DUANE
Duane's take
The marker tells this story, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, you want to talk about a woman who left a mark on this country that runs deep — we're talking about Oveta Culp Hobby, and the story starts right here in Bell County, in Killeen, on January 19, 1905. She was the second of seven children born to Isaac W. and Emma Elizabeth Culp — Emma went by Hoover before she married — and from early on, young Oveta had her eyes open.
Her father, Isaac, was a state representative, and somewhere in watching him work the levers of law and government, she caught the bug. Not just an interest — a knack. She developed real skills as a legislative parliamentarian, and she sharpened her voice as a reporter for the Austin Statesman before the road carried her to Houston.
In Houston, she renewed a family friendship with a man named William P. Hobby — former governor of Texas, president of the Houston Post-Dispatch. On February 23, 1931, the two of them married.
Houston suited her. But Houston, as it turned out, wasn't the whole stage. May of 1942.
America is at war, and somebody in Washington had the good sense to call on Oveta Culp Hobby. She was appointed director of the newly organized Women's Army Auxiliary Corps — the WAAC. Colonel Hobby, they called her, and that title fit.
Under her leadership, the WAAC gave American women the opportunity to step into the war effort in a way they never had before. The first WAAC officers graduated in August 1942. Less than a year later, the WAAC was folded into the U.S.
Army itself, reorganized as the WAC — the Women's Army Corps — no longer auxiliary, fully part of the force. Now here's a number worth sitting with. By the end of the war, more than ninety-nine thousand members of the WAC had served with army commands in every theater of the war.
Every theater. That is an ocean of women who answered a call that Colonel Hobby helped make possible. She resigned in June 1945 and came back to Houston.
But resting wasn't really her style. From 1953 to 1955, she served as the first U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Dwight Eisenhower — the first.
She kept adding firsts to her name the way some people collect regrets. Oveta Culp Hobby died in Houston on August 16, 1995 — a decorated World War II officer, a respected business and civic leader, a woman born in Killeen who helped reshape what it meant for women to serve this country. Some folks leave a town.
Some folks leave a legacy. Oveta Culp Hobby left both.
What the marker says
Oveta Culp Hobby served as the director of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Her organizational skills and leadership helped make the WAC a respected part of the American military and opened new possibilities for women in U.S. postwar society. Born in Killeen on January 19, 1905, Oveta was the second of seven children of Isaac W. and Emma Elizabeth (Hoover) Culp. A good student, she developed an interest in law and state government from her father, a state representative. She gained skills as a legislative parliamentarian and as a reporter for the Austin Statesman before moving to Houston. There she renewed a family friendship with former governor William P. Hobby, president of the Houston Post-Dispatch. They married on February 23, 1931. In May 1942, with America at war, Oveta Culp Hobby was appointed director of the newly organized Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Under Colonel Hobby’s leadership, the WAAC provided American women the opportunity to help in the war effort. The first WAAC officers graduated in August 1942. Less than a year later, the WAAC became part of the U.S. Army as the WAC. By the end of the war, more than 99,000 members of the WAC served with army commands in all theaters of the war. Colonel Hobby resigned in June 1945 and returned to Houston. She remained there and continued her service to the city, and from 1953 to 1955 served as the first U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare during Pres. Dwight Eisenhower’s administration. A decorated World War II officer and respected business and civic leader, Oveta Culp Hobby died in Houston on August 16, 1995.