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Because this is a Facebook post, I am sharing the entire article:
A Mighty Girl
In the midst of World War I, female artists from across the United States flocked to New York City to become part of a highly specialized military group: the Women’s Reserve Camouflage Corps. As part of this little-known division of the National League for Women’s Service, they learned the art of camouflage and then used their artistic skills and creativity to develop patterns and designs that mimicked the landscape — from the rocks on the ground to the branches of trees. The division had been essentially forgotten, but thanks to a set of photographs discovered during the National Archives and Records Administration’s project to digitize films and photographs from World War I, their work is finally back in view. And, as National Archives archivist Richard Green explains, they show just how unusual the women’s work was: “The photos are really some of the most unusual I’ve come across during my time here. There would be a picture of the girl and she would just fall down and disappear.”
The first class of camouflage artists or “camoufleurs” started training in April of 1918; the 40 women were almost all working artists. The division’s director, Lieutenant H. Ledyard Towle of the 71st Infantry, insisted that the women receive the same training in army formations and maneuvers that any soldier would undergo, believing that they could not provide the best protection for soldiers without knowing how they operated. Twice a week, they would go out into the field — usually into local parks — and test out camouflage designs, including “rock suits” that allowed them to be undetected at a distance of 10 feet. They also created “observation suits” that allowed scouts to blend into the sky, snow, or ice while observing enemy movements.
An article about the women in the April 28, 1918 issue of the New York Tribune by Elene Foster describes the strange scene when they were working on their designs in the park: “Weird shapes, the color of the rocks and earth, moved here and there, and from the tops of trees came loud halloos and catcalls from other shapeless objects. I stumbled over a hump of grass, which squealed when I stepped on it, and rose before me.” Her article also captures the artists’ dedication to their craft and their determination to contribute to the war effort: “Please don’t go away with the idea that all we do is make costumes and dress up in them,” one of the camoufleurs told Foster. “We are going to do every sort of camouflage work that they will allow us to do, from painting a battleship to making a fake tree.”
To view photos of the Women’s Reserve Camouflage Corps on the National Archives’ website, visit https://bit.ly/3mJaOly
For an excellent book about 16 remarkable women who served their countries in a variety of ways during World War I, we highly recommend “Women Heroes of World War I” for teens and adults, ages 13 and up, at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-heroes-of-world-war-i
For two picture books about American women serving their country during World War I, we recommend “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call” (https://www.amightygirl.com/grace-banker-hello-girls) and “Doing Her Bit: A Story About the Woman’s Land Army of America” (https://www.amightygirl.com/doing-her-bit), for ages 5 to 9
There is also a lovely new picture book about a Girl Scout running a peach pit drive to help soldiers during WWI: “The Peach Pit Parade: A World War I Story” for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-peach-pit-parade
For books for adult readers about the contributions of women during WWI, check out “The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers” (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-hello-girls) and “The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I” (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-second-line-of-defense)
To learn about more heroic women of WWI, visit our blog post “9 Heroic Women of World War I You Should Know” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=21319
For many stories for children and teens of pioneering girls and women in the arts — both in real-life and fiction — visit our “Creative Arts” section at http://amgrl.co/2ibkDIQ See less
https://youtu.be/r8mV9330eX8
