as the us entered world war ii in 1941, women were provided opportunities to volunteer for their country and almost 250,000 women served in the armed forces, mostly in the women's army corps (wac), two-thirds of whom were single and under the age of twenty-five. women were recruited with posters showing muscular, short-haired women wearing tight-fitting tailored uniforms. bessie stringfield, a pioneer african-american female motorcyclist, joined a motorcycle dispatch unit of the army.