Mildred Inez Caroon Bailey
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Mildred Inez Bailey ( Caroon; April 18, 1919 – July 18, 2009) was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
officer, who served as the eighth director of the
Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...
from August 1971 until July 1975. She was the third woman in United States Army to reach the rank of brigadier general.


Early life

Mildred Inez Caroon was born in
Fort Barnwell, North Carolina Fort Barnwell is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Craven County, North Carolina, Craven County, North Carolina, United States. The fort was founded by John Barnwell (colonist), Colonel John Barnwell of the South Ca ...
, and raised in nearby Kinston. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in
Flora MacDonald College Flora MacDonald College was a women's college in Red Springs, Robeson County, North Carolina. It was founded in 1896 by Dr. Charles Graves Vardell as the Red Springs Seminary, renamed Southern Presbyterian College and Conservatory of Music in 1 ...
in
Red Springs, North Carolina Red Springs is a town in Robeson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,087 at the 2020 census. Geography Red Springs is located in northern Robeson County. North Carolina Highways 211 and 71 are the main roads throug ...
. She transferred to the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...
) in her
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
year and graduated in 1940. After graduation, she attended summer school at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
. Bailey went on to teach French in
Taylorsville, North Carolina Taylorsville is a town in Alexander County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,098 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Taylorsville is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical ...
.


Military career

Bailey joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later the
Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...
) at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
, in the summer of 1942, and was sent to Officer Training School at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, where she was a member of third class of WAACs. Bailey was assigned to the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
and stationed in
Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona†...
, until mid-1943, when the company she commanded was transferred to George Field Army Air Base in Illinois. Bailey was then sent to
Walnut Ridge, Arkansas Walnut Ridge is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5,098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north of Hoxie. The two towns form a contiguous urban ...
, for a short time before moving to
Craig Air Force Base Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, was a U.S. Air Force undergraduate pilot training (UPT) installation that closed in 1977. Today the facility is a civilian airport known as Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex (ICAO: KSEM; FAA ...
, Alabama, where she taught English to members of the French Air Force until the end of the war in 1945. Bailey remained in the army after World War II and was sent to Miami, Florida, where she served as vocational guidance and counselor officer for veterans. In 1949, she was transferred to
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany, with an intelligence assignment. She was then sent to
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
to command a WAC attachment at the 98th General Hospital. In 1953, Bailey returned stateside to Washington, D.C., where she worked in the intelligence branch of the
Military District of Washington The United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is one of nineteen major commands of the United States Army. It is headquartered in Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. The missions of the units in the Military District of Was ...
headquarters. In 1957, she graduated from Strategic Intelligence School, and then reported to
Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...
, Georgia, where she served as the head of recruiting for the Southeastern United States for three years. In 1961, she was put in charge of the WAC detachment at
Fort Myer, Virginia Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple ...
, the largest detachment in the United States. While there, she worked on building a woman's exhibit for a traveling set of exhibits that would inform the country about the army. Bailey worked from 1963 to 1968 traveling with the tour and expanding the women's history presentation. Upon returning to Washington, she worked as a liaison officer for the Senate. In 1970, she made deputy commander at the training center in
Fort McClellan Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, is a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops. After t ...
, Alabama. On August 2, 1971 Bailey became the director of the Women's Army Corps and was promoted to brigadier general. As director, Bailey is remembered for designing the army's female drill sergeant hat in 1972. Her design was taken from the Australian bush hat, and was beige in color. In 1983, the color was changed to green with the style remaining unchanged. Bailey retired from the army in July 1975.


Personal life

In 1943, she married Marine Sergeant Major Roy Carson Bailey. They remained married until he died in a car accident in 1966. Bailey died at the Knollwood military retirement facility in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
, on July 18, 2009. She had Alzheimer's disease. She is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
.


Decorations


References


External links


Women Veterans Historical Collection
– digitized letters, diaries, photographs, uniforms, and oral histories from WACs, including Mildred I. Bailey
Women in the U.S. ArmyWAAC/WAC history and WWII women's uniforms in color
— World War II US women's service organizations (WAC, WAVES, ANC, NNC, USMCWR, PHS, SPARS, ARC and WASP) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Mildred Inez 1919 births 2009 deaths Female generals of the United States Army Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Craven County, North Carolina People from Kinston, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni Women's Army Corps soldiers 21st-century American women