Martha Rogers’ World War II uniform exhibited at Union County Heritage Museum

Martha Rogers, who grew up on Alabama Street in New Albany, was among the first Women Army Auxiliary Corps officers sent to the North African theater during World War II. Her uniform is on exhibit at the Union County Heritage Museum, which said it wanted to salute her service on Veterans Day.

On Nov. 13, 1942, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower requested five WAAC officers to report to Allied Forces in Algiers as executive secretaries. The ship carrying Rogers and four other officers from Great Britain to Algiers was torpedoed and set ablaze. A British destroyer rescued two women from the burning, sinking deck.

Rogers and the remaining officers escaped in a lifeboat, helped rescue seamen struggling in the water, and were picked up and brought safely to Algiers. They arrived without uniforms or personal supplies but went on to serve on Eisenhower’s staff through the North African, Mediterranean and European campaigns.

Their duties included handling top-secret communications and intelligence reports, office administration, and providing aid to other soldiers.

Source: Union County Heritage Museum.