How many women joined the United States Armed Services during World War II?

The story behind the answer

350,000 is correct: roughly that many American women entered uniformed service in World War II across the WACs (Army), WAVES (Navy), SPARS (Coast Guard), Women Marines, and the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. They worked as nurses, clerks, mechanics, radio operators, codebreakers, and more—freeing many men for front-line duty and proving women could perform vital military roles under wartime pressure.

Their service helped lead to the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, making women a permanent part of the U.S. military. Memory tip: think of the “W” wave of WWII—WACs, WAVES, Women Marines (plus SPARS and nurses)—adding up to about three-and-a-half hundred thousand.