Storekeepers and Other Support Work
For some WAVES and SPARs, “storekeeping” referred to actually working in a shop on Navy bases. But for others, it meant offering support to get goods and services to Navy and Coast Guard stations around the globe.
Storekeepers and Other Support Work
Navy Exchanges and Coordinating Supplies
The Navy Exchange was the on-base store where personnel could purchase various goods. WAVES and SPARs worked in the stores, but they also worked behind the scenes at bases, running the accounting and bookkeeping for the bases and making sure that incoming ships were properly stocked.
Edna Irean Gartman Bednekoff
Enda Irean Gartman Bednekoff came from a family of 12, and says her mother told her, “You can remain a lady if you join the Navy.” She worked in a Navy Exchange.
Her oral history interview was conducted September 23, 2006 aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National Convention.
Merrily Kurtz Hewett
Merrily Kurtz Hewett says she asked to work as a Navy Storekeeper because she thought the bookkeeping and accounting experience would be practical after the war.
Her oral history interview was conducted March 29, 2007 at her home in Portland, Oregon.
Barbara Stroda Wright
SPAR Barbara Stroda Wright was in charge of dispensing supplies to the ships that were docked at her station in Charleston, South Carolina.
Her oral history was conducted at her home in Monroe, Oregon on April 17, 2007.
Merrily's Oral History
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Part One
Merrily talks about growing up, enlisting in the WAVES and boot camp. Click here for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, Merrily talks about her job as a storekeeper, her relationships with Navy men, and her time stationed in Hawai’i. Click here for more.
Part Three
In Part Three, Merrily talks about the WAVES uniform. Click here for more.
Part Four
Here, Merrily discusses the end of the war, and her role in the Naval reserve. Click here for more.
Part Five
Merrily ends her interview talking about her time in Hawaii and the legaacy of the WAVES. Click here for more.
Storekeepers and Other Support Work
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
The women working in these offices were keeping track of goods and supplies across entire Naval Districts.
Margaret Gay
Margaret Gay was career Navy after enlisting as a WAVE during World War II. Her initial assignment was coordinating supplies for the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts in Cleveland.
Her oral history interview was conducted at her home in San Leandro, California, on May 24, 2007.
Phyllis Roberts Koch
Phyllis Roberts Koch was born in New York City, but moved to California with her family during the Depression. After enlisting in the WAVES, she was assigned as a storekeeper working in the Disbursing Office for the 12 Naval District in San Francisco.
Her oral history interview was conducted March 29, 2007 at her home in McMinnville, Oregon.
Joyce Fish Sherwood
Joyce Fish Sherwood says when she enlised, her recruiting officer in Milwaukee was her former high school gym teacher. She ended up being based in Washington, DC, at the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts.
Her oral history interview was conducted at her home in Coos Bay, Oregon, on July 26, 2007.
Phyllis's Oral History
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Part One
Phyllis discusses growing up and enlisting in the WAVES. Click here for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, Phyllis talks about her job as a storekeeper and her post-war experiences. Click here for more.
Joyce's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One, Joyce talks about growing up and her time in the WAVES. Click here for more.
Part Two
Part Two focuses on Joyce’s experiences on the job as a WAVE and her life after the war. Click here for more.
Storekeepers and Other Support Work
Other Work
Some WAVES and SPARs weren’t asigned to specific clerical or accounting/bookeeping duties, but rather worked in places like base post offices, personnel departments, or even as floating workers moving where the Navy and Coast Guard needed them most.
Dorothy Sudomir Budacki
Dorothy Sudomir Budacki grew up on a farm in Ohio and worked at Goodyear Aircraft and owned her own beauty parlor before enlisting. She initially was assigned to work in the post office, but later was reassigned – to use her cosmotology skills as a base hair stylist.
Her oral history was conducted September 23, 2007 aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National convention.
Clara Van Roekel Moomey
WAVE Clara Van Roekel Moomey was initially stationed in New York City and later in San Francisco during World War II, working processing mail. She also served in the Korean War.
Her oral history interview was conducted at her home in Oregon in 2007.
Vera Goode Waycott
Vera Goode Waycott says enlisting in the Navy changed her life, in part because she met her future husband while working as part of the rotating “general duty” team at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, Naval Air Station.
Her oral history was conducted January 20, 2017 at her home in Portland, Oregon.
Martha Washington Curtis Welch
Martha Washington Curtis Welch says she was just a “simple seaman” in the Navy. But she was also a trained vocalist who sang as part of a WAVES traveling choir.
Her oral history was conducted September 21, 2006 aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National Convention.
Joyce's Oral History
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Part One
Joyce tells her life story. Click here for more.
Part Two
This part fearture a short story about Joyce watching the christening of a ship while in the WAVES. Click here for more.
MORE WAVE AND SPAR STORIES
Aviation Specialists
Other Elite Specialties
Yeomen
Officers
