WAVES – Page 54 – Hinges of History

Back to Civvies

The Navy’s help for women heading back to civilian life extended beyond just the practical information needed to muster out of service. Remember, the WAVES were consider the most fashionable and best dressed branch of the service, with couture uniforms designed by Mainbocher.

So it should come as no surprise that the Navy offered women suggestions for how the former WAVES could remain fashionable after they returned home.

This booklet is held by the The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Arriving Home

The Navy also offered advice to help women keep track of their military records after returning to civilian life:

Have the Recorder of County Clerk record your discharge certificate. You can then obtain a certified copy any time in the future if the original is lost or destroyed.

This image comes from the Women’s Reserve Information Separation Pamphlet. It is held by the The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Personal Interview

Just as potential WAVES received a personal interview when they began in the service, the soon-to-be civilians would have an interview about options after they left the service.

The sage advice from the Navy?

Make sure you are fully informed.

This image comes from the Women’s Reserve Information Separation Pamphlet. It is held by the The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Arrival

Upon arrival at the Separation Unit, you have reported to the Initial Receiving Point, where you turned in your Service Record and papers.

This image comes from the Women’s Reserve Information Separation Pamplet. It is held by the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.

Information Pamphlet

The Navy gave women this pamphlet as they were leaving the military at the end of the war to:

assist such personnel in their readjustment to civilian life.

It comes from the The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

November 1945

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.

Separation Units

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.

Post-War Planning

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.

Leaving

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.

Special Message

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.