 One year before America entered World War II, Timely Comics released Captain America Comics number one. One panel in the comic depicted the star-spangled hero punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Little did they know, that panel was a foreshadow of what would take place in the coming decade. This is the Marine Corps through the decades. December 7th, 1941. A dark day in American history. 2,403 American lives lost. Three ships destroyed. Though the United States attempted to stay neutral through the first two years of World War II, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor forced the United States to declare war and enter the worldwide conflict. On September 16th, 1940, President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, requiring the registration of all men between 21 and 35 for a draft. With a good portion of able-bodied men being sent off to war, many jobs were left that needed to be filled. To entice women to try new jobs, Rosie the Riveter was brought to life. As women were changing, so was life in general, such as fashion, cars, movies, music, technology, and people's mindsets. In 1942, while America awaited the release of Walt Disney's future hit movie Bambi, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox authorized the Marine Corps to create the Women's Reserve and by November 7th, Commandant Lieutenant General Thomas Holcomb approved the formation of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Unlike World War I, women played a more prominent role. Women like Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter, the first director of Women Marine Reservist, Captain Ann Lentz, the first commissioned officer, and February 13th, 1943, officially opened enlistments for women. The first woman to join was Private Lucille McLaren. Within a year, the women's reserve went from four women to nearly 15,000 with over 200 assignments. While the war created a hole in the American workforce, it also left a hole in the world of sports. Americans looked upon the world of sports as a distraction during these dark times, so women stepped up to fill in for the men. The All-American Girls Baseball League was started in 1943 as an attempt to replace Major League Baseball, which had been canceled due to the war. With the end of the war, came more drastic changes for women. Society feared that there would no longer be jobs for the returning men, and women were encouraged to return to their rightful place. Many women did not take kindly to that. Women like Annie Graham from Detroit, Michigan, the first African-American woman to enlist in the Marine Corps. With the activation of third recruit battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Paris Island, women began arriving to form the first platoon of 50 women Marines to take a training course for non-veteran women Marines. As women took a lead role in the Marine Corps, the public immediately began inventing catchy nicknames for them. While many of the nicknames were cute plays on words, to single them out as women, like dainty devil dogs or glam Marines, General Holcombe thought of a more suitable name for them. In an article published in Time Magazine on May 27th, 1944, he said, They are Marines. They don't have a nickname and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere at a Marine post. They inherit the traditions of Marines. They are Marines. Though World War II led to an increase in women in the workforce and military, it also led to the start of a boom.