Anna M. Hoffman

Anna M. Hoffman was born in 1920 in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, she was employed as a civilian machine shop inspector, testing roller bearings for aircraft. One of her brothers subsequently enlisted in the Army, the other in the Marine Corps, and then her sister joined the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). 

Anna Hoffman joined the WAC herself on August 14, 1943, enlisting at Fort Hayes, Ohio. She was transferred to Des Moines, Iowa for basic training, which included instruction in physical fitness, administrative duties, military justice, first aid, courtesies and customs of the service, close order drill, map reading, equipment maintenance and long marches. One training week was conducted in the field, where the women lived in tents, as well as had the opportunity to fire .30 caliber carbines if they wished. Following basic training, Hoffman completed the six-week Cooks and Bakers’ School.

Following her training, Hoffman was assigned as a cook at Fort Brady, Michigan. In addition to kitchen and maintenance work in a barracks used by fifty women, she performed duty as a butcher, cutting, trimming, and wrapping meat. The weather in Michigan was extremely cold, and the local town featured little in the way of recreational outlets, with just one bar and an area for tobogganing. Hoffman was eventually transferred to a consolidated mess hall in Florida, where she worked and ate with male soldiers. As a female soldier, she was exempted from drilling in Florida. Hoffman worked alongside two men, baking sheet cakes, pies, and cinnamon buns daily for 4,000 soldiers. While there, she experienced hurricanes and extensive heavy rains.

Following her Florida experience, Hoffman was transferred to Ardmore Air Base in Oklahoma, where she performed the duties of a Mess Sergeant, although without any increase in rank. She subsequently returned to Florida to an air base at Tampa, where she performed various assignments as a cook and baker. Hoffman’s military service ended on October 12, 1945, when she was discharged at Fort McPherson, Georgia as a Corporal.

All in all, Hoffman believed her service experience was very worthwhile; she recalled that she met a lot of interesting people, include her husband Walter, who she met and married while in Florida. She stated that members of the WAC could marry, yet would be discharged should they become pregnant. During her time in the military, Hoffman was given leave to return home twice. She felt that medical and dental care provided by the service was good.

In civilian life, Hoffman maintained contact to the date of her interview with a Philadelphia woman who attended Cooks and Bakers’ School with her. She was also a past President and member of Chapter 74, WAC, the AMVETS and the American Legion, and has occasionally attended military reunions. Hoffman has related stories of her service to family members and her children, who have asked her why she volunteered. Upon recollection, she believed that third and fourth grade pupils often asked better questions than high school students, and she enjoyed responding to younger children’s questions. Hoffman showed the interviewer photos of herself, as well as an assortment of memorabilia.

Anna Hoffman received a WAC Service Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal for her military service. She devoted her life and worked tirelessly to promote her fellow female veterans, and to help them get whatever assistance they required.

Anna M. Hoffman died peacefully on May 7, 2016 at the age of 96. 

Additional Resource:

• Readington Township’s Anna Hoffman recalls service during World War II