A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
The WAVES’ newsletter covers did little to mention the release of women from service in the months after the war ended. This one, from November of 1945, shoes an aerographer’s mate (weather forecaster) at work.
It comes from the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.
The Navy set up five separation units for WAVES. In this article from the WAVES’ newsletter, it describes what women could expect as they moved from their stationed posts and gradually were decommissioned and released from duty. It comes from the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.
Even as the war was ending, the Navy was thinking ahead. The WAVES had been very successful in the various jobs in the Navy, and the Navy was hoping to be able to continue their service, as evidenced by this article from the WAVES’ newsletter in September 1942.
The clipping comes from Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.
The WAVES were always scheduled to serve “for the duration plus six months.” By September of 1942, the Navy had developed a plan for releasing the women who served. As this article illustrates, it wasn’t as simple as just letting the women go. The reality was then Navy had hundreds of thousands of people – men and women – who would need to return to civilian life. And so a plan needed to be put into place,.
This clipping from the WAVES’ newsletter outlines the initial release plan, which was based upon time served and a complicated system of “points.” It comes from Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.
As the war was ending, WAVE leader Mildred McAfee offered this missive to WAVES in mid-1945. It was then that she took a leave of absence to get married (and return to her post at Wellesley College; she would officially resign from the WAVES in 1946.
This clipping comes from Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.
While the war wasn’t over by the time the WAVES newsletter was released in August of 1945, the signs were there that peach would soon be at hand. The Allied troops had had a number of stunning victories in Europe throughout the summer, and by July 11th the Postdam Agreement had been signed, outlining terms for peace. Japan would agree to peace until a month later, after the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
What’s interesting is this cover of the WAVES’ newsletter makes no reference to the peace agreements in Europe – but inside the newsletter demonstrates that the Navy was thinking about the post-war world – and the WAVES’ role in it.
In comes from Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe.
WAVE Gladys McCullough shows 2 visiting WAVES to NAS NOLA how a PRY gun turret works during the station’s open house for the WAVES second anniversary in 1943. It comes from the National Archives.
Visitors to the WAVES’ open houses were sometimes other WAVES. In this photo from the National Archives, visiting WAVES are shown how to prepare a “prop” for service, during the second anniversary celebrations at NAS New Orleans in 1943.
The open houses held in connection with the WAVES’ anniversary were designed to show people the extent of the work the women were doing. In this image, a WAVE shows her visitors the dental equipment. WAVES worked in Naval dental offices during the war. The photo of the second anniversary celebration at NAS New Orleans comes from the National Archives.
In this photo from the National Archives, two enlisted WAVES at NAS NOLA pack a parachute during an open house held as part of the WAVES 2nd anniversary celebration in 1942. Everyone in the audience is paying close attention to the audience, except for the little girl in the lower right, who noticed the presence of a camera.
Hinges of History 