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Navy Lingo

I fall into Navy jokes. We called the blankets the admiral so you could write home and say, “I was sleeping with my admiral” (laughs).  There was a lounge upstairs with no men allowed. And a phone, I think one phone in the hallway, which meant you had to train your roommates to take your messages.  “Tell Ronald I’m dying of pneumonia and tell my mom I’ll call her back next Tuesday (laughs) and tell Gerald I’m” — you don’t want to sound too eager.  “Oh, it’s you Gerald! Yes da da da da da.”  Everybody talks about all the camaraderie, so in one sense we were not exactly careful, but close to each other. We made a circle around where the guys would not wear us down.

-Josette Dermody, World War II WAVE

This photograph shows WAVES and sailors going out for a meal; Josette Dermody is third from the left. It comes from the collection of Josette Dermody Wingo.

12th Naval District

The Navy divided up the country into various Naval Districts, or administrative hubs. Josette Dermody was stationed in the 12th Naval District, which was headquartered in San Francisco and included Colorado; Utah; Nevada except Clark County); northern part of California (basically north of tSan Luis Obispo, Kings, Tulare, and Inyo counties).

This is a copy of the WAVES newsletter for the District 12. The cover is especially striking – an art deco-style image incorporating a WAVE and what appears to be a stylized ship. It comes from the collection of Josette Dermody Wingo.

Gunner’s Mate

After boot camp, Josette Dermody was tapped to become a Gunner’s Mate.  She would be training men to shoot at moving targets.

We went to gunnery school because they said we had to be able to face down the sailors.  “We don’t need girls who’ve never even fired a shot.” So they, you know, being in the gunnery thing was hard work. It was hard work because the guns were so big. You had to break them down and put the back together again and all that. They were always laughing.  “It takes two of you to carry what one guy can carry!”

This is the cover of her memoir about her experience as a WAVE. You can buy the book here. It’s a great read!

Something Nautical

I grew up in Detroit.  And Detroit is on the river. There are a lot of boats and a lot of ships. We were Depression kids, but various people had uncles who had boats and they would take you sailing and stuff. I read every book about sailing there was. Sea Here, Mr. Boditch and All Sails Set and all that stuff. It seems if I was going to be doing something adventurous, it might as well be something with the sea.  I still love being by the water.

– Josette Dermody, World War II WAVE

This photograph comes from the collection of Josette Dermody Wingo.

The “Campaign”

You had to be 20 to go in.  Your brothers could go in at 18.  And so I had a lot of friends that spent their 19th year trying to persuade the old man to sign for you. “What about Rosie O’Donnell’s father letting her join the Marines and you don’t mean to say the O’DConnells have more moxie than the Demodys!”  It was a campaign.

-Josette Dermody, World War II WAVE

This photo from the WAVES Hunter College boot camp shows Josette Dermody at front lower right (with her head turned). It comes from the collection of Josette Dermody Wingo.

Meet Josette Dermody

Josette Dermody was born in Detroit, Michigan. She grew up in a Catholic family, attended parochial school and really really didn’t want the future she thought was mapped out for her:

I was supposed to go to the Convent.  The nuns had me. They were zeroed in on me and I didn’t want to. Becoming a nurse, becoming a teacher, working in an office or a nun and that, that was about it.  And of course getting married and having twelve kids.

So first chance she got, she enlisted in the WAVES.  This photograph comes from the collection of Josette Dermody Wingo.