Return of the WAC

Yesterday I went to a gun show, primarily rooting around for military things. I have been trying to find more dog tags, as the information out there is more accessible now to do further research, but it seems their prices skyrocketed the instant I decided to do so. I finally came across the table of a guy I have purchased from in the past, and he had a small pile of tags in one of his display cases. I asked how much he was asking, as I noticed there were a few that were WWII, and he said, "Oh, I don't know, a couple dollars or so, I have so many of them." He let me see them, and I rifled through, finding a woman's tag. Now, I rarely come across women's dog tags, and all the ones I have seen are dated from the 50's, at the earliest. Every dog tag, including the early ones, has the date the soldier had their last tetanus shot, marked by a T[year], so one that says "T50" would mean they got it in 1950. Anyway, this woman's single tag (I could not find the other) had not only T43-44 on it, but her serial number was A-906701, meaning she was in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which was shortened in 1943 to just the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Their serial numbers always started with an A, where the men's has no letters. When I saw this I tried not to show how excited I was. I've never actually seen a legit WAAC dog tag, as women's items are rather hard to come by, and I had to have it. I picked out a couple other tags as well, and asked how much for all of them. He said, "Ehhh, gimme $3 for each of these and," he picked up the WAAC tag, "eh, gimme a dollar for that one." I very calmly said okay, and wound up paying $10 for four tags (lately it seems people want $30 and up for a set). I ran off like Charlie waving the Golden Ticket.
   I got home and looked up the information on her on the National Archives site. I've been going here first when I find soldier's names and especially serial numbers. They have a database to look up WWII draft cards, and while it doesn't explain everything they did during their service, it gives a basic picture of the person: where they're from, what their occupation was, their level of education, where and when they enlisted and what branch, etc. So this is the information I got from there:

JENNIE I CLARK
Born 1904
From Portland, Oregon
Enlisted April 23, 1943 as a private in the Women's Army Corps, Inactive Reserve
White, single, no dependents
Education: post-graduate
Civilian occupation: Teachers (secondary school) and Principles

So just from this info, we've got a 39 year old single, highly educated, high school teacher. What is she doing joining the army at 39 years old?! You have to admit that even by today's standards, that is pretty steep. In 1943, your life was 75% of the way over. I believe the cut off for joining the WAACs was 41, but still. I hopped back online and ran her name through google, and miraculously, with very little effort, a rather large obituary appeared---two slightly different ones on three different sites. I was shocked, because usually I spend hours trying to find anything on a name. However, it appeared she had married, and her middle initial wasn't I, it was C, which at first made me think I had the wrong woman. But here is the obituary posted on gazettetimes.com, originally published in 2002:

Jan. 26, 1904-Aug. 1, 2002

Jennie Clark Austin, a former longtime resident of Corvallis, died Thursday. She was 98.

She was born to William C. Clark and Jennie F. Evans in Portland. She was a third generation Oregonian. She loved discovery and learning and her family enjoyed camping trips on the Sandy River and trips to the Coast.

In 1926, she earned her bachelor's degree from Oregon State College. Her first teaching positions were in Grangeville, then Wallace, Idaho. After a few years, she returned to Portland to teach at Jefferson and, later, Grant high schools.

She returned to college, earning a master's degree at Columbia University in 1942.

During World War II, she served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific between 1943 and 1945. After the war, she was appointed an assistant professor at Oregon State and served as the county Extension Service agent for 4-H and home economics in Hood River County from 1947 to 1956.

She married Kirby Austin, a widowed friend from her college days, in 1956. For years they lived in Tuckahoe, N.Y., while he worked in electronics.

They retired and moved to Corvallis in 1969. They were active in the Methodist Church, two garden clubs, a photography club and community service. In addition to gardening, she enjoyed traveling, including cruises and staying at elder hostels. She also belonged to Kappa Delta Sorority, St. Mary's Order of the Eastern Star and the American Home Economics Association.

In 1990, she moved to Hillside Manor in McMinnville.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, Floyd Austin of Boise, Idaho; and her stepson, Clifford Austin of Indio, Calif. Survivors include many distant relatives and friends.

This was posted on findagrave.com

When I read that, and especially saw the picture posted of her grave, I was pretty floored. I mean, who knows where this tag has been the last 11 years, if it was even still with her until her death. And here it is, a little flat piece of metal, what's left from the life of a remarkable woman who lived a pretty incredible life. Just looking at it in context of the times, this woman received a college education in the '20s, and then just went back to Columbia to get a Master of Arts (this was noted in another obituary) in the '40s. That's not exactly what the average woman was doing at the time. To top it off, she joins the military during the war and goes to the South Pacific theater when she's 40--because she wanted to. Remember, women weren't drafted, it was completely voluntary. She definitely sounds like a woman who did whatever the hell she wanted to. I never did find anything on why her middle name was listed as I in military records but C on her headstone. It's too bad there isn't any more information on what she did during the war. I couldn't find a photo of her either, and I definitely want to see what this lady looked like.
   This is exactly what validates collecting, for me. Here is a little thing, a misplaced dog tag in a box that a guy sells to me for a shrug and $1, and it represents so much more: a life. Jennie Clark was 98 years old when she died 11 years ago--is anyone who knew her still alive? Do her "distant relatives" even remember her? I am going to guess no to both. But now here's a chance for someone to remember her as more than just another tag in a pile.