A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
WAVES at Naval Air Station Seattle in 1943. But who’s resting and who’s still at work. Velma Fields (front) has her feet up but she’s still on the job, doing some “damage control” on her blouse (note the needle and thread), while Louise Eiselein (rear) looks ready for work as she gets a chuckle from the latest issue of the New Yorker (and look at how BIG the magazine is!!!).
The photo comes from the National Archives.
One destination for Navy WAVES? Naval Air Station Seattle. And mail call there was an eagerly awaited event. Women claiming their letters in 1943 include (front row) Vera Hoffman, Emma Rose Higgs, and Ida Sykes; and (back) Harriet Slottee, Lois Bailey, Norma Johanson, and Pollyanna Person.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
WAVES leave their training post in Normal, Oklahoma, in summer of 1943, heading via train for their next assignments. WAVES in Norman trained in aviation specialties.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
WAVE Elvina Foland is checking the time table to see what time she’ll need to be there to catch her train, at the station in Norman, Oklahoma, c. 1943.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
WAVES at boot camp learned about the various jobs open to them. Here, a display with posters and photographs shows what the women might be doing in various positions, such as Aviation Machinist’s Mates.
The photograph comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.
WAVE Violet Falkum bids farewell to sailor Matty Melidoni, after leaving Yeoman training camp at Norman, Oklahoma c. 1943. The caption for the photograph reads:
Last minute clutches and hurried good-bye kisses were in evidence everywhere for the Waves that were lucky enough to have their boy-friends at the station to see them off.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
WAVES Elizabeth Bieser, Ann Boryk, and Virginia Bounds learn the ropes as machinist’s mates at the Naval Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma. They’re working on a hinge fitting plate.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
The Navy caption to this photograph reads “Girls in the Classroom.” WAVES attend training at Cedar Falls, Iowa, c. 1943.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
Ever wonder if you have what it takes to become a WAVE? Attached is the physical exam from August 21, 1942 for would-be WAVE officer Winnifred Quick.
You’ll note that her vision was perfect, she was 5’4″ and weight 113 pounds. She was 30 years old at the time of her exam.
Oh, and she passed the exam with flying colors – Quick would become one of the first WAVE officers, would be the first WAVE to serve outside of the continental United States (in the then-territory of Hawaii), and would become director of the WAVES from 1957-1962.
Gunnery training was many ways like an early form of video games. It included using a movie (seen being loaded in the previous photo) so that gunners could then use practice guns to “shoot” at virtual “targets.”
Here a WAVE training in gunnery instruction is at the trigger of a gun known as a “jamhandy.”
The photo comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.
Hinges of History 