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Irene C. Halfman

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Irene C. Halfman

This April 5, 1945, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 1, column 3:
    A happy Easter was spent by the Joseph Halfman family, with two great surprises; the first when Pvt. Irene Halfman came home on leave from Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, and later in the day when Mrs. Frederick Scholz, the former Anna Mae Halfman, from Akron, Ohio, called.
This April 26, 1945, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 4, column 2:
    Ft. Des Moines, Ia., April 11 -- Pvt. Irene C. Halfman, Lowell, has completd training in the Motor Vehicle Operator's Course of the First Women's Army Corps training center here.
    Army specialist schools here include a Cooks course, where members of the WAC learn to prepare food, cut meat, and bake the Army way; Clerks course, where members acquire a thorough knowledge of military office routine and maintenance of army records; Motor Vehicle Operators course, where they learn inspection, maintenance and operation of Army motor vehicles.
    In addition to specialist schools at the training center, Wacs attend Army schools where they study with enlisted men, and also receive "on the job" training at many posts. The Army Medical Department is training a large number of enlisted women as medical and surgical technicians at army general hospitals.
    Wacs are on duty with our armies in vital office and communications jobs in all major theatres overseas, as well as in every state of the Union.
    Pvt. Halfman, the daughter of Joseph Halfman, Lowell, recently reported at headquarters of the San Francisco port of embarkation. She was assigned to the 107th WAC detachment to serve in the newly-created Military Police unit. She is a graduate of Lowell high school with the class of 1938.
This October 24, 1946, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 1, column 5:

    ON WAY TO JAPAN IN NEAR FUTURE

    Word has been received from T/4 Irene C. Halfman that she will soon be on her way to Tokyo, Japan. At the present time she is waiting at Camp Stoneman, Calif., to leave for overseas.
    Irene is the daughter of Joseph F. Halfman, living northwest of Lowell, and has been in the Wacs since December 5th, 1944.
This January 9, 1947, article from the Lowell Tribune can be found on page 1, column 2:

    Irene Halfman Writes of Life in Japan

    In a letter to Joseph Halfman and family from T/4 Irene C. Halfman says she arrived in Tokyo, Japan O.K. and it's quite cold at the time.
    "We docked in Yokahoma at one o'clock and soon after we were all in busses on our way to Tokyo. There were Wacs who were stationed in Yokahoma to meet us when we docked, along with a bunch of G.I.'s and a colored soldier band. When we arrived in Tokyo we went to our hotel, and each girl then got her personal maid. Sure is swell, we don't have to do any of our washing and ironing.
    "Food is swell. Breakfast is served from 6:30 til 8:30; lunch from 11:30 til 1:30; and dinner from 5:30 until 7:30.
    "When I start to work it will be just across the road in General MacArthur's headquarters.
    "Haven't seen much as yet, but will tell you about it as time goes by.
    "All I can say is write, because it's a long time between letters. My address is: T/4 Irene C. Halfman, A-515486, 8225 WAC Bn., G.H.Q., A.F.P.A.C., APO 500, c/o Postmaster, San Francisco, California."
This article was found in the February 27, 1947, issue of the Lowell Tribune, page 8, column 3:

    Lowell Girl On Duty In Japan

    GHQ, Tokyp -- Technician Fourth Grade Irene C. Halfman, of Lowell, recently arrived in Japan as a member of the first battalion of enlisted Wacs to be assigned in Tokyo.
    She is assigned to the WAC Battalion as Company Clerk, where it is her duty to help the administration of the Battalion to run smoothly and efficiently.
    She attended Lowell high school and is a daughter of Joseph F. Halfman, of north of Lowell.
    With 500 enlisted women assigned to General Headquarters, Sgt. Halfman lives at the Mitsubishi Main, a building that was once headquarters for officials of the Japanese Mitsubishi Industries.
    Observing the Oriental scene, Sgt. Halfman has ridden in a 'rickshaw to the Ginza (market place) where there is displayed a colorful conglomeration of wares in the booths and small sidewalk shops. She has spent an afternoon session at the War Crimes Trial.
    Sgt. Halfman enlisted in the Women's Army Corp at Indianapolis in November of 1944. Her basic training was taken at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa. Further training in the Motor Transport school followed. At its completion she served at Ft. Mason, Calif. Reporting then to Camp Stoneman, the Sgt. awaited orders which would send her overseas.
    Two years after her enlistment, she was beginning what was perhaps the most interesting venture of her Army career, as she boarded the ship which was to bring her to Japan.
    With twenty-four months of service to her record, she wears the Good Conduct Medal, Victory Medal, the American Theatre Ribbon and the Meritorious Service Unit Award.
This article was found in the December 4, 1947, issue of the Lowell Tribune, page 3, column 1:

    LOWELL WOMAN IS MacARTHUR STAFF "PIONEER"

    GHQ Special News Service, Tokyo -- There were two Indiana women in the cast of "pioneers"--the first enlisted Wacs assigned to General MacArthur's headquarters--who gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of their 8225th WAC Battalion on November 24th in Tokyo.
    Staff Sgt. Irene C. Halfman, of Lowell, and T/3 Frances Fisher, of Knox, were among the shipment of 200 eager members of the Women's Army Corps who crowded the rail of the USA Hospital Ship "Comfort" as it steamed into Yokohama harbor one year ago.
    After a year, the women still recall their welcome. Throngs of Japanese crowded about as they climbed, laden with musette bags, out of GI buses in front of the Mitsubishi Main, the grey stone building which was to be both home and headquarters while they served in Japan.
    A little later, their uniforms pressed to perfection and hair slicked down, came jeep-borne soldiers from units all over the city. "By evening," one Wac remembers, "the streets were packed with honking jeeps, three deep, for blocks around. They all wanted to welcome us in person."
    There was work to be done, however. The Army's women were soon assigned in offices at General Headquarters, busy proving that they had an important contribution to make to the Occupation.
    The 8225th WAC Battalion now totals 500 women. They perform 51 varied skills which range through every page of the Army's classification manual.
    Staff Sgt. Irene C. Halfman is a chief clerk in the office of the Civil Property Custodian. The correspondence which she handles deals with restitution of war-looted or displaced property to rightful owners. She is the daughter of Joseph F. Halfman, Route 2, Lowell, and is also celebrating the beginning of her fifth year of WAC service this month.
    Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Fisher, Route 2, Knox, T/3 Frances Fisher is routing clerk in the distribution center of the Adjutant General's office. She works in General MacArthur's official headquarters--the famed Dai Ichi Building.
This September 16, 1948 Lowell Tribune article was found on page 5, column 4:
    Sgt. Irene Halfman, who has been stationed at General MacArthur's headquarters, Tokyo, Japan, the past two years, arrived home last week on a 40-day leave. She will be reassigned on her return to service.
Last updated on May 31, 2006.

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