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Why not pants? It maintained a clear distinction between women and men. Wanting a functional and fashionable design, they selected a fitted jacket, skirt, and heeled shoe as the final uniform.
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The Advisory Council also helped design the Women’s Naval Reserve Navy uniform. Harvard University, Elizabeth Reynard Papers and National Archives | National Women’s History Museum Uniforms After obtaining a leave of absence from Wellesley president, McAfee became the first female naval line officer in American history. The Advisory Council selected the first director of the WAVES, Wellesley College President Mildred McAfee.
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Girl stepping into the waves how to#
They knew how to educate women and advised the Navy on the best methods for training women how to recruit the best candidates and how to instill discipline. Instead, they led some of the best women’s colleges in the country. Virginia Gildersleeve of Barnard College in New York, the women on the Advisory Council did not have naval backgrounds. The Navy decided to bring some of the most intelligent women in America together to form the Advisory Council for the Women’s Reserve. McAfee, USNRĪlthough the Navy agreed to enlist women, disputes regarding the circumstances and conditions of enlistment remained. Unlike the WAACs, which functioned as a supplemental branch to the Army, the Women’s Naval Reserve was an integrated part of the Navy. The law intended to “expedite the war effort by releasing officers and men for duty at sea and their replacement by women in the shore establishment of the Navy, and for other purposes.” Under Public Law 689, women did not serve on the front lines they took over roles on the home front, freeing men to serve in active combat. Nearly five months later, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Public Law 689 on July 30, 1942, creating the Women’s Naval Reserve. As pressure mounted, Congress created the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) on March 15, 1942. Advocates argued that women had the right to exercise all responsibilities and duties of citizenship. Public support for the inclusion of women in the armed forces heightened throughout 1941. Library of Congress | National Women’s History Museum World War II and the Beginning of the WAVES In short, the Navy needed women to assist in the war. With reluctance, opinions began to change after the newly created War Manpower Commission declared itself unable to meet projected naval expansion. As a result, 11,000 yeomen served along 1,713 nurses, and 269 female Marines during World War I.In the days following the Pearl Harbor attacks of December 7, 1941, the Navy began debating the integration of women in the Navy. The role of women in the Navy broadened in 1916 with the passage of Public Law 241, which stated that any U.S citizen could serve in the Navy. Prior to the First Wold War, nursing was the only service option permitted for women in the United States Navy. Naval History and Heritage Command | National Women’s History Museum Women in the Navy before World War II
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Nurses in Cuban waters during the Spanish-American War Essential to the war effort, the WAVES of World War II helped to lay the foundation for future women's future service in the Navy
Girl stepping into the waves code#
They served in a wide variety of roles, ranging from clerks to top-secret code breakers. By July 1945, over 86,291 women were members of the Navy WAVES, including 8,475 officers, 3,816 enlisted, and 4,000 recruits. I was freezing to death, marching through the damned snow ankle-deep.” Jeann was one of the nearly 100,000 women who left the comfort of their civilian life to serve in the Women's Navy Reserve (WAVES) during World War II. Arriving in the fall of 1944, the California girl was no match for the frigid East Coast weather: “Here we come, stepping out of the train in three inches of snow in our little civilian shoes and our little California clothes. Unable to bathe and hardly able to use the restroom, Jeann sat on the train for six days, making the arduous journey from Sacramento to the Bronx. Placed on a troop train, Jeann Coz Bailey traveled across the country to attend recruit training at Hunter College in New York. National Women’s History Museum A Long Journey National Archives, Record Group 80 | National Women’s History Museumīy Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries