
WAVES Ava Barton and Marcella Fisher are instructed on efficient and proper packing from Lt. Margaret Kuechle. They are preparing for overseas shipment — now that’s gotta be a packing list.
A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
WAVES Ava Barton and Marcella Fisher are instructed on efficient and proper packing from Lt. Margaret Kuechle. They are preparing for overseas shipment — now that’s gotta be a packing list.
In honor of the Fourth of July, here’s a photo of some of the brave women who fought for freedom during WWII with the most recognizable symbol of that freedom in the world: The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, New York.
Lt. Rosamond D. Sells, of the U.S. Naval Reserve, swears the first African-American WAVES into the Navy in New York, New York. Miss Frances Willis and Miss Harriet I. Pickens are sworn in as apprentice seamen.
This group of WAVES just arrived to Pearl Harbor. While enjoying their Hawaiian deployment, they are also essential to the function of the U.S.’ largest naval base west of California. Mahalo, WAVES!
Ens. Mary F. Waters, a material officer, examines one of the 20mm guns aboard a ship harbored in Bethleham-Hingham, Massachusetts. Her job is instrumental in the maintenance and upkeep of the Navy’s weaponry and ordnance.
June 14th is Flag Day, the day celebrating the adoption of the U.S. Flag in 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. It was officially established in 1914 via a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson and was reaffirmed by an Act of Congress in 1949.
Flag Day isn’t an official federal holiday, but it is a state holiday in Pennsylvania (the only state to recognize Flag Day as a holiday).
This photograph shows the retreat ceremony at the WAVES Yeoman School in Cedar Falls. It comes from the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Happy Flag Day!
The USS Missouri, or Mighty Mo as it was commonly referred to, is visited by a group of WAVES in the above photograph. The Mighty Mo is arguably the most renown of the Navy’s WWII fleet, as it was the place of Japan’s surrender at the war’s conclusion.
These students at the NAS in Seattle, Washington are learning their way around a spacecraft prototype. Some out-of-this-world activity for WWII!
In the Trainer Operators and Maintenance Schools at the Naval Station Puget Sound, these WAVES are learning the ins and outs of interstellar travel. During a 10-week course, the women will study the fundamentals of astronomy, like the WAVES studying the Earth’s relation to the celestial sphere in the above photograph.
On this Memorial Day, we offer a salute to the men and women who have served, and those who have died in service to our country.
This photograph, circa 1943, shows WAVES at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York, saluting the flag. It comes from the National Archives.