WAVES 
During WWII women contributed to the war effort in various fields of endeavor. Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), a unit of the U.S. Naval Reserve, was one such field. Their numerous contributions proved to be a vital asset to winning the war as well as proving that mixed-gender forces could be successful.
A nudge from Eleanor Roosevelt prompted the navy to consider a women’s reserve corps. Congress was slow to recognize the need for women in the navy, but President Roosevelt realized that servicewomen would be a wartime plus, and signed the corps into law on July 30, 1942. Mildred McAfee, president of Wellesley College, was sworn in as a naval reserve lieutenant commander, the first female commissioned officer of the U.S. Navy and the first director of the WAVES.
By early August 1942 a great number of women from every state applied for the general navy service positions offered in Bainbridge, Maryland. The intensive 12-week training course entailed eight-hour days of classroom study. The women, equivalent to yeomen, were trained to perform secretarial and clerical functions. The first class consisted of 644 women, and subsequent classes produced a maximum of 1,250 graduates. The results exceeded expectations; by fall 1942, the U.S. Navy had produced a record 10,000 women for active service.
Source: WAVE explanation from UShistory.com website
Thirteen Women Accepted by Navy
Thirteen women were sworn into the Waves by the navy traveling selection board during a three-day stop at the Elks club, concluded Saturday. These women have passed both mental and physical examinations and are now waiting assignment to Hunter college, New York Ciry, for indoctrination. They are:
Bremer, Mary Elizabeth, Dubuque
Colter, Charlotte A., 868 Fowler street
Dryden, Pauline Ruth, 914 Grant avenue
Dunlap, Betty Lois, Dubuque
Heldt, Nola Jennie, 510 Fowler street
Hosch, Florence Laura, Bernard
Howe, Martha, Tipton
Mott, Barabara Jean, Hampton
Nunnally, Elaine Joy, Cedar Rapids
Obrosk, Rachel Mabel, Cedar Rapids
Schallau, Hollis Hope, Grinnell, Ia.
Woods, Bernice Betty, Independence.
Source: The Courier, Waterloo IA - September 26, 1943
[Contributed &Transcribed by Terry Hirsch, Apr 2020]
LOCAL GIRLS MAKE GOOD!
Here are the patriotic young women who have enlisted in the Waves through the Waterloo Recruiting Station -- by counties:
Black Hawk -- Mary Lou Ackerman, Enid Francile Aunger, Genevieve Helen Butler, Zoe Vonceile Clemens, Charlotte Agnes Colter, Lois Ruth Culbertson, Rosemary Davis, Emily Cecilia DeMuth, Pauline Ruth Dryden, Ina Mary Eberle, Dorothy Eickelberg, Lois Belle Goldman, Lorraine P. Grover, Dorothy Louise Hansen, Lula Emma Heldt, Nola Jennie Heldt, Carol Louise Herfurth, Marie Vivian Kelly, Bette Jane Kinion, Florence Klocke Kress, Dorothy C. Larsen, Dagmer V. Lindberg, Evelyn Jo Maner, Melba Read Miller, Adaline Althea Mixford, Dorothy Ann Mixford, Agnes Victoria Murray, Mary McDermott Orford, Josephine E. Pedersen, Dolores Ann Schaack, Marie Arlene Seitz, Helen Genevieve Smith, Doris June Taber, Deloris Mary Durnin, Dorothy June Taffner, Inez E. Van Winkle and Marjeane E. Whitehead, Waterloo.
Bremer -- Betty Loveland Walker, Janesville; Leota Minna Bahlmann, Vera Elizabeth Gamm, Edna Genevieve Moulton, Janola Evelyn Spencer and Frances Ann Weires, Waverly.
Buchanan -- Frances Maude Senska, Brandon; Elizabeth Ann Coulter, Sarah Ann Davis, Mary Joan E. Hovey, Neva Louis Kuper, Mildred Cecilai McSweeney and Bernice Betty A. Woods, Independence; Virginia Evelyn Davis, Jesup; Violet Marie Osborne, Rowley.
Butler -- Doris Colleen Hudson, Aredale; Nadine Norma Nordman and Marjorie Louise Wamsley, Clarksville; Irene Lucille Franke, Dorotha Margaret Huntress, Harriett Arlene Neal and Laura Jane Stuntz, Greene.
Source: The Courier, Waterloo, IA - June 7, 1944 (graphic included)
[Contributed &Transcribed by Terry Hirsch, Sep 2019]
WAVES from Northeast Iowa
[Names marked with an asterick * died in service]
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
Healy, Anamae Carol
Johnson, Maizie Marlys
Larson, Ruth Selena
Sanders, Janet
Toney, Geneva Kathryn
Wegner, Helen Marie
CLAYTON COUNTY
Andregg, Joan Georgiana
Esch, Esther Schwietzer
Farrell, Lucille M.
Fredricks, Gladys
Goltz, Cecilia Ann
Hulverson, Lorraine Isabelle
McMillen, Phoebe Ann
Sharp, Lorna Mae
Spence, Janola
Thompson, Anne Irene
Zearley, Eunice Mae
DELAWARE COUNTY
Cocking, Ethel Gertrude
Faust, Vera Ruth
Fear, Nola
Gage, Maye Coon
Keith, Jessie Irma
Meyer, Kathleen Faith
Moser, Leila Bianche
Parker, Helen Irene
Seward, Leona Marie
Thibadeau, Dorothy Jane
Williams, Doris
DUBUQUE COUNTY
Bakey, Lorraine Frances
Bergstrand, Mary Ellen
Bremer, Mary Elizabeth
Brouillet, Margaret Mary
Bowman, Edith White
Cable, Modesta Mary
Campbell, Mardell Ruth
Campbell, Marilyn
Crowley, Margaret Mary
Curtis, Dorothy Laurilla
Dolan, Mary Esther
Dunlap, Betty Lois
Edwards, Aleta Glydell
Frampton, Shirley Mae
Frost, Lorraine Mary
Gaherty, Ruth
Gary, Cecilia Moris
*Guns, Genevieve M.
Hill, Lorna Ella
Hosch, Florence Laura
Huntoon, Helen Fraser
Junck, Evelyn Catherine
Kersch, Betty Jean Marie
Kirk, Rita Catherine
Kittle, Marie Ellen
Larkin, Janice Natalia
Manning, Rita Mary
McDonald, Rose Mary
McIntyre, Dolores Adele
Meehan, Florence Hope
*Metz, Fern Maxine
Meyer, Betty Jane
Meyer, Roberta Ellen
Morris, Jean Bernice
Mueller, Mary Ethel
Nolan, Mita Easton
Paisley, Susan Latther
Ready, Ruth Margaret
Riedl, Marie Anne
Riggs, Bertha Mae
Ryan, Virginia Mary
Schoenfeld, Arlene Richihe
Schuster, Catherine Cecilia
Sharon, Geraldine
Shields, Mary Agnes
Spurny, Ruth Lucille
Swift, Mildred Elizabeth
Toth, Carroll Gene
Wilhelm, Lorraine
Williams, Violet Lorraine
Woodman, Violet Jeanette
Wunderlich, Gail Beth
FAYETTE COUNTY
Banes, Emma Gladys
Dixon, Betty Josephine
Grimes, Shirley
Jones, Caryl Elizabeth
Martin, Stella Irene
Quintmeyer, Iola Mae
WINNESHIEK COUNTY
Berg, Lucille
Gilbertson, Thelma Arlene
Gipp, Hazel Amanda
Goetsch, Lillian
Kloberdanz, Francis
McMasters, Donna
Shindelar, Josephine Agnes
Source: Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, July 12, 1944
[Contributed &Transcribed by Lyn Lysne]