Aug. 2, 2024

U.S Navy WAVES on Top Secret Duty in America’s Heartland

In 1943, the U.S. Navy began sending groups of WAVES by train from Washington, DC, to Dayton, Ohio, to work on a top secret project.Due to the highly secretive nature of their assignment, the WAVES were not told where they were going or what they would be doing, only that they were headed “west.” Some thought they were going to California and were

May 31, 2024

Elizabeth Reynard, Virginia Gildersleeve, and the Birth of the WAVES

Elizabeth Reynard, an English professor, was the second in command of the WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, during World War II. Together with Virginia Gildersleeve, the politically and socially well-connected dean of Barnard College, Reynard laid the foundation for the Women’s Reserve, which opened doors to naval service

April 23, 2021

Susan Ahn Cuddy

In November 2020, CNO and Mrs. Gilday installed a new exhibit in the Tingey House highlighting the accomplishments of female Navy pioneers. The pioneers proudly served their country and this year the Naval History and Heritage Command will be sharing their stories. In 1942, Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy became the first female Asian-American to serve in the Navy and also its first female gunnery officer.

April 2, 2021

Katherine Horton, World War II Veteran and African American Trailblazer

​In November 2020, CNO and Mrs. Gilday installed a new exhibit in the Tingey House highlighting the accomplishments of female Navy trailblazers. The trailblazers proudly served their country and this year the Naval History and Heritage Command will be sharing their stories. Katherine Horton joined the Navy in 1944 and in March 1945, she became one of the first three African American WAVES to enter the Hospital Corps School at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

March 16, 2020

An Interview with Ima Black, a WWII-era WAVES Sailor

Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) hosted Mrs. Ima Black, widow of the Navy's first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Delbert Black, for a tour of the National Museum of the United States Navy (NMUSN) Sept. 20, 2019. The tour gave Black a chance to see pieces from NHHC's expansive collection, including uniforms and memorabilia from her

Oct. 19, 2016

Navy Commissions First African American Woman Officers

Thoughts about World War II conjure specific reference points for most, Dec. 7, 1941, D-Day, or "Loose lips sink ships." Key battles like Midway, North Africa, and Iwo Jima are almost synonymous with the war. There is another significant date that is not mentioned - Oct. 19, 1944, the day the Navy announced blacks would be admitted into the female

July 29, 2016

The First WAVES

On July 30, 1942 President Roosevelt signed into law the establishment of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). 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. The next few months saw the commissioning of

March 1, 2016

Honoring the Proud Women Who Serve in the U.S. Navy

Today, we join the nation in celebration of "Women's Equality Day" to commemorate the proud and dedicated service in the U.S. Navy. In 1908, women officially began serving as nurses in the Navy. Yeomanettes or yeomen were added during WWI. During WWII, Congress established the Navy's Women's Reserve Program, or WAVES. Today, women serve in every

June 26, 2015

First Female Asian Officer Speaks About Her Naval Service

    What would make Susan Ahn, a young college graduate, join the military following the Pearl Harbor attack?  A daughter's wish to honor her father.    Susan's parents, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and Helen Ahn, were the first Korean married couple to immigrate to the United States in 1902 following Japanese occupation of their native land. Japan annexed