In July 1944, a curious sight greeted pedestrians at the corner of State and Madison streets in Downtown Chicago. Sticking out from the Mandel Brothers department store was a military transport aircraft nose. It got there on purpose, carefully and deliberately, as part of a recruitment drive for the Women’s Army Corps. The exhibit helped the War Effort and proved to be a fun summer attraction for Chicagoans.
The Women’s Army Corps
As war engulfed the world, Congresswoman Edith Rogers of Massachusetts introduced a bill for the creation of a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in May 1941. The bill sought the expansion of non-combat jobs available to women in the Army, outside the Nurse Corps, while simultaneously providing them the same legal protection and benefits as their male counterparts. Herself having volunteered overseas in the First World War, Rogers wanted to improve the conditions of another generation of women if called upon to serve.
The WAAC came into existence on 14 May 1942 but not without controversial public debate, regarding the role of women in the military. Underlying its creation was the pressing manpower shortage in the military. By taking up clerical and other non-combatant duties, women could free up male soldiers to go overseas. WAACs received official status and a salary, but less pay and benefits than male soldiers, much to the dismay of Congresswoman Rogers. This changed in July 1943, when the Army dropped the auxiliary status and created the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Finally, female soldiers received full army benefits.
More than 150,000 women served as WACs during the Second World War. They filled over 400 jobs in both the United States and overseas, where they played an important role in the Pacific and European theaters. Their ranks included Nisei and African-American women. A total of 657 WACs received medals and citations by the end of the war. Amongst them were ten recipients of the Soldier’s Medal, awarded for heroic actions not involving combat. Sixteen women received the Purple Heart for injuries due to enemy action. Most abundant were 565 Bronze Stars awarded for meritorious service.1
Given the radical change in Army policy and society still adhering to the traditional role of women, as passive sweethearts, wives, or sex objects, WACs often faced disdain even at home. It took time for society to accept military service as a respectable profession for women.
A WAC recruitment drive comes to Chicago
At noon on 7 July 1944, a crowd of pedestrians thronged the intersection of State and Madison streets in Downtown Chicago. They faced the south-west corner of the Mandel Brothers department store. What brought them together was the opening of a highly anticipated public exhibit apart of a WAC recruitment drive. Officiating the gala ceremony from a platform was Mayor Edward J. Kelly, joined by several military officials including Lt. Col. Leon Mandel. The special attraction: a real-life Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane nose installed inside the store.2
A joint effort made the exhibit possible. Providing the airplane nose was the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Orchard Place, near Park Ridge. Space to display the nose was graciously provided by Mandel Brothers. Then manning the exhibit was a select group of twelve WACs who, after attending a four-day training course at the Douglas plant, could answer any questions on the C-54 Skymaster that the public might have.
Installation was rather straight forward. The store removed two converging glass pane windows from its ground floor, allowing a slew crane to set the nose section onto a special platform made of heavy planks. This prevented the nose from falling down into the store’s lingerie section. The nose wheel was then set into place. Once completed the section rose seventeen feet above the ground as it protruded out onto the State Street sidewalk. Visitors would walk up a circular stairway to view the nose up-close and then descend into the WAC information center. Located on Madison Street, the center was filled with murals of the C-54 in-action and a full eight-foot scale model.
Considerably more difficult was transportation. The route from Orchard Place to the Mandel Brothers store stretched over sixteen miles across bridges, and under viaducts and elevated structures. Workers posted all along the way made sure the shipment cleared its obstacles with only two inches to spare. Similarly, the movement of other war production goods in Chicago also required careful planning, such as the twenty-eight submarines that went up the Chicago River.
Upon the exhibit’s arrival at State and Madison, police roped off the area. Four Chicago Police Department traffic officers and two plant protection guards kept curious onlookers at bay. Soon enough these bystanders would have a chance to get up close but for the time being, the officers maintained a vigilant guard.
Ultimately the exhibit was a popular summer attraction. Although Mandel Brothers hosted the recruitment drive out of patriotism, as future company president Leon Mandel served in the Army Air Forces, it also doubled as a publicity boon. In total, the exhibit attracted some 200,000 visitors until its closing day on 31 July 1944. More importantly, the WAC information center interviewed over 300 potential enlistees.3
Sources
- Judith Bellafaire, The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service (Washinton, D.C.: Government Publishing Office, 1993), p.25.
- Details of the opening gala ceremony are provided in the ‘WAC Souvenir Edition’ of the Douglas Airview News, employee newspaper of the Chicago Douglas Aircraft plant, dated July 1944. Scans of the newspaper are provided at the bottom of the article.
- Dorothy Johnson, ‘Women in War Work’, Chicago Daily Tribune, 1 August 1944, p.11. Retrieved from ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune. https://www.proquest.com/hnpchicagotribune/docview/176964422/A6438C7FCE024735PQ/4 (accessed 3 April 2023).