Missing in Action: The Accra WACs

Since the story of the Accra WACs was made public, the family of Mildred Higgins Rice has donated her collection to the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware. Rice enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in 1944 and quickly travelled to the First WAC Basic Training Center at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. By the summer of 1944, she was assigned to the 561st Army Air Forces Base Unit, Rosecrans Field in Missouri with the Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command. Towards the end of July 1944, she was transferred to the 565th Army Air Forces Base Unit, Reno Army Air Base in Nevada. By October, she was in Accra with the rest of the 1202d Army Air Forces Base Unit. She writes home in the winter of 1945, saying that she's been working long hours - sometimes 56 hours a week. On April 8, 1945, Rice writes to her mother, saying that she's a bit homesick, but she says "I would rather be here than anywhere else, if I can't be home."

Pfc. Rice's collection sheds light on the impact the accident had on those WACs who continued in service in England despite the loss of their friends. A memorial service was held on 12 June 1945 at HQ, European Division, Air Transport Command in London. Commanding Officer Patrice Brooks writes a condolence letter to Rice's mother claiming she was one of the best she ever commanded and Capt. Elsie Sykora in London writes to mention the memorial service and the grief of the WACs recently transferred to her division who had served and were friends with Rice.

To see Pfc. Rice's collection on display, visit the Air Mobility Command Museum.

Mildred Rice with another WAC and four male Soldiers in front of a 1202d AAB building