A University of Oklahoma graduate, she wrote several songs during World War II to promote the corps; Captain Douglass was selected in 1944 to command the first all-woman Special Service company.

Born in Coffeyville, Kansas,[1][2] Ruby Jane Douglass grew up in a musical family with an older brother who could play anything "by ear."

[5] Inspired by the martial rhythm of the clicking of her car tires as she drove home from the induction center in Oklahoma City she wrote her first military song, "The WAAC is in Back of You".

[2] According to one source, WAAC commander Col. Oveta Culp Hobby enjoyed hearing the song sufficiently to recognize Douglass, appointing her to the Special Services branch of the army.

[9] Douglass several times was sent to New York City, involved in writing "There'll be a New Style Bonnet at the Easter Parade" and "Something New Has Been Added to the Army," two new songs for a soldier's show, a musical review for WAC performances, entitled P.F.C.

But they made a noble effort and as the tears streamed down my cheeks, I knew that I had never been more proud to be an American.Returning to Fort Oglethorpe, Douglass was chosen to command the all-female 1st WAC Special Services Company.

[15] After getting final approval from Lieutenant Colonel Anna W. Wilson, Douglass began the process of selecting the five officers and 109 soldiers who would compose the unit.

[16] After returning to Oklahoma to visit family,[17] Douglass moved to New York City where she wrote songs and studied for her master's degree at Columbia University.

[18] She discovered that her musicianship and wartime experiences gave her confidence to perform in New York City venues; she was quickly hired as the dining room pianist at the Park Sheraton Hotel.

[19] Bilotti's brother-in-law, recently discharged army master sergeant Gail White met and befriended the ex-captain Douglass.

[1] White's songwriting career took off when she was asked by the Department of the Army to revise the lyrics of her popular march "The WAC is a Soldier Too" for peacetime use.

The two toured the United States playing and singing Christian music; they recorded three albums together and in 1976 were averaging ten concert performances a month.