Miss Rose Ethel Panowski was determined to follow the young men of Santa Rosa County into the armed forces and do her duty. Patriotism was strong in Milton so she went to the recruiting office and enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) on September 9, 1942 and was sent off to basic training. She was the daughter of Philibert Panowski and Ethel Maud Field, both immigrants from London, England. Her father sailed to America aboard the SS Oceanic in 1905 and received his naturalization certificate in 1912. He and Ethel settled in Lake Forest, Illinois where young Rose was born on January 10, 1914. Her father supported his family as a sheet metal worker, an occupation that paid a meager wage.
The family resettled in Milton sometime after 1930 while Rose finished school. Rose went on to graduate from Florida State College for Women in 1936 and then the Peabody College for Teachers for her Master's Degree. She taught physical education at Milton (High School) until war the broke out with Japan.
Following her enlistment as a private she applied for and was accepted into Officer Candidate School and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. Not satisfied with these accomplishments she set her eyes on the Adjutant General's School in Washington, DC. Transferred to Kelly Air Field in San Antonio she was promoted to the rank of Captain and appointed the commanding officer of the new "Air Corps WAC" detachment in September 1944. As late as 1956, Rose was still listed locally as in the military. She passed away on July 16, 2005 in Pensacola, Florida.
Milton's Captain Rose Ethel Panowski,
Women's Air Corps, WWII
The newly organized "Air Corps" of the WAC detachment 1944
Pensacola News Journal 10-8-1944
Rose Ethel Panowski, Florida State College
for Women (FSU) Class of 1936