A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
It’s that time of year – when students head back to school. And so we’d thought we’d spend the next few days on a campus-based theme. What will the pages of the Old Gold tell us? It’s the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, now the University of Northern Iowa.
We’ll peer into the 1943 and 1944 editions of the yearbook over the next few days.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Navy WAVES do maintenance on Navy aircraft c. 1944. Happy Labor Day!
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
WAVE boots (new recruits) learn to march in formation in their street clothes. The first thing a boot would receive is her Navy hat, which the women are wearing.
The c. 1943 photo comes from the National Archives.
Just how friendly are the WAVES in Texas? Let this story in the WAVES Newsletter answer that question for you.
Oh, and be sure to check out the announcement at the bottom of the page for the WAVES exercise gear.
Check out the left-hand side of this photograph. Those are animated figures, included in training films to, in the words of the Navy, “add interest.” Here, Jane Orbison inserts the figures into the films at the Photo Science Lab in Anacostia, Washington, DC.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
From the Navy-provided caption:
Sk3C Sharlene Osler models the new uniform, consisting of dungarees slacks and chambray shirt, which will replace the present aviation coverall worn by members of the Women’s Reserve engaged in work requiring protective covering. The slacks are Navy blue denim with pockets on each side. The cotton chambray shirt is a lighter blue, with short sleeves and one patch pocket. The wrap-around turban is of Navy blue material.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Here’s a sample of the type of barracks where WAVES lived. This facility is from Washington, DC.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Here’s an example of how the WAVES photographs were used in Navy publications, in this case the monthly WAVES Newsletter. Here, hospital corps workers (aka pharmacist’s mates) are at work at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
At the Naval hospital in Oakland, California, WAVES Eleanor Kerper and Dorothy Overstreet operate an x-ray machine checking for skull fracture on the patient.
The 1943 photo comes from the National Archives.
Hey, there, photographer Marjorie Sellers! Say, “cheese!” Sellers was one of two WAVES on photo duty at NAS Seattle. Here she’s working in the photo lab.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Hinges of History 