Yeomen
The vast majority of WAVES and SPARs served as yeomen, the Navy’s classification for secretarial work. They served in bases all over the continental United States, and eventually overseas in Alaska and Hawaii.
Yeomen
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. was – and still is – the administrative hub for the Navy and Coast Guard. It was one of the most common postings for WAVES and SPARs during World War II.
Eileen Horner Blakely
Eileen Horner Blakely grew up in Ohio and ended up serving with the Navy in both World War II and the Korean War. During World War II, she served in Washington, D.C. in the Bureau of Ships.
Her oral history was conducted December 23, 2006 at her home in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Anna Fogelman
Anna Fogelman survived rheumatic fever as a child in Wilmington, Deleware. She enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in Washington, DC, working for Naval aeronautics.
Her oral history was conducted aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National Convention, September 20, 2006.
Ruth Kinman Gaerig
Ruth Kinman Gaerig and her sister both enlisted in the WAVES durig World War II. She served in Washington, D.C.
Her oral history was conducted September 22, 2006 aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National Convention.
Anna's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One Anna talks about growing up, enlisting in the WAVES, and training as a yeoman. Click for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, Anna talks about her WAVES service in Washington, DC. Click for more.
Part Three
In this segment, Anna discusses her post-WAVES career and the WAVES legacy. Click for more.
Yeomen
Northeastern Bases
Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island were all home to Navy and Coast Guard facilities during World War II.
Virginia “Vickie” Burdick Leach
Vickie Burdick Leach enlisted in the SPARS and was assigned to be a Yeoman. She worked in Boston on court martial cases.
Her interview was conducted July 11, 2007 at her home in Eugene, Oregon.
Ali McLaughlin McConnell
Ali McLaughlin McConnell felt fortunate to be assigned as a Yeoman at Cape May, New Jersey, because it allowed her to be close to her sick mother in New York.
Her interview was conducted in 2007 in her home in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Myrtle Bean Reese
WAVE Myrtle Bean Reese not only served as a Yeoman in Cape May, New Jersey – she also played in the drum corps.
Her interview was conducted September 21, 2006 aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Conquest during the WAVES National Convention.
Yeomen
Midwestern and Southern Bases
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia were all home to Navy and Coast Guard facilities during World War II.
Billye Grimwood Grymwade
Billye Grimwood Grymwade was stationed in Kansas as a Yeoman during World War II. Later, she was a part of the MATS, or the Military Air Transit Service and helped evacuate people during the Berlin Airlift. She recounted her life in MATS and Me: WAVES Flight Attendants on Navy Transport Aircraft.
Her oral history was conducted in her home in Ventura, California, on August 3, 2007.
Doris Mansfield Leichliter
Doris Mansfield Leichliter was working in a munitions plant before she joined the WAVES. The metal dust was so toxic she started losing her hair, and she jokes it was “all vanity” that made her enlist. She served in Camp Shelton, Virginia and later in Hawaii.
Her interview was conducted on April 4, 2007 in her home in Vancouver, Washington.
Monica Schulte Kastens
SPAR Monica Shulte Kastens was a Yeoman based in New Orleans during World War II. She later joined the WAVES and served in the Korean War.
Her interview was conducted on the phone in March, 2017 from her home in Kansas.
Billye's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One Billye talks about growing up and her service with the WAVES and MATS (Military Air Transport Service). Click for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, Billye discussess her post-WAVES life, including living in Brazil and writing her book. Click for more.
Part Three
In the final part of her oral history, Billye talks aout living in Guam. Click for more.
Doris's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One Doris talks about growing up and her service with the WAVES in the continental United States. Click for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, Doris talks about her WAVES service in Hawaii and her post-war life, including working for the Civil Service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Click for more.
Yeomen
Northwestern Bases
The area around Seattle, Washington, was considered a key strategic location for Navy and Coast Guard facilities during World War II.
Betty Jane Ashcraft Fisher
Betty Jane Ashcraft Fisher was the youngest SPAR in World War II. She was the youngest in her boot camp class, the last class of SPARs (the war ended while she was in boot camp). She was based in Seattle.
Her interview was conducted July 23, 2007 in her home in Albany, Oregon.
Virginia Gillmore
Virginia Gillmore grew up in eastern Washington, and was later stationed at Bremerton as a Yeoman.
Her interview was conducted July 25, 2007 in her home in Yachats, Oregon.
Mildred “Mickey” Griffin Stamp Kalinauskas
Mickey Griffin Stamp Kalinauskas remembers her friends in high school being worried that the war would only last six months and they wouldn’t get a chance to serve. She was a Yeoman based in Seattle.
Her oral history was conducted July 13, 2007 at her home in Corvallis, Oregon.
Betty Bruns Lord
WAVES Yeoman Betty Bruns Lord was stationed in Oregon during World War II. She shared her oral history alongside her friend, Lois Jean Linder, who worked in aviation as a Machinist’s Mate.
The interview was conducted August 19, 2007 in Jean’s home in Avon, Massachusetts.
Jane's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One, Jane talks about growing up during the Great Depression. Click for more.
Part Two
Jane discusses being the youngest SPAR during World War II. Click for more.
Part Three
Jane focuses on her post-war life in Part Three. Click for more.
Virginia's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One Virginia talks about growing up. Click for more.
Part Two
Part Two focuses on enlisting in the WAVES and Virginia’s job as a Yeoman. Click for more.
Part Three
Virginia discusses volunteer service. Click for more.
Part Four
Part Four is about Virginia’s years as a teacher. Click for more.
Part Five
In Part Five Virginia talks about her husband’s job as a farmer. Click for more.
Part Six
Virginia talks about her husband’s death from cancer. Click for more.
Betty and Jean's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One, Betty and Jean talk about their WAVES experiences. Click for more.
Part Two
Part Two focuses on the post-war years and the WAVES’ legacy. Click for more.
Yeomen
California Bases
The area around San Francisco, California, was considered a key strategic location for Navy and Coast Guard facilities during World War II.
Roberta Celeste Moore Hockett
SPAR Roberta Celeste Moore Hockett served as a Yeoman in San Pedro, California – which also happens to be the home town of this project’s producer and director.
Her interview was conducted at her home in Portland, Oregon on January 5, and October 26, 2007.
Helen Baldwin Ruecker
Helen Baldwin Ruecker worked as a WAVE in the Federal Building on Market Street in San Francisco.
Her interview was conducted in her home in Portland, Oregon, in March of 2007.
Margaret Anderson Thorngate
WAVE Margaret Anderson Thorngate grew up in Summerland, California and ended up being based in San Francisco during the war. She was disappointed because she didn’t have base housing in the city.
Her oral history interview was conducted in her home in Florence, Oregon, in May 2009.
Ramona Ransom Wheeler
Ramona Ransom Wheeler remembers having to get her tonsils out before she was able to go to boot camp for the WAVES. She served in San Diego as a Yeoman.
Her oral history was conducted July 20, 2007 at her home in Corvallis, Oregon.
Roberta's Oral History
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Part One
Part One was conducted on January 5, 2007 and focuses on growing up and Roberta’s military service. Click for more.
Part Two
In Part Two, conducted on October 26, 2007, she discusses the war’s end and her post-war life. Click for more.
Part Three
In Part Three, Roberta talks about the SPARs reputation and legacy. It was conducted on October 26, 2007. Click for more.
Part Four
In Part Four, conduction on October 26, 2007, Roberta discusses enlisting and LGBT service members. Click for more.
Helen's Oral History
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Part One
In Part One Helen discusses growing up and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Click for more.
Part Two
Part Two focuses on Helen’s military service and her life after the war. Click for more.
MORE WAVE AND SPAR STORIES
Aviation Specialists
Other Elite Specialties
Storekeepers
Officers
