User:Blu elephant/sandbox

When World War II was declared, Eva Romero Jacques was attending college at the University of New Mexico and became interested in enlisting in the Army Air Forces/Corps, especially inspired after the urging of her priest one Sunday who stressed not for parents to interfere if their daughters are willing to go into the military "because it's everybody's war". Requirements for biological females were to be 100 pounds, a high school graduate, 21 years, and at least 5 feet tall. Despite Eva being 4'11, she was officially accepted into the WAC, Women's Army Corps, on the account of her two great advantages: three years of college and fluently speaking English and Spanish.

Eva did basic military training in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. She was offered an opportunity at OCS, Officer Candidate School, though declined with the thought of having to tell people what to do while she prefers to be the doer. Subsequently, Eva was then sent to a military administrative academy to learn the language of the military for business purposes, where she was again offered the opportunity for OCS. After declining the second offer, she was shipped overseas to serve two years in Pacific Theater, New Guinea (1944) and then the Philippines (1945). Her service throughout her military career mainly involved working in the commander's office. As an administrative aid, she was consistently translating any confidential communications sent in Spanish for military officers. On that note, Jacques never experienced any racism while in the WAC as a Hispanic-American. Her quality of being bilingual was what got her into the military and made her a valuable candidate.

Eva's service in World War II lasted from 1943 to 1945, earning the highest rank of staff sergeant. She was one of the first Hispanic women to serve in the USAAF, United States Army Air Forces.

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  Eva Romero Jacques (October 1943)

Bibliography

• “Eva Romero Jacques.” Eva Romero Jacques | Pritzker Military Museum & Library | Chicago, www.pritzkermilitary.org/explore/museum/past-exhibits/shes-wow/test/eva-romero-jacques/.
• Froeb, Aislinn (26 October 2017). “Interview with Eva Romero Jacques.” Eva Romero Jacques collection: Veterans History Project (AFC/2001/001/18443), The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.18443/mv0001001.stream. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.
• Walter, Alexandra (26 October 2011). “Eva Romero Jacques.” Eva Romero Jacques collection: Veterans History Project (AFC/2001/001/18443). The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.18443/. Accessed October 3, 2017.