Joining the WAVES

Ivah Ree Harris Volunteers for Service

"Mother wanted to be a flight attendant."

"I am not sure how Mother was recruited. She may have seen a poster or heard an advertisement on the radio. The WAVES primarily used newspapers, radio, and personal contact to recruit. Mother wanted to be a flight attendant, but at that time you needed a degree in nursing so she joined the WAVES."

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Inner cover of Pass and Review with commentary by Ivah Ree Harris: Beneath an anchor insignia the text reads: Wave Quarters "D" ... Our Home For TodayTo create a home away from home is a task for energetic spirits and understanding minds. Young women from forty-eight states have succeeded in converting WAVE Quarters "D", Washington, D.C., from cold, gray barracks into a warm community which offers recreation for the leisure-minded, and opportunity for personal development in education and the art of living. From this home, Yeomen, Specialists (put in quotes and underlined by Ivah Ree Harris), Electricians, Pharmacists, and Aerographers of the Women's Reserve go daily to important jobs... vital in brining final victory to American shores. Since we are all an integrated group in the United States Navy, we achieve growth by working under Navy rules."D" calls many pictures to mind. ... The snappy marching by the company at drill, the shipshape barracks with comfort and friendliness, the arome of newly-baked pastry from the mess hall, the fres country tang (four words underlined by Ivah Ree Harris) to the rain-cleansed (underlined by Ivah Ree Harris) air, the change of watches (three words underlined by Ivah Ree Harris) at the front gate ... and the dignity of "Colors" serenely enfolding this busy life in Navy blue.Through often our hearts are far away as our hands are occupied in work or recreation, we always can find a solidarity of purpose and enjoyment in the active atmosphere of "D". This is our world for today! (Sentence put in quotes by Ivah Ree Harris). Here ... we are the many states and nationalities of America fused into one.When the time comes for us to resume our individual paths, we shall carry with us the warm memory of friendly sights and associations at "D" with the women who volunteered to seve ... the WAVES of America.July 1945Between the main text and the date, Ivah Ree Harris wrote and underlined, "Aint that touching?" ~ Source: Judy Coker Benowitz ~ Creator: U.S. Navy and Ivah Ree Harris ~ Date: July 1945

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Judy Coker Benowitz, “Joining the WAVES,” Georgia Journeys, accessed November 21, 2024, https://georgiajourneys.kennesaw.edu/items/show/534.

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