From the final edition of the WAVES Newsletter, published in May 1946. This clipping comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Tag Archives: separation
April 1946
This is the second-to-last edition of the WAVES newsletter. The WAVE on the cover is wearing the dress blue uniform and the “overseas” regulation uniform hat.
The newsletter comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Volunteering to Remain in Service
As the Navy was releasing women from service, it realized that it needed some women who qualified for discharge to remain in the Navy. So it created temporary volunteer assignments which would extend the women’s service beyond the initial “duration of the war plus six months” promised by Navy recruitment materials earlier in the war.
This clipping comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Point System
This clipping from a WAVES newsletter shows the point system the Navy was following to release women from the WAVES. Note that women officers and selected enlisted positions such as yeomen, storekeepers and the hospital corps had a higher point total they would need to gather to qualify for separation than other enlisted women.
It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Discharge Emblem
The final step for the WAVE leaving the service? Sewing a discharge emblem on the uniform. Here, former WAVE Recruiter Helen Kiley does the job with a smile.
It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Final Pay
At a separation unit in New York City, a Navy storekeeper disburses the final pay to former WAVE Recruiter Helen Kiley.
It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
To the Civilian World
As WAVES went through separation from the Navy at war’s end, one thing they would learn is how to readjust to civilian life. Here, a “trained interviewer” provides former WAVE Recruiter Helen Kiley with that crucial information at a separation unit in New York City.
It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Medical Check-Up
As WAVES were leaving the service, one of the first things they would get was a medical check-up to make sure they were still in tip-top shape. Here, a pharmacist’s mate assists WAVE Helen Kiley in the final medical exam at the separation unit in New York City.
It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Separation Units
The Navy’s newsletter for WAVES showed what they could expect as they moved through the separation units. This photograph shows WAVE Helen M. Kiley, recruiter, going through the process at a separation center in New York City. It comes from The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
Costs
What you might need – and what it will cost – in the post-war years.
From the booklet “Back to Civvies,” held by the The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Hinges of History 