The woman in this photo is identified only as a drum majorette. The only date given is the year, 1945, so we don’t know if this was before or after World War II ended. She looks really happy, so maybe the war was over by the time this picture was taken.
Fort Sheridan Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
We did some digging and we think the drum majorette was a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). As an auxiliary unit, the women were limited to serving with the Army rather than in it. The WAAC was created through legislation passed by Congress in 1941. The purpose of the bill was to establish an auxiliary corps to fill non-combatant positions in the army. The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan received its first 150 auxiliaries on December 30, 1942.
CITATION: “Drum Majorette, Fort Sheridan”, Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County: Fort Sheridan (Illinois Digital Archives), 1945. [Online]. Available: http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/zlakecou003/id/1683. [Accessed: 2023-05-14].
