A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
Here two unidentified WAVES are, in the words of the photo caption, “rolling a reel with a purpose.” The reel is for gunnery instruction, as you can see from the instructions on the blackboard behind the WAVES.
The photo comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.
Two unidentified WAVES here take the wheel of the “ship” while at boot camp. The photo comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.
Navy WAVE Naomi Sue Kleinberg Edmond Tofil, US Marine Corps, demonstrate the art of jiu jitsu during a demonstration at the Hunter College boot camp in 1943. She’s using a circle throw against her opponent.
Both Kleinberg and Tofil were experts in the martial art of jiu jitsu, which itself is a hybrid of judo. The confusion? The terms “judo” and “jiu jitsu” were originally largely interchangeable both inside and outside of Japan, where the martial art originated. But as of 1925, the Japanese government mandated that “judo” was the proper term to be used. Did the Navy use the term jiu jitsu during the war to help differentiate American martial arts fighters from the enemy Japan? Good question – and it’s not clear what the answer is. If anyone knows, let us know in the comments.
WAVE Naomi Sue Kleinberg is using an arm lock and foothold “neutralize” Marines John Kinckley and Edmond Tofil during a 1943 demonstration at the Hunter College boot camp in 1943. All three are jiu jitsu experts.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
Let no one say the WAVES weren’t tough. Here, Naomi Sue Kleinberg demonstrates her proficiency in Jiu Jitsu by performing a hip throw against Marine Corps corporal Edmond Tofil. WAVES learned the art of judo and jiu jitsu as part of the training at the Hunter College boot camp in 1943.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
A girl needs to take time out of her busy day of training to eat! Here WAVE Maurine Hewitt and friend eat dinner in the mess hall at the Hunter College boot camp in 1943. The meal looks fairly hearty: steak, potatoes, veggies, pasta, rolls and a huge slab of watermelon.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
WAVE officer Elizabeth Reynard designed the training at the Hunter College boot camp so that women would learn from real life examples – or, in the case of ships, models of the ships the Navy used. Here, 1943 trainees crowd around a WAVE officer to learn about the different types of ships that made up the Navy fleet (and those that the enemy used), with the idea that they would be better able to identify them once they were at their permanent stations.
The photograph comes from the U.S. National Archives.
Here’s a photo to make you swoon on a sultry summer day. The WAVE is Margaret Rheinhold. 1943 American amateur diving champion, in mid-spin during a plunge off the high dive at the Hunter College boot camp in the Bronx during her training in 1943.
The photo is held by the National Archives.
Exercise was an important part of the WAVES regimen. Here, WAVES at Hunter College boot camp in the Bronx, New York, take an exercise drill on one of the campus’s outdoor lawns. The National Archives photo dates from 1943.
Getting the plane prepped includes making sure all the safety equipment is one board. Here, WAVE Mary Arnold puts a parachute into an SNJ. ,Today’s entry in our series of photographs of WAVES at work in the Naval aviation was taken at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in September 1943.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
Hinges of History 