OVETA CULP HOBBY JANUARY 19, 1905 AUGUST 16, 1995
DIRECTOR WOMEN’S ARMY CORPS BORN IN KILLEEN, TEXAS
Oveta Culp was born to William and Emma Elizabeth Hoover Culp in Killeen, Texas. Oveta was the second child, and five siblings followed. Her mother, Emma, taught her daughter at a very young age to help the less fortunate. Before Oveta entered elementary school, she was often seen accompanying her mother delivering baskets of food, clothing, and even cash to needy families in Killeen. Her father, William, called “Ike,” was an attorney in Killeen, who later was elected to the Texas Legislature. Ike gave his daughter a love of books and reading. Oveta began to read law books, newspapers, and even The Congressional Record at an early age. Her…show more content… Oveta herself designed the new uniform, the first military uniform worn by women except for nurses’ uniforms. Oveta then went citytocity recruiting women White, Hispanic, AfricanAmerican, Native American, and Asian to join the military. From the beginning, Oveta worked with Mary McLeod Bethune and other AfricanAmerican activists to include an equal proportion of AfricanAmerican women in the officer training program. WAAC morale was high, and regulation infractions were so few that Oveta’s male counterparts in the Army were surprised. The supreme commander of the Allies, General Douglas MaCarthur, called the women “his little soldiers.”
In 1943 WAAC became WAC, a branch of the US Army. The WACs would eventually number more than 100,000 female military members. Oveta served as colonel from
1942 to 1945. She was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Medal. DDay in Europe was June 6, 1944. On that day Allied troops were set to cross the English Channel and land on the beaches of Normandy, France. Many would die or be wounded that day. Oveta had flown to England just before DDay and there met with General Eisenhower. The respect they held for each other led to a lifelong
