A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
The Old Gold yearbook found some different faces in its classrooms in 1943. The WAVES boot camp was help on the Iowa State Teacher’s College campus until February of 1943 – and WAVES took their places behind the desks for training.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
The 1943 edition of Old Gold gives a salute to the two groups training on campus. Iowa State Teacher’s College was the primary boot camp for WAVES (until February 1943) and Army men also trained there.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Check out the pages of the Old Gold. It’s the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, now the University of Northern Iowa. The front of the yearbook show the new campus make-up: the coed, the Army man, and the Navy women. Both Army and Navy set up training bases on the campus.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
It’s that time of year – when students head back to school. And so we’d thought we’d spend the next few days on a campus-based theme. What will the pages of the Old Gold tell us? It’s the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, now the University of Northern Iowa.
We’ll peer into the 1943 and 1944 editions of the yearbook over the next few days.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Navy WAVES do maintenance on Navy aircraft c. 1944. Happy Labor Day!
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
WAVE boots (new recruits) learn to march in formation in their street clothes. The first thing a boot would receive is her Navy hat, which the women are wearing.
The c. 1943 photo comes from the National Archives.
Check out the left-hand side of this photograph. Those are animated figures, included in training films to, in the words of the Navy, “add interest.” Here, Jane Orbison inserts the figures into the films at the Photo Science Lab in Anacostia, Washington, DC.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
From the Navy-provided caption:
Sk3C Sharlene Osler models the new uniform, consisting of dungarees slacks and chambray shirt, which will replace the present aviation coverall worn by members of the Women’s Reserve engaged in work requiring protective covering. The slacks are Navy blue denim with pockets on each side. The cotton chambray shirt is a lighter blue, with short sleeves and one patch pocket. The wrap-around turban is of Navy blue material.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Here’s a sample of the type of barracks where WAVES lived. This facility is from Washington, DC.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Every Saturday at the Treasure Island base, World War II-era WAVES were part of the “ship” inspection with the Captain (bases are known as ships in Navy parlance). Above is a description of a typical Saturday inspection, including a charming story at the end, as published in the WAVES Newsletter.
Hinges of History 