volunteer for their country and almost 250,000 women served in the armed forces, mostly in the Women's Army Corps (WAC), two-thirds of whom were single and under the age of twenty-five. Women were recruited with posters showing muscular, short-haired women wearing tight-fitting tailored uniforms. Bessie Stringfield, a pioneer African-American female motorcyclist, joined a motorcycle dispatch unit of the army. Many lesbians joined the WAC to meet other women and to do "men's work." Few were rejected for lesbianism, and found that being strong or having masculine appearance – characteristics associated with being dykes – aided in the work as mechanics and motor vehicle operators. A popular Fleischmann's Yeast advertisement showed a WAC riding a motorcycle with the heading "This is no time to be frail." Some recruits appeared at their inductions wearing men's clothing and their hair slicked back in the classic butch style of out lesbians of the time. First appearance The first formal appearance of the Dykes on Bikes was in 1976 at San Francisco's Pride parade where the riders were placed first as motorcycles didn't always run reliably at the same walking pace as the rest of the parade and, as first contingent, they were able to move faster. Although the original group self-identified as Dykes on Bikes and were known as such, over the years they have used the Women’s Motorcycle Contingent/ Dykes on Bikes to encompass those who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or any of the newer gender-bending terms like femme, androgyne, genderqueer, non-binary, gender-fluid and boi. Founding member Soni Wolf was to be the Community Grand Marshal during the San Francisco Pride parade in 2018. Although Wolf passed away in April 2018, her close friends represented her in the 2018 parade by carrying the custom-painted motorcycle tank from the bike she rode during the inaugural ride in 1976. Worldwide phenomena Dykes on Bikes have been leading marches such as Gay pride parades, Gay Games events, and protests since their creation in 1976. "Dyke Marches" have become a popular Pride event nationwide, with the Dykes on Bikes often leading the marches. The Dyke March events are generally non-commercial, often in sharp contrast to corporate-sponsored pride events, and are usually inclusive of lesbian, bi, and trans women. Contingents of the DOB have led pride parades around the world from San Francisco to Melbourne, Paris, London, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Zurich, Tel Aviv, and Greece.