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E. Louise Stewart, MCWR
Who’s that pretty lady on the magazine cover?
By Sabrina Messenger
You may recognize this highly glamorized iconic picture on the cover of the May 1943 issue of a popular general interest magazine of the time called Collier’s. Her face shows up on a lot of USMC related merchandise, including t-shirts, mugs, and computer mousepads. You may have asked yourself “Was she just a fashion model or an actual Marine?”
Elizabeth Louise Stewart (sometimes known as E. Louise Stewart or simply “Louise”) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was no ordinary pin-up girl hired from a modeling agency. That smiling Marine had every reason to look as uber-confident as she did in her photographs. In February 1943, she made history by joining a unique group of women. She was one of the first SIX women to accept an officer’s commission in the United States Marine Corps.
Why is this such a big deal? Well, you might recall that during the First World War, there were no female commissioned officers! Moreover, the highest enlisted rank the female reservist of that time could ever hope to attain was sergeant. As it was, women officers were still limited to Colonel and below, and could not exercise disciplinary authority against enlisted men, but still it was a major advancement for the times!
Despite such a significant accomplishment, E. Louise Stewart remains a mystery to many a Marine Corps history enthusiast. What did she do in the Corps? And whatever happened to her after the war was over? Well, the author did a bit of sleuthing and here’s what little bit was found about E. Louise Stewart.Elizabeth was a daughter of the Keystone State. She was born approximately in 1919 in Villanova, Pennsylvania (a university town and suburb of Philadelphia). She spent at least part of her childhood in another suburb called Bryn Mawr. She was more than likely from a well-to-do family as those areas were and remain areas where the affluent make their homes. Elizabeth may have attended a preparatory school in Rhode Island at some point in her adolescence. Her name shows up on a Rhode Island State Census with the likely age and location of residence.
Elizabeth was a 1939 graduate of Wellesley College, one of the famed “Seven Sisters” colleges (the equivalent to the prestigious Ivy League). According to the college yearbook, The Legenda, “Louise” she was quite active in variety of leadership roles! She was a 1st alto in choir, had acted in school productions, worked on school publications as a reporter. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her Collier’s magazine cover is part of the university archives.
After graduation, E. Louise, like many of her sister graduates, spent some time in the Big Apple. Indeed that is where she joined the Corps! On February 16, 1943, only three days after accepting her commission, the New York PM Daily published an article on page 5 of their “Daily Picture” section about the first local women to join the Corps. A very lovely picture of Elizabeth is prominently displayed in the article with the following caption:
‘The Situation is well in hand. 1st Lt Louise Stewart, 24, of Villanova, Pa (Wellesley ’39) still is a bit embarrassed when enlisted male Marines salute her.”
Interesting side note: According to Wikipedia, The New York PM Daily was financed by millionaire Marshall Field III, and was considered Socialist in its tone. Interesting that the Marines will use any kind of publicity! haha
1st Lt Stewart was featured in several military and civilian publications. With her background, one can easily understand why. Collier’s Magazine wrote this little blurb about E. Louise Stewart when they featured her on the cover of their March 27, 1943 issue.
FIRST LT. E. LOUISE STEWART, Cover Girl, this issue, was sworn into the Women’s Reserve of the Marine Corps, February 10th, one of its first five members. Got the yen when she edited a column “Your Men in Uniform” for a monthly magazine. Is now barnstorming the country, helping recruit girl Marines. Wellesley ’39, home town, Villanova, Pa., Lieutenant Stewart is as pretty as her picture.
Which monthly magazine? Well, according to Lt.Colonel Aaron B. O’Connell’s book Underdogs! The Making of the Modern Marine Corps,Elizabeth previously worked at the Ladies Home Journal. Further research reveals that LHJ did indeed run a column entitled “Your Men in Uniform.” Perhaps that column is what initially inspired her to serve her country?
Regarding Elizabeth’s accepting of a commission, the Underdogs book states on page 76
“As soon as the Marine Corps opened its ranks to women in 1943, General Denig started a woman Marine Section at the Division of Public Affairs and recruited Louise Stewart, an editor of the Ladies Home Journal to run it.”
Elizabeth was put to work immediately. However, she didn’t just sit in an office in New York or Washington. Elizabeth and Major Ruth Cheney Streeter traveled the nation in a dual mission of recruitment and publicity. They spoke before women’s clubs and Chambers of Commerce to gain support for the MCWR.
According to the book Free A Man To Fight: Women Marines in World War II by Colonel Mary Stremlow, USMCR (Ret), a more subtle but equally important reason for the tour and indeed for having a Director of Women’s Reserve at all, according to Colonel Streeter,
“. . . was because the parents were not going to let their little darlings go in among all these wolves unless they thought that somebody was keeping a motherly eye on them.”
E Louise Stewart may or may not saw herself completely as either ‘motherly’ or as ‘the wholesome girl next door.’ One thing is clear: when one reads the piece she wrote for the Marine Corps Gazette’s May/June 1943 issue entitled “Shakedown Cruise.”, she definitely has developed a different view of herself while taking on this national publicity tour.
“Somewhere on the trip something happened to us…We weren’t women in uniform anymore. We were Marines.”
During that time 1st Lt Stewart wrote news stories and media releases that were published in several civilian and military publications, including the Marine Corps Chevron published in San Diego and read by many West Coast based Marines. From 1943 to 1945, she also trained other women Marines to do public relations work for the Marine Corps. This took place in Washington, DC and several other major cities.
All of this can be confirmed by the Marine Corps Muster Rolls.
Elizabeth must have been very good at her job because based on what could be gleaned from the Marine Corps Muster Rolls, Elizabeth was promoted to Captain by the Spring of 1944. The Rolls, sadly, also reveal that the pace she was on was possibly beginning to take a toll on her health! At various times throughout 1945 into 1946, the rolls shows her as being ill and having been admitted to Naval Hospitals in Boston as well as Bethesda, MD. The rolls don’t mention what the exact illness was. Apparently, the illness or illnesses were severe enough that she was placed on the list to be “detached” sent home and await retirement from the Marine Corps. That finally took place by January 1947. Her brilliant military career was effectively over at the age of 28
So the biggest mystery of all? Whatever happened to Captain Elizabeth Louise Stewart after her ‘retirement’ from the Corps.
Several years ago in the ‘Nouncements, Nancy Wilt, the historian of the Women Marines Association, put out the call to ask if anyone knew of E. Louise’s whereabouts, but from what the writer can gather, there were no responses.
However, while researching at ancestry.com, the writer discovered a possible clue as to her whereabouts. The name Elizabeth L Stewart shows up on a 1948 Honolulu, Hawaii, passenger/Crew Listing!
What appears on that passenger list seems to match with what we already know about her…an Elizabeth L Stewart, of Philadelphia, PA, age 29, embarked from the island of Oahu. The ship’s destination was Samoa.
Now whether this is the same “Elizabeth L Stewart” who ended her military career as a Captain the year before is anyone’s guess. I like to think that it is…and that her reward for all her hard work to keep the Marine Corps in a positive light publicity-wise may have been rewarded with some extended R&R, fun in the sun!
How’s that for literally riding off into the sunset?
Semper Fi!
Works Cited: Books: American Women during World War II: An Encyclopedia By Doris Weatherford Underdogs! The Making Of the Modern Marine Corps by Lt Colonel Aaron B O’Connell Marine Corps Historical Reference Pamphlet: Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in World War II US Marine Corps Muster Rolls at Ancestry.com Honolulu, Hawaii Passenger and Crew Lists 100-1959 at ancestry.comComments
10 responses to “E. Louise Stewart, MCWR”
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Reblogged this on Semper Fi, Baby! Yeah, We're All That! and commented:
Forget where in the world is Carmen San Diego! Where in the world is E. Louise Stewart, Captain, USMCWR. Anyone out there with clues? -
So interesting, thank you for posting!
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I have found her listed in the Find A Grave web site. She is listed as Elisabeth Louise Stewart Gordon, memorial #22606359, born June 24, 1918, died Feb. 3, 1980, buried at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA. She is buried next to her husband, Maj. Raymond Carlton Gordon, USMC, born March 13, 1919, died March 23, 2001 (he received 7 Air Medals and 2 Dist. Flying Cross in WWII). In Find A Grave, it does not mention her service in the Marine Corps. She was the daughter of Frank & Bessie Stewart.
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Leon: thank you for posting your information here. I went to the page and checked it out. It’s amazing how many times Women Marines are not acknowledged at such pages. Thank you for doing that!
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Sabrina: You are very welcome. As you noticed, the Find A Grave web site can be a useful tool for research, but the memorials there vary greatly as to the amount of details they have. Some of the contributors might not have much to go by (whatever their source might be), or might not have time to get details. In some cases, they actually visit and photograph a grave, but sometimes a grave does not mention their military service. It gets difficult, for sure.
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I happened upon this posting somewhat by accident, but its fortuitous in that I’m a nephew of Louise Stewart Gordon by virtue of her marriage to my uncle, Raymond Carlton Gordon. I can’t tell you all that much about her except that the postings here are correct to my knowledge in that she was something of an icon to the U. S. Marines of WW II. As has been stated, she was a daughter of Frank and Bessie Stewart who lived in Philadelphia or one of its suburbs. He was a very successful contractor there and many public buildings there are attributable to him.
She and Ray C. Gordon met when both were members of the U. S. Marines, but how and where that occurred I have long forgotten. I have his military memorabilia but have never gone through it, I’m sorry to say. Yet, he was something of a hero as a Marine pilot who flew numerous missions in WW II. They were married circa 1949 in PA and probably Philadelphia. My recollection is that she once told me that the general in charge of Selective Service, I think, was part of the wedding party.
Ray and Louise lived their early married life in Wilmette, IL, but moved back to the east coast within something like a half-dozen years because that was Louise’s home turf, the place where she had numerous social contacts. They may have lived in the Philadelphia area for a few years in the late 1950’s, but I’m not sure of it. I do know that they lived in Framingham, MA, throughout the 1960’s, and moved to a beautiful large home neighboring a pond at Sherborn, MA, circa 1970.
Ray grew up in Jacksonville, IL, as the child of Carl and Stella Cline Gordon and as the younger brother and only sibling to my late father, James Arthur Gordon. Ray’s entrance into WW II circa 1942 or 1943 and life afterwards had literally no connection to that area other living in Chicago some 220 miles away for a few years and the few rare visits with his family members in the Jacksonville area until his marriage.
There are a few memories I have of Louise but only a few. First, she did have numerous social connections on the east coast and grew up in a wealthy household. Louise told me that she never learned to cook as a girl since they had household help for that. Secondly, she did keep all kinds of memorabilia from her WW II-era experiences and was proud to have been part of it. Thirdly, she was enthralled with four things beyond that—being a descendant of one of the people who arrived in America aboard the Mayflower, raising beautiful and personally well-trained collies, riding horses and organizing fox hunts. She planned a lot of fox hunts and was an active participant when they lived in Framingham particularly, complete with the historically accurate fox-hunt regalia. Sadly Louise died at age 61 1/2 of a kidney ailment in 1980. Her father died at the same age and of the same ailment years earlier! Ray and Louise had no children. She did have at least one sister with a nephew and niece born to that sister. I am Ray’s only biological nephew, and he has no biological nieces.
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I happened upon this posting somewhat by accident, but its fortuitous in that I’m a nephew of Louise Stewart Gordon by virtue of her marriage to my uncle, Raymond Carlton Gordon. I can’t tell you all that much about her except that the postings here are correct to my knowledge in that she was something of an icon to the U. S. Marines of WW II. As has been stated, she was a daughter of Frank and Bessie Stewart who lived in Philadelphia or one of its suburbs. He was a very successful contractor there and many public buildings there are attributable to him.
She and Ray C. Gordon met when both were members of the U. S. Marines, but how and where that occurred I have long forgotten. I have his military memorabilia but have never gone through it, I’m sorry to say. Yet, he was something of a hero as a Marine pilot who flew numerous missions in WW II. They were married circa 1949 in PA and probably Philadelphia. My recollection is that she once told me that the general in charge of Selective Service, I think, was part of the wedding party.
Ray and Louise lived their early married life in Wilmette, IL, but moved back to the east coast within something like a half-dozen years because that was Louise’s home turf, the place where she had numerous social contacts. They may have lived in the Philadelphia area for a few years in the late 1950’s, but I’m not sure of it. I do know that they lived in Framingham, MA, throughout the 1960’s, and moved to a beautiful large home neighboring a pond at Sherborn, MA, circa 1970.
Ray grew up in Jacksonville, IL, as the child of Carl and Stella Cline Gordon and as the younger brother and only sibling to my late father, James Arthur Gordon. Ray’s entrance into WW II circa 1942 or 1943 and life afterwards had literally no connection to that area other living in Chicago some 220 miles away for a few years and the few rare visits with his family members in the Jacksonville area until his marriage.
There are a few memories I have of Louise but only a few. First, she did have numerous social connections on the east coast and grew up in a wealthy household. Louise told me that she never learned to cook as a girl since they had household help for that. Secondly, she did keep all kinds of memorabilia from her WW II-era experiences and was proud to have been part of it. Thirdly, she was enthralled with four things beyond that—being a descendant of one of the people who arrived in America aboard the Mayflower, raising beautiful and personally well-trained collies, riding horses and organizing fox hunts. She planned a lot of fox hunts and was an active participant when they lived in Framingham particularly, complete with the historically accurate fox-hunt regalia. Sadly Louise died at age 61 1/2 of a kidney ailment in 1980. Her father died at the same age and of the same ailment years earlier! Ray and Louise had no children. She did have at least one sister with a nephew and niece born to that sister. I am Ray’s only biological nephew, and he has no biological nieces.
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Louise lived on Edmunds Road,Framingham ma and her memorial service was held at the Martha and Mary Chapel at the Wayside Inn She was joint Master of Fox Hounds of the Millwoood Hunt Club in Framingham until it dispanded in 1969. I knew her for many years as I was also a member ot Millwood. She was a great lady planning many social events for the hunt.
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I saw a beautiful picture of her in a National Geographic Book “Men, Ships and the Sea” (Page 396,1963?) as a crew member on a sailboat “Yankee” from a book “Yankee’s Wanderworld”. In this picture, she looked a lot like my Mother who was of Swedish descent. I looked up her name in connection with the other book.
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Wes,
I appreciated reading your thoughts about Louise. I was Ray’s nephew, and I’m sorry to say I knew neither of them well at all. I wouldn’t say Ray and his brother (my father) were estranged, but the simple fact is that Ray joined the U. S. Marines circa 1943 and lived the rest of his life on the East Coast at great distances from his family in/around Jacksonville, IL. I met Ray only six times in my life, I think, and Louise only five, so I can’t add much to what you already know. I did see their home in Framingham, MA and later their much, much newer home at Sherborn, MA, when spending maybe four days with them. Louise was very pleasant to me, but she was something of a nervous personality, I’d say–one hard to be at ease with me at least, surely mostly a strange to her.
She did tell me about her time in the Marines, the general outline of her youth in Philadelphia and her early married life when they lived in Wilmette, one of Chicago’s north shore suburbs. I remember that she loved raising collies in her earlier years and organizing fox hunts during her years at Framingham and Sherborn. We had nice talks and she was kind enough to me on each occasion. But, overall you’d likely know far more about her than I do. By the way, Ray took my wife and me to the Wayside Inn when we visited him some four months after Louise died, and it was a very nice place as I recall.
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