Only two Navy WAVES were qualified to wear victory medal of World War I. Joy Bright Hancock (left) and Eunice Whyte (right) both served as Yeomanettes during World War I. About 25,000 Yeomanettes (from Yeomen-F, or Yeoman-Female) were part of the regular Navy because of loophole – the military act at the time didn’t specify that only men could serve. The loophole was closed after the war, and women wouldn’t become an official part of the Navy, other than nurses, until 1942.
This image come from the National Archives.
Hinges of History 