Colonel Carville, Assistant I&I at Minneapolis at the time of mobilization, "It was a terrible, terrible, terrible mistake!" The I&I hated to tell Reserve officers, who, in turn were embarrassed in front of their troops. The enlisted women were at first apprehensive at the thought of leaving without their own, familiar officers. Later, some were even angrily asking, "Why us, and not them?" The mobilization of the women caused by the conflict in Korea brought two significant changes to the women Marine program: it enabled women Marines to return to several duty stations, from which they had been absent during the postwar years, and it enabled them to break out of the strictly administrative mold into which they were cast after World War II. An analysis of tables of organization indicated that 1,183 women Marines could be assigned immediately, releasing an equal number of men according to the following distribution: Hq, Department of Pacific and Depot of Supplies, San Francisco . 172 Marine Barracks and Marine Corps Supply Depot, Camp Pendleton . 189 Marine Barracks and Marine Corps Supply Depot, Camp Lejeune . . 190 Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. . . . . . . . . . . 95 Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island . . . . . . . . 133 Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point . . . . . . . . . 195 Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego . . . . . . . . . 68 Marine Corps Schools, Quantico. . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,183 The WR platoons with 25 officers and 594 enlisted women were up to 88.6 percent of their authorized strength. To make up the difference and to fill vacancies in critical specialties, an immediate call was made for veteran volunteers in the following occupational fields: 01 Personnel Administration 15 Printing and Reproduction 22 Fire Control Instrument Repair 25 Operational Communications 30 Supply Administration, Accounting and Stock Control 31 Supply Procurement, Warehousing, Shipping, and Receiving 34 Disbursing 35 Motor Transport 40 Machine Accounting 41 Post Exchange 43 Public Information 46 Photography 49 Training and Training Aids 52 Special Services 67 Air Control 70 Aviation Operations and Intelligence