Marine Corps Women's Reserve Graphic

On February 13, 1943 the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve was officially established. Terms like “Femarines” and “Glamarines” were original suggestions to identify these women but Marine Corps Commandant, General Thomas Holcomb decided they didn’t need a nickname. They would be trained as Marines and would therefore be known as Marines.
Recruiting brochures at the time promised 34 job placement opportunities but by the end of World War II, women from the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve trained in over 200 different specialties and accounted for over half of the staff at major Marine Corps posts. Ultimately more than 23,000 women served in these reserve units before they were disbanded in 1946.
Shortly thereafter, the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was approved in 1948 and women were once again welcomed into the US Marine Corps.