She was one of the highest-ranking African American officers during the war and served as a wartime adviser on racial issues.

[2] In 1942 Waddy joined the newly formed Women's Army Auxiliary Corps officer candidate school at Fort Des Moines.

[3] During a visit to the Fort Des Moines training base, she made a recommendation that official memoranda posted on information boards eliminate "all reference to white and colored personnel", saying that it would bring "less embarrassment to the colored personnel" and a "feeling that a forward step has been made toward democracy.

Her broadcast acknowledged that the segregated status of the armed forces did "not represent an ideal of democracy", but said that joining the military was not "a retreat from our fight," but "our contribution to its realization.

[2] The United States Army Women's Museum in Fort Lee, Virginia, holds a collection of memorabilia related to Waddy.