Alice Kono's WAC overseas cap
Alice Kono's WAC overseas cap
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- This summer service uniform cap belonged to Alice Tetsuko Kono when she served in the Women's Army Corps, known as the WAC. Kono was born on the island of Lana'i, Hawai'i to Japanese immigrant parents. Kono was a Military Intelligence Service Linguist and trained at the Military Intelligence Language School at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. She served from 1944 - 1946.
- Alice Tetsuko Kono was one of fewer than 500 Japanese American women who served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Trained as a Military Intelligence Service Linguist, she worked translating captured documents sent from the Pacific as part of the “air section,” reviewing and translating materials related to planes and arial intelligence, while stationed at Fort Richie, Maryland.
- The United States declared war on Japan after the December 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i'. At this time, women were not allowed to serve in the United States military, and Japanese Americans were classified as "enemy aliens" and ineligible for military service. In 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the formation of the all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Later that year, the WAC opened enlistment to Japanese American women. WACs were the first women to serve in the Army as specialists other than nurses. Women fought many issues in the WAC, such as a slander campaign on the home front that called the WACs "sexually immoral.” Many soldiers opposed allowing women in uniform, some stating that their masculinity would be devalued. Despite the backlash and resistance, General Douglas MacArthur called the WACs his best soldiers, stating they worked harder, complained less, and were better disciplined. General Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that their contributions were immeasurable.
- Alice Tetsuko Kono died on March 27, 2014, at the age of 90.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- cap
- date made
- circa 1940s
- Physical Description
- cotton (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 3 1/2 in x 11 in x 6 1/2 in; 8.89 cm x 27.94 cm x 16.51 cm
- ID Number
- 2016.0219.02
- accession number
- 2016.0219
- catalog number
- 2016.0219.02
- See more items in
- Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, Japanese American
- Executive Order 9066
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
