An interesting home movie from WWII, this silent 8mm film shows "Our Sailor Off to War". It shows a woman named Pat joining the U.S. Navy WAVES in July, 1943. (Note: the movie is a bit damaged from exposure to high heat and has shrunk, so bear with the visuals.) The film shows various scenes including New York's Rockefeller Center at 1:19, what appears to be the observation deck at 2:22, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. At 3:00, A.T. salutes in her uniform. At 3:10, she is shown again in her uniform with dress hat. At 3:26 sister (possibly her twin) is shown doing some sewing. At 4:14, February 12, 1944, Pat is seen posing with her first stripe. At 4:42 she is seen posing in Washington, D.C. with the Capitol building behind her. At 5:18 Pat is seen home again, in April, for a visit with her sisters. At 5:38 she is shown playing cards. At 5:50, November 1944, she receives a second service stripe. On leave in February of 1945, she is shown posing at 6:20 and walking with her sisters -- one of whom now has a baby. At 6:55 mother poses with flowers. The film ends with shots at the seashore and at 8:15 what appears to be either an MG, Austen Healey or Morgan sports car. At the end of the war, the WAVES were demobilized. The process started in October of 1945, and they were fully demobilized by the following year. The United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 30. This authorized the U.S. Navy to accept women into the Naval Reserve as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level, effective for the duration of the war plus six months. The purpose of the law was to release officers and men for sea duty and replace them with women in shore establishments. Mildred H. McAfee, on leave as president of Wellesley College, became the first director of the WAVES. She was commissioned a lieutenant commander on August 3, 1942, and later promoted to commander and then to captain. The notion of women serving in the Navy was not widely supported in the Congress or by the Navy, even though some of the lawmakers and naval personnel did support the need for uniformed women during World War II. Public Law 689, allowing women to serve in the Navy, was due in large measure to the efforts of the Navy's Women's Advisory Council, Margaret Chung, and Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States. To be eligible for officer candidate school, women had to be aged 20 to 49 and possess a college degree or have two years of college and two years of equivalent professional or business experience. Volunteers at the enlisted level had to be aged 20 to 35 and possess a high school or a business diploma, or have equivalent experience. The WAVES were primarily white, but 72 African-American women eventually served. The Navy's training of most WAVE officer candidates took place at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. Specialized training for officers was conducted on several college campuses and naval facilities. Most enlisted members received recruit training at Hunter College, in the Bronx, New York City. After recruit training, some women attended specialized training courses on college campuses and at naval facilities. The WAVES served at 900 stations in the United States. The territory of Hawaii was the only overseas station where their staff was assigned. Many female officers entered fields previously held by men, such as medicine and engineering. Enlisted women served in jobs from clerical to parachute riggers. Many women experienced workplace hostility from their male counterparts. The Navy's lack of clear-cut policies, early on, was the source of many of the difficulties. The WAVES' peak strength was 86,291 members. Upon demobilization of the officer and enlisted members, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz all commended the WAVES for their contributions to the war effort. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
