Pvt. Alice R. Kelly

In 1943 artist Francis V. Kughler, Hudson River Museum Director H. Armour Smith and Women’s Army Corps recruiter Joanne Coates conceived a plan to encourage women of Yonkers to enlist in the army and honor their contribution. Every Yonkers woman who joined the WACs would have her portrait made in oil or pastel by Kughler.

Kelly was born in 1910 and about 35 years old when she enlisted in 1945. She was one of the many WACs whose families had recently come to America. Her father was born in Ireland, and she was of the first generation to be born in the United States.