Sergeant Alice Huey / United States Army WAC

Alice Huey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard R. Huey, was born in Chelsea, MA in 1917, as WWI raged across Europe. As a baby, she and her parents moved to Nashua. She attended Nashua public schools graduating from Nashua High School. Her graduation year is uncertain but was probably 1934. At the time of her graduation, the high school was what became later known as the Temple St. school.

When WWII broke out, Huey was living with her parents at 5 Temple Place, working as a maid for Dr. G. Smith Deering and Helen Deering. She decided to do her part and joined the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps; later, and better known as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) in November 1942. She was one of the first class of women to do so.

U.S. Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts introduced a bill for the creation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in May 1941. Rogers vowed that if American women served in support of the Army, they would do so with all the rights and benefits afforded to soldiers.

Congress approved the creation of WAAC on May 14, 1942. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law on May 15. WAAC was established “for the purpose of making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of women of the nation.”

The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was a branch of the United States Army during World War II. It was formed in 1943 when the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was reorganized as a regular army unit. This would enable women to serve in noncombat positions. Never before had women, with the exception of nurses, served within the ranks of the U.S. Army. With the establishment of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), more than 150,000 did so.

Huey received her basic training at the First Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Training Center at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. This military installation was established in 1901 as a cavalry facility. Later it was used to train African American officers during WWI and later was the first military facility to train WAC enlistees. It was here that Huey completed the specialized training in Administrative School. A newspaper account of her schooling noted that she was “preparing to replace a man in a non-combat Army job.” She completed her basic training in March, 1943.

She was among the first company of WACs assigned to Camp Forest, TN in April 1943. This facility, named after Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, eventually became an internment camp during WWII; first for Italians and then for Germans. While at this facility, Huey served as acting mess sergeant at the Officer’s Mess Hall

She went on to serve in the Philippines, and New Guinea. She attained the rank of Technician Fourth Grade and served as a driver. While in the Philipines she met another Army soldier; they fell in love, and were soon married. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last long as her husband was killed in action on New Guinea. Huey then found out she was pregnant and took a medical discharge from the Army in 1945. Her final rank was Sergeant.

She was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Women’s Army Corps Service Ribbon, and the American Campaign Ribbon along with the Army Honorable Discharge Insignia.

Of her mother, Raelene Liljeberg said, “She never talked about her Army service. It was just something she did. It was her duty, she performed it, and it was that simple. She had a bunch of photos that we would look at some times when I was a kid but she still didn’t talk much. Now, after several moves over the years, those photos are lost. The Nashua Historical Society worked with an independent film company to make a documentary called “At Home and Abroad WWII.’ They interviewed me about my mother, sons and daughters of other vets, and some WWII vets that were still alive. That documentary will be her legacy.”Thanks to the Nashua Historical Society for some of this information

 US Service Personnel Profiles

 By Gary Ledoux February 12, 2025