Breaking Glass Ceilings and Rising in Ranks
By Lucy LeVon
Iona Connolly. Photo courtesy of The Gazette, April 1, 2018. https://obits.gazette.com/us/obituaries/gazette/name/iona-connolly-obituary?id=12062899. Accessed August 10, 2025.
Iona Sherman Connolly
July 5, 1918 - December 7, 2017
Viola and Abe Sherman could still hear the boom of fireworks on July 5th, 1918, as they welcomed their first child into the world.[1] Iona Sherman was born in Valentine, Nebraska, a quaint rural area where her grandfather had previously built a sod cabin. When she was four, her brother Jack was born, and two years later, her other brother Robert was born. Despite Iona's small-town upbringing, she was extremely driven and pursued higher education at Nebraska State Normal School after high school. “Nebraska State Normal School” was the term used for four different colleges that focused solely on training educators; they have now been renamed, but were historically the pillars for educational training in Nebraska. Iona flew through her education and graduated by the age of twenty. She remained close to home and likely taught at a local school to support herself and her family.
Iona was twenty-three when tragedy struck the United States. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S. Naval base. Hundreds of thousands of Americans felt called to protect and serve the country, including all of the Sherman children. Both Robert and Jack enlisted immediately; however, Iona would have to wait. It was unfathomable for Americans to imagine women in uniform; however, the armed forces needed the support of women to succeed. Women were first allowed to work in aircraft stations without pay or military status, but as the war raged on, more women wished to serve their country. On May 15, 1942, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially established by President Roosevelt.[2] Iona was on the next train to Omaha, Nebraska, to enlist. Her official enlistment date is recorded as August 15, 1942, and she would be sent to Des Moines, Iowa, for training. This training location originally served as the first and only center for African American soldiers in World War I and was chosen as the first training site for the WAAC.
For the next twenty-seven years, Iona would go on to rise in ranks and experience world-changing events firsthand. At the beginning of the WAAC, women received food, uniforms, accommodation, and pay, but were not seen at the same level as male soldiers. Women in the WAAC did not receive overseas pay, official military rank, or any government benefits.[3] Despite these inequalities, many women saw the WAAC as an opportunity to expand their horizons and learn skills that were usually not available to women. Having come from a smaller community, Iona used her time in the WAAC to branch out. She began as a 3rd -grade Officer yet was promoted to Captain by July of 1943. It was also during July 1943 that the WAAC would be fully inducted into the armed forces and become the Women's Army Corps (WAC). As a Captain, Iona served in England as they prepared for the Normandy Invasion, found herself in Paris a week after their liberation from Nazi forces in 1944, and attended the Conference of Women in China during 1955. After fourteen years, Iona had shown incredible determination, leadership, and merit, earning herself the position of Major in 1956. With the position of Major, Iona would go on to spend three years as a Company Commander of a WAC Detachment in Tokyo. Eventually, she would return to the States and continue to serve, making her way to Lieutenant Colonel. She would move often, working at the WAC Center at Fort McClellan and the Army Missile Command in Alabama, as a WAC Coordinator for Army Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, and as a WAC Staff Advisor to the Commanding General of Third Army in Atlanta. All of these roles allowed her leadership, teaching experience, and natural drive to shine. Iona reached an incredibly high rank, showing how much effort and resilience she had to offer. Despite society's continued disdain for women in the armed forces, Iona proved what she could accomplish regardless of her gender.
In 1970, Iona would retire from the Armed Forces, but she never stopped serving her community. Settled down in Colorado Springs, Iona would be a pillar of her community through volunteer work. She was a member of the North Colorado Springs Rotary Club and was even honored as the “Rotarian of the Year”. She would sadly pass away on December 7, 2017, after a life full of devotion to others.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Information for this biography can be found at:
“Iona Connolly Obituary,” The Gazette, April 1, 2018, https://obits.gazette.com/us/obituaries/gazette/name/iona-connolly-obituary?id=12062899. Accessed August 10, 2025.
“1940 United States Federal Census” Ancestry.com, entry for Iona Sherman Connolly https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2442/records/58506733?tid=&pid=&queryId=9b9b251c-b59a-4d8d-80d5. Accessed August 10, 2025.
“U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985.” Ancestry.com. entry for Iona Sherman Connolly, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2345/records/2508702?tid=&pid=&queryId=6019d659-2dde-4183-b3ed, accessed August 10, 2025.
[2] National Park Services, “The Women’s Army Corps,” National Park Services, https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/upload/WACSiteBull_rev9April2018.pdf. accessed August 10, 2025.
[3] Hannah Haack, “Fort Des Moines: A Series of Firsts in Wartime Service (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/fort-des-moines-a-series-of-firsts-in-wartime-service.htm, accessed August 10, 2025.
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