FROM DEPENDENTS TO INTERDEPENDENCE: THE ARMY WIFE IDEAL AND THE MAKING OF ARMY FAMILY POLICY, 1942-1983

Abstract

This dissertation examines the cultural concept of the Army wife ideal as it appeared and was negotiated in prescriptive literature, periodicals, and lived experiences from 1942 to 1983. Codified in response to the massive influx of married soldiers entering the Army during WWII, the historically-rooted Army officer’s wife ideal provided a platform for the Army to shape the millions of brides into what military leaders needed for success—devoted morale boosters dedicated to the Army and its mission. In codifying the ideal and altering it after the war to engage soldiers’ wives as advocates for the Army and its mission, purveyors of the ideal also created a platform for wives to shape the Army into what they needed to meet the unique demands associated with life married to service. Actual Army wives, as individuals and as part of national advocacy organizations, modeled the foundational elements of the ideal while simultaneously challenging the Army, Department of Defense, jurists, and national leaders to help them address the realities they faced married to the Army. Their efforts made it clear that the strength of the Army was closely tied to the strength of the Army family. Those who engaged in defining and shaping the meaning and responsibilities of Army wives (and, more broadly, military wives) shaped U.S. Army family policy and transformed the Army from an institution that viewed families as merely dependents to one that embraced them as interdependent partners.