WAVES
Throughout World War II women contributed to the war effort in various fields of endeavor. Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), a unit of the U.S. Naval Reserve, was one such field. Their numerous contributions proved to be a vital asset to winning the war as well as proving that mixed-gender forces could be successful.
Mildred McAfee
A nudge from Eleanor Roosevelt prompted the navy to consider a women’s reserve corps. Congress was slow to recognize the need for women in the navy, but President Roosevelt realized that servicewomen would be a wartime plus, and signed the corps into law on July 30, 1942. Mildred McAfee, president of Wellesley College, was sworn in as a naval reserve lieutenant commander, the first female commissioned officer of the U.S. Navy and the first director of the WAVES.
By early August 1942 a great number of women from every state applied for the general navy service positions offered in Bainbridge, Maryland. The intensive 12-week training course entailed eight-hour days of classroom study.
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