T4801

Oveta Culp Hobby

First United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

Cover Announcement 

Oveta Culp Hobby

High-value 84t stamp honoring the Commanding Officer of the Women's Army Corps (WACs) during World War II

Oveta Culp was born on January 19, 1905 in Killeen, Texas. She attended Baylor College and South Texas School of Law but did not graduate from either. In 1931 she married William Hobby who was the publisher of the "Houston Post" newspaper and a former Texas governor. She began working for the paper and ultimately became its publisher.

During World War II, she headed the War Department's women's section and then became director of the Auxiliary Corps which was to become the Women's Army Corps. The members of the WACs were the first women other than nurses to wear the uniform of the United States Army. Oveta Hobby rose to the rank of colonel and was the first woman to be awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Medal. My individually hand painted cachet shows Hobby in her uniform and the medal she won as well as a WAC working on an Army truck.

This is a nice cover and, in addition to Collins collectors, it will be actively sought by prominent women and military topical collectors. And it is an eighty-four cent high-value stamp which many collectors put a premium on since fewer First Day Covers are produced overall. It's an excellent Collins cover pertaining to United States military history. The first commander of the Women's Army Corps — WAC Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. Collins #T4801 at $14.50.