USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ W.W. II WAVES ~ February 25 2003

Naval Military History | February 25 2003 | snippy about it

[snippy_about_it]

World War II era WAVES --
Overview and Special Image Selection

After a twenty-three-year absence, women returned to general Navy service in early August 1942, when Mildred McAfee was sworn in as a Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander, the first female commissioned officer in U.S. Navy history, and the first Director of the WAVES, or "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service". In the decades since the last of the Yeomen left active duty, only a relatively small corps of Navy Nurses represented their gender in the Naval service, and they had never had formal officer status. Now, the Navy was preparing to accept not just a large number of enlisted women, as it had done during World War I, but female Commissioned Officers to supervise them. It was a development of lasting significance, notwithstanding the WAVES' name, which indicated that they would only be around during the wartime "Emergency".

Establishing the WAVES was a lengthy effort. Inter-war changes in the Naval Reserve legislation specifically limited service to men, so new legislation was essential. Though far-sighted individuals in the Navy Department, and especially in the Bureau of Aeronautics, had long known that uniformed women would be a wartime necessity, general service opinion was decidedly negative until the crisis at hand. Even then, creative intrigue had to be used to get an authorization through The Congress. President Roosevelt signed it into law on 30 July 1942. The next few months saw the commissioning of Mildred McAfee, and several other prominent female educators and professionals, to guide the new organization.

Recruiting had to be undertaken (or at least managed, as the number of interested women was vast), training establishments set up, an administrative structure put in place and uniforms designed. The latter effort produced a classic design that still has many elements in use nearly six decades later. Difficulties were overcome with energy and indispensable good humor, and within a year 27,000 women wore the WAVES uniform.

These women served in a far wider range of occupations than had the Yeomen (F). While traditionally female secretarial and clerical jobs took an expected large portion, thousands of WAVES performed previously atypical duties in the aviation community, Judge Advocate General Corps, medical professions, communications, intelligence, science and technology. The wartime Navy's demand for them was intense as it struggled to defeat Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and the Japanese in the Pacific. At the end of the conflict, there were well over 8,000 female officers and some ten times that many enlisted WAVES, about 2 ½ percent of the Navy's total strength. In some places WAVES constituted a majority of the uniformed Naval personnel. And many remained in uniform to help get the Navy into, and through, the post-war era.

This page features an introduction and special image selection on the Navy's World War II era WAVES, selected from the more comprehensive coverage contained in the following pages:

• Recruiting and Training;
  

• Quarters & Meals;
  

• Recreation, Leisure & Good Deeds;
  

• Ship and Aviation Orientation;
  

• Transportation
  Transportation Part II;
  

• Occupations--Aviation Related;
  

U.S. Navy W.W. II WAVES

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

USS Missouri (BB-63)
WAVES visiting the ship in an east coast port, during her shakedown period, circa August 1944.
They are standing on the main deck at the bow, with the Navy Jack flying behind them.

---

WAVE Specialist (Photographer) 3rd Class
Saluting, as she stands among the springtime cherry blossoms
near the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C., during World War II.

---

USS Missouri (BB-63)
Yeoman Third Class Betty Martin exiting the rear door of a 5"/38 twin gun mount,
while touring the ship in an east coast port during Missouri's shakedown period,
circa August 1944.

---

Aviation Metalsmith 3rd Class Claire Bickham and
Seaman 1st Class (Aviation Metalsmith) Susie Alvis
Riveting aircraft structure in the Assembly and Repair Department
at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, circa 24 July 1943.

---

Aerographer's Mate 2nd Class Julia Murray, USNR(W)
Launches a weather balloon from a theodolite platform at
Naval Air Station, Santa Ana, California, circa mid-1945.
The balloon is used to check wind velocity.

---

---

U.S. Naval Air Station, Santa Ana, California
Specialist (X) 2nd Class Marcelle Whiteman holds one of the 200 carrier
pigeons "based" at NAS Santa Ana, circa June 1945.
The birds were used to transmit communications from the air
to the station when radio silence is in force. One of the occupations
covered by the Specialist (X) rating was Pigeon Trainer.

My "Vanity" section begins here. :)

snippy's Mom at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor
Wave barracks-January 1946
Aviation Machinists' Mate

Mom (standing center) and the girls-Hawaii 1945

Mom and her brother Reeves McGillicuddy, Bellmore LI, NY c1944
From here it was a troop train to SF CA and on to Hawaii

• text

For the Duration of the Emergency....

When the United States was propelled into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, it faced the necessity of fighting a two front war (Atlantic and Pacific) as well as becoming the "Arsenal of Democracy," supplying armies on two fronts as well as the armies of our allies in the form of Lend-Lease supplies.

When military and industrial demands clashed, it became obvious that the shortage of manpower demanded the use of woman power once again, but on an even larger scale than previously. During World War II, all four services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, formed special women's components "for the duration of the emergency and six months."

WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE FOR AMERICA MEMORIAL
Dept 560, Washington, DC 20042-0560

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

[tomkow6]

Chicagoland Weather
Current Conditions:
As reported at KORD, O'Hare Arpt..
Last update Tue 25 Feb 2003 4:56 AM CST.

Fair
0°F Feels Like: -11°F
UV Index: 0 Minimal
Wind: From the NNW at 6 mph
Humidity: 63 %
Visibility: unlimited
Barometer: 30.53 inches and Rising

Today's Forecast Tue 25 Feb 2003 03:46 AM CST
Mostly Sunny
Low 6°F
High 18°F

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL ! I'll have to send that to my brother, who has had AOL for years !

[firewalk]

Good morning everyone

[tomkow6]

WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE

SALUTE!

AND GOD BLESS YOU!

[tomkow6]

.......hehehe...if I do it, I'm gonna get a woopin'.........I'm gonna DO it.......

KATHY!..Are you sleeping yet?

Kathy??

.......hehehehe............giggle........giggle.......

[southerngrit]

It's raining pretty hard - looks like a great day to do nothing.

Instead, it's off to the daily grind, as usual.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

[Severa]

Good morning from VA Beach!

Seems that the flu bug is bouncing around the house. Now that the kids are over it, it's mine and hubby's turn. Other than that, not much going on here other than watching the skies tonight to see if it SNOWS. *shaking head* It was friggin 60+ degrees here just a few days ago...

Have a great day everyone!

[tomkow6]

Okay! Have a GOOOOOOOOOOOD Day, SG! Me & Beth (if she's up) will take care of business here at the Canteen!




...........snicker........snicker............

[southerngrit]

Thanks - make sure you and Beth behave yourselves!!

Snippy's off to work, Kathy's getting some much needed rest, and I don't see any responsible adult to leave in charge...but YOU!

Is that little angel boy still lurking around?

[tomkow6]

...........hehehehehe......snicker..........

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Click graphic below
to enter Today's Thread
by snippy_about_it




From FReeper I_saw_the_light

HI. I received a request from a co-worker for prayers and e-mails to a family member,
a niece recently stationed in S. Korea, she is 19 years old and quite alone there.
I asked my co-worker if it was ok to forward this to Free Republic, and she was enthusiastic.
Can you put her email address in the canteen and prayer lists? Thanks.

Her name is Sheena Cox, 19 years old.
cox187@yahoo.com

[tomkow6]

USELESS FACT
- - - - - - - - -
The Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois
reaches 1,707ft (including the antennas)
into the sky. It weighs more than 222,500 tons
and is covered by more than 28 acres of
black aluminum.

[eyespysomething]

Wow, that's great. My mom was in the Air Force until 1962, when she had my brother. Back then, if you got pregnant, out you go. Luckily they've changed that. She loved her job also, she was a nurse. Thanks for the reminder about the women who served our country, and thanks for the pics!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

From the men in the Military and the Canteen

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Everybody.


Coffee and Donuts
Courtesy of Fiddlstix.
BeaverTails
Courtesy of JLA and Coteblanche

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics

[tomkow6]

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Todays transportation for you and the Girlz.

[southerngrit]

What am I gonna DO?? I'm gonna go to work now. In the meantime...

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

mmmm Donuts!

Thanks!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Thank You for today's thread!