Celebrating and honoring those who have served both stateside and overseas in all aspects of the military. We at Nanny Jack & Co salute those who have proudly worn the uniform of the United States of America.
When contemplating how to honor veterans today, we first thought to share never before seen letters from #WorldWarI, #WorldWarII, #KoreanWar, and the #VietnamWar but decided it would be better to share a sampling of these proud women.
Alice Louisa Johnson Tyler was born in #OldWestBaltimore, Maryland in 1923 to James and Louisa Z. Johnson. She lived on Gold Street and matriculated through the Baltimore City Public School System. In 1944, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (#WACS) and was stationed at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
In May 1942, Congress approved the creation of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and selected #FortDesMoines, Iowa as its first WAAC Training Center. Among the first 440 officer candidates to arrive at Fort Des Moines, 40 were African American. They trained alongside their white counterparts for the Officer Candidate School (OCS), but were segregated afterwards.
In 1943, the name was changed to Women's Army Corps (WAC) to make it part of the U.S. Army and allow women to serve overseas.
The Johnson family collection contains wonderful vernacular (amateur) images, as well as commercial images of Alice's experiences in World War II.
Keepin' it historically significant ✊🏾
Courtesy of #NannyJackAndCoArchives