Jeanette Goldberg Women's Army Corps (WAC) papers

Jeanette (Goldberg) Ellman was born in Philadelphia on August 11, 1920 to Israel and Dora (Maltz) Goldberg. From 1938 through late 1942 she managed the office of Wm. Miller, a Philadelphia manufacturer of upholstered furniture, slip covers, and draperies.

Jeanette enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) at Philadelphia on November 11, 1942. The WAAC, an auxiliary unit, was created on May 15 of that year to allow women to serve in the U.S. Army. Jeanette reported for active duty on December 15 to the 2nd WAAC Training Center, Daytona Beach, Florida. There she became a junior leader in the Fourth Training Regiment, 22nd Company, and was promoted to leader on May 14, 1943. On May 18 Jeanette's regiment was inactivated at Daytona Beach and she was transferred to Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, where she was promoted to sergeant. She served in the Inspection and Processing Branch beginning in June 1943, eventually becoming its chief clerk. On July 1, 1943, the WAAC was converted to active duty status as the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Jeanette Goldberg continued to serve until December 9, 1945, when she was separated from the military at Fort Dix, New Jersey. She was the recipient of the Good Conduct Medal.

In August 1945, at the USO in Temple Emanu-El, in Manhattan, Jeanette met her future husband, Sidney Ellman (1913–2002), who was serving in the U.S. Navy. They married in Philadelphia in 1949, and had two children, Michael and Joyce. Jeanette attended Temple University's School of Oral Hygiene (Class of 1947), and later worked for the New York City Board of Health (1966–1975). She died in the Bronx on February 11, 2000.