Approximately 350,000 women served in the U.S. military during World War II.

Key number

  • Historians and educational sources give about 350,000 as the approximate number of American women who joined the armed forces (Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and related women’s branches) during WWII.

Brief context

  • These women served in roles such as nurses, clerks, drivers, mechanics, communications specialists, and pilots in women’s auxiliary organizations like the WAC, WAVES, SPARS, and Women Airforce Service Pilots.
  • Their service helped free large numbers of men for front‑line combat duty, significantly expanding the overall fighting strength of the U.S. military in the war.