March 19, 2019

A U.S. Navy with Women: Stronger, More Efficient and More Capable

Editor's note: "Why We Do What We Do" is an initiative CNO Richardson asked the Naval History and Heritage Command to help share with the fleet. Each month, our historians will dissect a seminal moment in our Navy's past and then highlight the lessons we learned. The purpose, is to ground today's Sailors in their history and heritage by explaining

March 26, 2018

Alene Duerk: Celebrating the 98th birthday of a Navy icon.

On this day in 1920, Rear Adm. Alene Duerk - the first woman to attain flag rank in the U.S. Navy - was born in Defiance, Ohio. This week, she will mark her 98th birthday from her home in Florida.Duerk entered the Navy in January 1943, when the naval campaigns in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea were still in full-tilt and World War II stretched

March 22, 2018

Navy Ships Honoring Women

When you think of the namesakes of Navy ships, they are often named for individuals who have served our Navy or our Nation. Although many of these ships have been named for men, the Navy also recognizes the amazing contributions of women. In honor of Women's History Month, we take a look at a few of the ships named in honor of inspiring American

March 27, 2017

The Wartime Experiences of Two Women at Iwo Jima and Okinawa

Map of NATS Routes from Command Semi-Monthly Newsletter, dated 1 April 1945. This map is reflective of February/March 1945 service, note that the routes to Iwo Jima and Okinawa are not yet established as the regular routes they will be as the America...

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

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

Dec. 9, 2014

Grace Hopper: Navy to the Core, a Pirate at Heart

The typical career arc of a naval officer may run from 25-30 years. Most, however, don't start at age 35.Yet when it comes to Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, well, the word "typical" just doesn't apply. Feisty. Eccentric. Maverick. Brilliant. Precise. Grace Hopper embodied all of those descriptions and more, but perhaps what defined her as much as anything

Oct. 17, 2014

Remembering the First Black Women Naval Officers

"Navy to admit Negroes into the WAVES," so read the newspaper headlines Oct. 19, 1944. For the first time black women would be commissioned naval officers as members of the Navy's female reserve program.The program first made news July 30, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law. Their official nickname was WAVES, an acronym