Marines in World War 2 Commemorative Series. Discusses how women Marines served in noncombat billets during World War 2. The title "Free a Marine to Fight" means that women Marines served in noncombat jobs so that male Marines could fight in battles. The Marines first began to recruit women after the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942. States that 17,672 women were serving in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in June 1945. Illustrated with many black and white photographs.

The little known story of these female reservists and the role they played in WWII, packed with photos. When US Marine Commandant Maj. Gen. Thomas Holcomb announced the formation of what became the US Marine Corps’ Women’s Reserve, legend has it, the portrait of one of his predecessors fell off the wall and crashed to the floor—in disbelief. The women were called “Lady Leathernecks,” among other nicknames—some less than flattering. This branch of the US Marines had been authorized by the US Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 30, 1942. The law allowed for the acceptance of women into the reserve as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level—effective for the duration of the war plus six months. The purpose of the law was to release officers and men for combat and to replace them with women in shore stations. The result was that between 1943 and 1945 the women of America enlisted in the thousands to “Free a Marine to Fight.” This book, the first of its kind, explores in detail the role of female Marines, or WRs as they were known at the time. It also presents a detailed study of the uniforms of the WRs supported by numerous photographs. This book has been written with the full support of the US Marine Corps Histories Division, the Women Marine Association, and surviving WR veterans.

The history of the first women to serve in the Marine Corps is a fascinating record of the dedication and drive of American women during World War I. The purpose of this monograph is to tell the story of the small band of women who answered the Corps' call for volunteers in 1918 with patriotism and enthusiasm. A former Director of Women Marines, Colonel Jeanette I. Sustad, USHC (Ret.) originated the project of compiling data for a history of women Marines who served in World War I. In 1971, she asked various members of the Women Marines Association to interview surviving veterans throughout the country. A questionnaire designed to guide the interviewers as well as background information on the service of women Marines in the 1918-1919 period was developed by Lieutenant Colonel Pat Meid, USMCR. Lieutenant Colonel Meid, who authored the official history, Marine Corps Women's Reserve in World War II, originally published in 1964, accumulated considerable material on the earlier group of women Marines during her research. This was all made available to the author of this monograph. The interviews conducted during 1971-1972, 29 in number, form a valuable archive of personal experiences of these pioneer women Marines. They have been used to supplement the official records which are sparse and elusive. Muster rolls of the time were checked exhaustively in compiling a roster of women who served, but it proved impossible to discover all the names making up the 305 women who were enlisted as Marine .Corps Reserve (F). Much information was gleaned from contemporary magazine and newspaper articles, particularly from Leatherneck, Marine Corps Gazette, The Marine Magazine, Recruiter's Bulletin, and the New York and Washington daily newspapers. A small but useful collection of Women Marine memorabilia, including photographs, letters, and clippings, was donated by various individuals as a result of publicity about the project.

Contents: early planning; the first Women's Reserve (WR); early training: Holyoke and Hunter; training: Camp Lejeune; Reserve Officer's Class; specialist schools; uniforms; style; officer Winter and Summer dress; Summer service; Summer dress; handbags, shoes, and hose; utilities and exercise suits; grooming, handkerchiefs, and undergarments; aviation; matching skills to need; WR employment; administration of women; assistants for the WR; authority; assignment and housing; punishment; overseas; WR Band; epilogue: war's end. Maps and photos.

"What? Women Marines? Quit your kidding " That was the first reaction of a group of Marines newly- freed from a prison camp in the Philippines in February 1945. Eagerly they sought news from the combat correspondents about what had been going on in the Marine Corps since their capture in the early days of the war. The released men could hardly believe it. Women in the Marine Corps? What did they do? How did they dress? What were they like? Were they pretty? Women in military uniform were a novelty to much of the rest of the world in the beginning of World War II, not only in this country, but in Canada and England as well. In the United States, more than 265,000 women served in all branches of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines. The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was established by law as a part of the Marine Corps Reserve by the amendment of 30 July 1942 to the U.S. Naval Reserve Act of 1938. The mission of the MCWR was to provide women trained and qualified for duty in the shore establishments of the Marine Corps, thereby releasing additional male Marines for combat duty. In February 1943, the month that the Women's Reserve was formed, American forces wiped out the final enemy opposition on Guadalcanal. . . .