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’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.
What was it like to live in those apartment houses converted to Navy barracks during the war? Irene Bendekoff can tell you. She was housed in apartments near the Hunter College Navy boot camp.
Her story is part of our month of video countdown to the home video release of Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II.
Yesterday, we shared the memories of Edna Jean Clark, talking about her experiences enlisting in the WAVES. Here, she talks about what it was like to be in the boot camp at Hunter College in New York.
Her story is part of our month of video countdown to the home video release of Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II.
Pat Connelly became a Link Trainer Instructor during World War II, training Navy pilots how to fly.
This is part of our month of video, a countdown to the release of Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II for home video.
From the National Archives notes about this photograph,
AMM Instructor says WAVES are quicker at learning than men.
Drills may have been indoors, but calisthenics were outside in February 1943 at NATTC, Norman, Oklahoma.
The Wayne Miller photo comes from the National Archives.
Winter can be cold, and so the WAVES moved drills indoors, such as this February 1943 drill at NATTC, Norman, Oklahoma.
The Wayne Miller photo comes from the National Archives.
Among the WAVES graduating from the last officer class at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College, Northampton, MA were Lt. Harriet Ida Pickens (left) and Lt. Frances Wills (right). The were the only two African American women commissioned as officers in the WAVES during World War II.
The December 1944 photograph comes from the National Archives.
The last officer class would graduate from the Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College, Northampton, MA in December 1943. Here, the class sits in attention at their graduation.
The photograph comes from the National Archives.
Hinges of History 