A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
We’re continuing our series looking back at the life of Eileen Horner Blakely, who died December 30th at the age of 96.
Here, she talks about her experiences in boot camp at Hunter College in New York – specifically, mealtime.
Her story is part of the home video release of Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II.
We’re continuing our series looking back at the life of Eileen Horner Blakely, who died December 30th at the age of 96.
Eileen had a moment of doubt when she was in boot camp. She remembers waking up at Hunter College in New York to a particularly rainy and overcast morning. The WAVES were marching to breakfast wearing “havelocks.” (A havelock is a covering, pictured below, that hangs down from a military hat for protection in rain or sun. Eileen calls it, “rain gear.”) She questioned her decision to enlist for a moment that morning.
“Clump clump clump. We probably looked like we were nuns from the nunnery or something. You know, dark clothes, marching along. And I looked over at the – there was the El train you know, high. You could see the lights of it. And I thought to myself, “What on earth did I sign up for? What did I think I was doing? Marching along at this ungodly hour to get breakfast? … And that was the one time when I wondered why I was where I was.”
Navy WAVES, pictured above, marching in Cambridge, Mass. (US Navy photograph)
First “chow” is served by the Red Cross at the Hunter College campus, as the facility is placed in service as the basic training center for Navy and Coast Guard women, 8 February 1943. (US Navy photograph)
We’ve talked about Eileen Horner Blakely on our blog in the past. She served as a yeoman, and her story is a big part of our film.
Here, she talks about her experiences in boot camp at Hunter College in New York – specifically, mealtime.
Her story is part of our month of video countdown to the home video release of Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II.
Elizabeth Reynard, who was tasked with organizing the training school (boot camp) at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York, was the first WAVE to receive a Naval decoration.
The newspaper clipping can be found in the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University.
Joan Angel, author of “Angel of the Navy,” sends birthday greetings to the Cedar Falls boot camp on its first anniversary in Fall 1943. Her book was used as a recruitment tool during World War II.
WAVE recruits take the oath of office with Lt. Stewart.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
Piles of luggage, and scores of WAVES, as both await the trains to take them from boot camp at Cedar Falls, Iowa, to new places of instruction.
The photograph by Lt. Wayne Miller comes from the National Archives.
WAVES are “at ease” during the Captain’s Inspection at the Cedar Falls boot camp in February 1943.
The photograph by Lt. Wayne Miller comes from the National Archives.
Ah, the adjustments WAVES had to make
during boot camp!
This cartoon comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
From the Navy caption of this February, 1943 photograph by Lt. Wayne Miller:
Daily gym instruction keeps WAVES ship shape at Boot Camp, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
February 1943 would be the last month the Cedar Falls facility at Iowa State Teacher’s College would be used as a boot camp. The Hunter College training center in the Bronx, New York, opened that same month.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Hinges of History 