By: Lisa Marshall (Jour, PolSci鈥�94)
All images courtesy of Kathleen M. Ryan
The year was 1943.
A Chicago Times article features Ryan鈥檚 mother, Mary Marovich, being sworn in as a WAVE.
The war raged on in Europe. And President听Franklin Roosevelt had recently taken an unprecedented step, creating听a new, all-female division of the U.S. Navy to free up men for sea duty. Their recruitment slogan: Free a man to 铿乬ht.
A hundred thousand women would answer the call. They enlisted in the Navy as WAVES: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services.
They鈥檇 travel far from home by train for a grueling six-week boot camp at one of several universities, including 抖阴旅行射 Boulder, agreeing to serve in the military for the duration of the war plus six months. Once on the job, they trained 铿乬hter pilots and gunners, 铿亁ed planes, decoded top-secret messages, served as meteorologists, and did just about any job that听didn鈥檛 involve going to battle.
鈥淏ecause they weren鈥檛 in combat, their stories aren鈥檛 often told,鈥� says Kathleen M. Ryan, a documentary 铿乴mmaker and associate professor听of journalism. 鈥淏ut these women mattered, too. Their experiences show that wartime heroics weren鈥檛 limited to the battle铿乪ld.鈥�
As the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches and airwaves begin to 铿乴l with stories of distant battles won and the brave men who fought them, Ryan鈥檚 lens is focused on the veteran women who helped make those victories possible.
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Family Connection
WAVES attend aviation machinist鈥檚 mates class at the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1943. Photo by 听Lt. Wayne Miller.
Ryan started collecting oral histories of WAVES more than a听decade ago, as part of her PhD dissertation at the University of Oregon.
Her mother, Mary Marovich, had been working at the phone company in South Chicago when, at age 22, she opted to follow in the footsteps of her six brothers and enlist. Marovich served for more than two years, rising to the role of pharmacist鈥檚 mate third class, where she was paid $96 a month鈥攖he same as a Navy man.
鈥淢y mom never talked about it at all,鈥� recalls Ryan, who learned much听of her mother鈥檚 service history by rustling through old papers and photographs after she had died. 鈥淏ut she was proud of it, and she was insistent that when she died she be given a military headstone.鈥�
Ryan has gathered 51 audio and video oral histories, documenting the stories of the 铿乺st women to be admitted to the U.S. military, notably, at the same rank and pay scale as men.
In 2012, she produced a full-length documentary, Homefront Heroines: The Waves of World War II.
Now, with support from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, she鈥檚 working on an interactive website that will include video artifacts, more expert interviews and full transcripts鈥攁ll in time for the 2020听commemorations of the war鈥檚 end.
鈥淚 want people to know that the experiences of these women were听important, not only to them and their families, but to society as a whole,鈥� Ryan says. 鈥淭hey laid the groundwork for change.鈥�
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Hinges of History
Top: WAVES look at vocation posters at Hunter College Training School in New York City in 1943.
Bottom: WAVES give instruction on operating .50-caliber machine guns at the Naval Air Gunners School in Hollywood, Florida, in 1944.
Through her interviews, Ryan has uncovered a host of colorful histories of proud women, many of whom joined the WAVES to break free of the era鈥檚 limited employment options.
鈥淚 was supposed to go into the convent. The nuns were really zeroed in on me. But I didn鈥檛 want to,鈥� WAVES veteran Josette Wingo recalls in Ryan鈥檚 documentary.
Veteran Eileen Horner Blakeley adds that, traditionally, a woman鈥檚 job 鈥渨as to be a nurse, a housekeeper or a teacher. We didn鈥檛 know it, but we were really breaking ground for generations to come.鈥�
It soon became clear that they were capable of more than they鈥檇 been given credit for.
鈥淭he rumor in the Navy was that the best pilots were the ones who had been trained by women,鈥� Ryan says. 鈥淭hey knew how to teach and they were very exacting and precise.鈥�
Military contributions aside, the WAVES also set a precedent for working women calling for equal pay for equal work.
鈥淭hey would say, 鈥業f the military鈥攐ne of the most conservative organizations in the country鈥攃an do this, why can鈥檛 everyone else?鈥欌�� Ryan says.
With access to the GI bill, many pursued advanced degrees. Some took faculty positions at universities. And many encouraged their daughters to break through the stereotypical gender roles of the day.
鈥淚t gave women this idea that you can do whatever you want,鈥� says Ryan, whose own mother encouraged her and her sister to get a good education.
After Japan surrendered and the war drew to a close on VJ Day鈥擜ugust 15, 1945鈥擲ecretary of the Navy James Forrestal sent a letter to each WAVE, thanking them for their service.
One woman, interviewed for the documentary, read it aloud, her eyes welling up.
鈥淵ou deserve to be proud for as long as you live. The nation which you served at a time of crisis will remember you with gratitude.鈥澨�
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