#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Anne Eloise Sweeney

Anne Eloise Sweeney was born into a famous military family on September 19, 1912, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Her father was Maj. Gen. Walter C. Sweeney, Sr., a decorated soldier who fought from the Spanish-American War through World War II, and her brother earned fame at the Battle of Midway in 1942. Anne, meanwhile, would have to work her way up from the very bottom in a service that was only supposed to last for the duration of the war “plus six months”—the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).

Sweeny had recently graduated from Vassar College and was working at a newspaper when she decided to join the WAAC. Her skills and talents were recognized early on, and she was sent to Fort Des Moines in Iowa to attend Officer Candidate School (OCS). Shortly after becoming an officer, the WAAC was converted to become a part of the Army of the United States and simply became the Women’s Army Corps, or WAC. Even with this advancement, the WAC was still considered to be temporary, and the understanding was that all of the female service members would be sent home at the end of the war.

Meanwhile, Sweeney served in Ceylon on the staff of Lord Mountbatten and also served in China. She had rendered impeccable service during the war, but with the end of the conflict in 1945, she and all of her fellow women in uniform entered an uneasy peace, unsure of what their future would hold. Thankfully, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was a strong advocate for keeping women in the military and, after a few years of wrangling, the result was the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948. Women were now a permanent presence in the US military.

Sweeney would continue to serve, and in 1957 she became the 7th Deputy Director of the WAC under Col. Mary Louise Milligan (Rasmuson). In a newspaper interview she gave shortly after the promotion, she said, “There’s a lot of satisfaction in the service, and many opportunities to develop one’s self, opportunities you sometimes don’t find in civilian life.”

Lt. Col. Sweeney died on September 15, 1989, just four days short of her 77th birthday. At the time of her death, women were serving in all military specialties with the exception of combat arms.

She now rests in Section OSD, Site 818 at San Francisco National Cemetery. Please take a moment to honor her service by visiting her Veterans Legacy Memorial page.

This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.