Jeffrey Boshart wanted to honor his mother who served as a pilot during World War II.

Boshart’s mother, along with all the women who served in the military during the war, did not receive acknowledgment for their service until 1977. The art professor created an exhibit full of the memories and moments of the women that served in WWII at the Booth Library and the Charleston Carnegie Library.

Depicted in the exhibit, titled “Women of Valor,” are uniforms, hats, sunglasses, magazines, books, graduation certificates from training and pictures of the jobs the women served in.

The majority of the exhibit is in Booth and will be on display there until the end of May.

Boshart said he wanted the women who served for their country to have the acknowledgment they deserved.

In WWII, nearly 400,000 women served in uniform. The women volunteered for many fields in the newly formed organizations of the time.

These organizations included the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, Women’s Army Corps, the Navy Women’s Reserve, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurses Corps.

“They took the risk of going to the unknown to support their country,” Boshart said.

He said many people are not aware of the number of women who served, but yet the millions of men were paid tribute to.

Boshart said the women who served actually volunteered despite the fact that they were met with ridicule and resentment from everyone.

“They served with pride and a real military purpose like any man did,” Boshart said.

Women serving in WWII had to pay for their transportation, uniforms and did not receive any military benefits after they left the war, he said.

Boshart said when the women were killed, they had to pay for the funeral while the men’s were paid for.

Boshart said he wanted the exhibit to be “less words, more pictures.”

He said doing this gives people a feel for what happened during the war or make them wonder what happened and seek out more information.

Panel discussion

A panel discussion featuring eight World War II women veterans from Coles and Clark Counties will be held at 6 p.m. today in Room 4440 of Booth Library. The women will share their war experiences and also answer audience questions.

Rashida Lyles Cowan can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.

Sophomore elementary education majors Jessica Tarazoff and Victoria Munesue walk past the Women in Valor display by the north entrance to Booth Library on Tuesday afternoon. The display showcases uniforms worn by women in the military during World War II

(more…)