SPARs: “Semper Paratus/ Always Ready”

More than 11,000 American women were SPARs — Semper Paratus/ Always Ready — freeing up men for World War II military duty.

The SPAR division was created in 1942 when the Coast Guard, like other military branches, found itself in need of more men at sea and on foreign soil.

Women were assigned to shore positions such as clerks, parachute riggers, and storekeepers.

Though the SPARs disbanded six months after World War II ended, many said its existence helped pave the way for women to join the military as equals with men.  In September 2000, the Coast Guard launched a 225-foot cutter in the port of Marinette, Wisconsin, in honor of these remarkable women.

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