Fort Oglethrorpe, Georgia

Between 1 January 1943 and 14 July 1945, Fort Oglethorpe was home to the third Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, later Women’s Army Corps, Training Center. Approximately 53,000 women entered basic training there, and after graduation many remained for additional specialist instruction to become clerks, typists, cooks, bakers, military policewomen, drivers, medical technicians, and medical clerks for army posts around the world. Overseas training for WACs was conducted there between February 1943 and March 1945. The WAC Officer Candidate School was located at Fort Oglethorpe between August 1944 and February 1945 and commissioned 876 women as Second Lieutenants in the WAC, Army of the United States. Lt. Col. Elizabeth C. Strathorn, the first woman to command an army training center, served as commandant of the Third WAC training center from 22 April 1944 until the center closed in 1945. Women from across the United States who trained and served at Fort Oglethorpe enjoyed and admired Chickamauga Park and the nearby communities, where they were received with hospitality and friendship.

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia · United States