Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 | June 12, 2025
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
President Harry S. Truman Signs into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948
JUNE 12, 1948
TODAY, we dig into the archives to explore one of President Truman’s most consequential acts as commander in chief.
On this day in 1948, he signed into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration (WASI) Act. For the first time in American history, women were permitted to serve as permanent members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the newly formed Air Force.
With the stroke of a pen, President Truman not only paved the way for thousands of women’s military careers but also guaranteed equal pay.
“American women have built for themselves a proud record of achievement of unselfish devotion to the public welfare . . . advancing every good cause.”
– President Harry S. Truman
Besides Truman’s direct involvement and support for women in the armed forces, then Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall went on to establish the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). Since 1951, the committee has advised the Secretary of Defense on matters and policies relating to the recruitment, retention, employment, integration, well-being and treatment of servicewomen in the Armed Forces. It is one of the oldest defense department advisory committees.
On this day, we are reminded that history is not a closed book—it’s prologue to the chapters we write for those who follow.
Keep scrolling; there’s more to explore.
EXPLORE This Day in History
The WASI ACT
S. 1641, A Bill to establish the Women’s Army Corps in the Regular Army [and] to authorize the enlistment and appointment of women in the Regular Navy and Marine Corps and the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve, and for other purposes . . .
Originally titled the “Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1947.”
The CHAMPION
REP. MARGARET CHASE SMITH of Maine (recently remembered for her 1950 “Declaration of Conscience”) crafted and introduced the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act to the 80th U.S. Congress. During World War II, women had served in the military as reserve volunteers and had no access to the regular benefits of military service. The bill passed the Senate, but the House Armed Services Committee amended it to offer women reserve status only. Smith, who served on the committee, was the sole dissenting voice. She successfully petitioned Truman’s Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, to voice his support for the bill. With the DoD’s backing, the WASI Act passed as originally written.
“The issue is simple. Either the armed services have a permanent need of women officers and enlisted women or they do not.”
– Rep. Margaret Chase Smith
The WASI DEBATE
ON FEBRUARY 18, 1948, General Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared before the House Armed Services Committee to make his support clear. In his opening remarks, Eisenhower admitted that “when this project was proposed in the beginning of the war, like most old soldiers, I was violently against it.” Now, he told the members, “I can see no objection to this bill. Everything is on the favorable side.”
“We need them.”
– General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Six TRAILBLAZERS
MORE THAN 3 MILLION women have served this nation in uniform since the American Revolution. Every one of them volunteered to serve; every one of them overcame tremendous opposition. Here are just a few WASI trailblazers.
Lt. Commander Joy Hancock (Navy)
Director of the WAVES during WWII, Hancock (then Bright) was promoted to captain in 1948. Her promotion was one of the fastest to that rank, male or female, in the U.S. Navy’s history.
Captain Eleanor Yorke (Army)
Captain Yorke was one of approximately 600 women (few of whom were Black) stationed in Korea during the Korean War. “It got pretty rough,” she told reporters, “but I was too busy to be scared.”
Colonel Mary A. Hallaren (Army)
Having led the WACs in WWII, Colonel Hallaren was one of the most vocal advocates for the WASI Act. After its passage, she was the first woman to officially join the U.S. Army as an officer.
When she first enlisted in 1942, a recruiter asked Mary Hallaren what someone of her small stature—she was barely five feet tall—could contribute to the military. Her response: “You don’t have to be six feet tall to have a brain that works.”
Colonel Geraldine Pratt May (Air Force)
In 1949, May was the first director of the newly created Women’s Air Force and was promoted to colonel, making her the first woman to hold that rank in the Air Force.
Colonel Jacqueline Cochran (Air Force)
Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier (1953). An influential advisor on military aviation, Colonel Cochran helped integrate women into the Air Force.
Chief Yeoman Edna Young (Navy)
In 1948, Young was the first Black woman—among only six women—to be sworn into the Navy. In 1959, she was the first woman to achieve the rank of chief petty officer.
Ask an ARCHIVIST
WHERE WAS THE ACT SIGNED? Ask AI, and you’ll get your history wrong. Depending on your search, you might be informed that on June 12, 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in the Pentagon, or on the White House lawn, or in the Oval Office. But here’s the thing: his presidential appointment book puts him in California on that day. It was, after all, a campaign year. For a definitive answer, we turned to Truman Library archivist Tammy Williams:
TW: It’s not exactly clear where Truman signed the bill. It’s likely that it could have been on the Ferdinand Magellan, but without any other kind of evidence, it’s hard to confirm that. The White House at the time just didn’t make a big deal out of legislation signing ceremonies as it does today. So often we don’t have photos, speeches, remarks, etc., unless it was for the “big stuff” (think The Marshall Plan).
“It’s not exactly clear where Truman signed the bill…but we do know it was important to the president to actually sign the papers put before him. The physicality of it had meaning for him.”
– Tammy Williams, archivist
We decided to throw a curve ball. President Truman was the first to use an autopen (right). Is it possible the gadget was used, in his absence, for the signing of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act?
TW: Truman might have used it occasionally, but he generally disliked using an autopen, and most of his signatures are authentic. We can’t absolutely confirm that his June 12, 1948 signature was “live” (that’s a job for an appraiser), but we do know that it was important to the president that he actually sign the papers that were put before him. The physicality of it had meaning for him.
That’s good enough for us. Oh, and that photo at the top of this segment—of Margaret Chase Smith standing next to Truman as he signs? That’s one more AI error. In fact, that’s the signing of the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947.
And THAT’S THE WAY IT IS
THE PRICE OF LIBERTY, a 10-minute 1950s documentary film, celebrates women’s contributions to America’s armed forces, from the Revolutionary War to the Korean War. President Truman is shown on the White House lawn with women service members for the 1951 ceremony marking the issuance of the “Women in Our Armed Forces” commemorative U.S. postage stamp, pictured below. Walter Kronkite narrates.
“Liberty is the most expensive commodity in the world today. We have it only because we are willing and able to pay the price for it.”
– Walter Kronkite
“THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY, MEN AND WOMEN OF ALL COLORS AND CREEDS, OF ALL RACES AND RELIGIONS, HAVE…HELPED BUILD THIS DEMOCRATIC NATION, REINFORCING OUR DEVOTION TO THE GREAT IDEALS OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY.”
Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights, Feb. 2, 1948