WEBVTT

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(marching band music)

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- Hello. Tom Frezza here

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from the Naval History
and Heritage Command,

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with another one of our
"Artifact Spotlights".

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This is where we take a look
at the timeline of the US Navy

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and pull out different artifacts
and teach you about them.

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And today we're going to
be focusing on the WAVES.

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So what does WAVES stand for?

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Women Accepted for Voluntary
Emergency Services.

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It was a program that was
started in 1942 by the US Navy,

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and the main purpose behind it

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was to release officers and men

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and replace them with women
in shore establishments.

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Most enlisted WAVES worked

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in jobs traditionally performed by women,

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such as clerical work,
healthcare and store-keeping.

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Also, they took over jobs
typically held by men

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in occupations like aviation
mechanics, parachute riggers,

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control tower operators, radio operators,

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yeomen and statisticians.

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And the WAVES uniform actually kind of has

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a cool back story by itself.

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At the time, the Assistant
Secretary of the Navy,

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James Forrestal, his wife was
a fashion editor for "Vogue".

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When they established the WAVES,

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she went up to New York to
Mainbocher's and asked them

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if they could design a
uniform free of charge.

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And they did.

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And the uniforms themselves,

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I've met and talked with many former WAVES

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from World War Two,

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and they talked about how
much they loved the uniform.

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It was practical, it functioned very well

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and it worked really well too.

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And the uniform that you see next to me

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is the regular enlisted
Blues, where you have

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the blue button-down shirt
underneath, the jacket,

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of course the chip tie,

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and the skirt, which does have pockets.

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And in the summer they had their Whites,

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or they also had a seersucker
work-dress and jacket

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that went over the top of the dress.

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It was very fashionable,

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and even the cover

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that you see the mannequin
next to me wearing

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was also considered very
fashionable at the time too.

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And the very top part,
which is white right now,

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is interchangeable with
all of the other uniforms

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that the WAVES were issued.

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So these uniforms were very popular

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with the women who served in the WAVES.

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All of the former WAVES talked
about how they loved it.

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And after the War,

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when they got out of the service,

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many of them got a book

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that explained how they
could turn their uniforms

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into regular civilian clothing.

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And a lot of them wore their
uniforms as civilian clothing

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because they enjoyed them so much.

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Now the WAVES were around until 1948,

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when the Women's Armed
Services Integration Act

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was passed by Congress.

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This meant that you didn't
need a specialized branch

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like the WAVES,

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women could just enlist
into the military and serve.

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And it took women serving in the WAVES,

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serving in the WAC,

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serving in the Yeoman
(F)s in World War One,

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that really opened the door

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for women serving in the military today.

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So all of the women serving
in the military today

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can thank the trailblazers like the WAVES.

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And with that,

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if you would like more information
please visit the website

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of the Naval History and Heritage
Command, history.navy.mil.

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And we'll see you at our
next "Artifact Spotlight".

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(mellow music)