>> From the Library of
Congress in Washington DC.
>> Jean: Bringing an
auxiliary to the Army.
Not to be outdone, the other
services immediately followed suit
by establishing their
own women's components.
But they would have no party
to this auxiliary status.
The Navy was the first one,
and it decided to put its women
in the Naval Reserve, they were
called the Navy Women's Reserve,
or WAVES.
The second was Coast Guard.
And they established their reserve
and it was called the SPARS.
Now, I'm not going to tell you
what these acronyms stand for,
I'm going to let some of
our panelists do that.
The Marine Corps established
its Marine Corps reserve,
but in the Marine Corps, the
commandant would have no use
for these acronyms, they were just
women Marines and proud of it.
So, the programs really
got off the ground.
The recruiting was going
very, very rapidly,
and far better than anyone expected.
And the demands for women kept
pouring into headquarters for more
and more women, and they began
recruiting at a very rapid pace,
and expanding, and training,
and expanding the bases
all over the country.
The WAAC, or the Army
attempted to recruit more
than a million women into the corps.
These women served, and women
in all the services served all
over the world, in a vast variety of
noncombat jobs throughout the war.
Now, I'd like you to meet
some of our panelist today
who represent these women.
First Marion Lee Ownbe [assumed
spelling] who was a graduate
of college in Ohio, who
wanted to be a school teacher.
But she decided she'd
rather server her country
and she joined the Women's
Army Corps in October 1942.
Ruth Rothberg Erno,
originally from Boston, Mass,
today is a retired Navy commander,
whose career began in November 1942
when she was among the first women
to join the Navy and become a WAVE.
Dr. Martha Settle Putney is
a retired history professor
and author.
Back in 1943, with a Master's degree
in history, while she was working
for the government in Washington,
DC, decided that she'd like to be
in the military, so she volunteered
for the United States Army
and joined the WAAC and went
to Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
Betty Splain [assumed spelling] is
a retired Coast Guard Chief Warrant
Officer 4.
And she was the first female
Warrant Officer in the Coast Guard.
Back in 1943, however,
she thought she was going
to join the WAVES instead.
But she had a change of heart
and decided the Coast Guard was
a little more interesting to her,
so she joined the Coast Guard and
became one of the first SPARS.
So, now I'd like to go to our
group and ask them, you know,
in those days it was very
unusual for people to go
into the military voluntarily.
Every woman was a volunteer.
So, you have to ask yourself why on
earth with all the wonderful jobs
that were created by
the war in our economy,
why would a woman decide
to go into the military.
Where the pay was only $21 a month?
So, I think I'll start with Marion
Ownbe and ask her why she did that.
>> Marion Ownbe: It
was a big mixture
of things that made me decide.
I had written to my brother,
told him I was thinking about it.
He was serving in Panama
at that time.
When I first heard of the WAAC
I was a senior in college.
And he said he thought
it was a swell idea.
And my father was in uniform.
He had served in World War
I, stayed in the reserves.
As for duty again,
World War II was back
in uniform even before Pearl Harbor.
So, it was partly the
inspiration of the family.
And I will have to admit the
desire to do something different.
>> Ruth Rothberg Erno: I had
just graduated from college
when they established the WAVES,
that was Women Accepted
Volunteer Emergency Service.
Before my graduation, I had been
interviewed by superintendents
of school with regard
to teaching positions.
However, I was not 21 years old.
And in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts,
the rule was that you had
to be at least 21 years old
to sign a contract for
full-term teaching.
So, this seems to be
the road for me to take.
So far as family influence,
my father had been
wounded in World War I.
He very, very disappointed
that he didn't have a son
who would be going into the service.
He was just more or less thrilled
that his daughter wanted
to go into the service.
And so, I did.
And the very day that I was sworn
into the Navy, it made
front page news.
And of course, you and I
know it wasn't because of me,
it was because I was sworn in at
the same time as Emily Saltonstall,
whose father at that time was
governor of Massachusetts.
But, my mother really believed
that it was front page news
that her daughter joined the Navy.
[ Applause ]
>> Dr. Martha Settle
Putney: The reason I went
into the Women's Army
Auxiliary Corps was
because of institutional racism.
For example, I took a number
of civil service examinations.
I passed them, they appointed me
to the lowest possible
grade as a stockroom clerk.
As soon as I got in the office, they
put me in front of the typewriter
as a statistical clerk and
told me I could learn this.
You got a Master's,
you can learn this.
And then, as soon as
new employees came
in I was given the
task of teaching them.
They leap frogged over me.
One became my supervisor.
At that point, I had had it.
So, I went and enrolled in the
Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps.
[ Applause ]
>> Betty Splain: Last but not least,
I did consider joining the WAVES
when that was formed,
when it was organized.
But that Coast Guard, I figured they
must do something for women soon.
And I had just gone
into a Civil Service job
for the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
So, there was some
hesitancy, and some friends
through I should just
stay home and work.
But the more I saw those Coast
Guard ships come into Boston
after their weather patrol,
along about late November '42,
the Congress did pass
legislation to allow women
to go into the Coast Guard.
And I signed up.
There was a little problem of
naming the women of the Coast Guard.
There had been wax and waves up to
that point, and the headquarters
at Coast Guard thought they had to
name the women starting with a W.
And some bright individual decided
Woman Accepted Reserve Coast Guard,
which would have been
abbreviated to WARCOG, or Warcogs.
Well, along about that time, Dorothy
Stratton who had been a Lieutenant
in the WAVES was transferred to
the Coast Guard to be a director.
She had been Dean of
Women at Purdue.
And she celebrated a birthday
last month, she is 105 years old.
Obviously, the last
director from World War II,
and she still has a
twinkle in her eye.
But Dorothy Stratton
thought WARCOGs was not
for the women of the Coast Guard.
So, she decided that the Coast
Guard motto, semper paratus,
which means always ready.
Why not take the first letter
of semper paratus, always ready.
And the women would become
SPARS instead of WARCOGs.
And so, she presented
this to the commandant,
Admiral Washee [assumed spelling]
with a twinkle in her eye,
which she still has at 105.
And she said, why not call them
SPARS, and besides I understand
that a spar aboard ship is
something a sailor clings
to in time of distress.
So, we became SPARS in 1943.
[ Applause ]
>> Jean: Well, for
myself, I had two brothers
who were in the Navy already.
My father had been a Marine in
World War I, and when the war came,
there was no question in my mind,
if they ever had a branch of service
that would accept women,
it was for me.
Well of course, the WAAC was
the first one that came on line
and I rushed right down, as soon
as I passed my 21st birthday.
I figured it was fate,
because the law was passed
and the WAAC was formed in May 1942.
Well, I was just 20, and the
minimum age limit was 21.
So, on June I went down and
enlisted after I turned 21.
And just waited to be called.
And it was frankly, the most
exciting day of my life.
It's the first time I was ever
able to get out of the northwest
and do something really worthwhile.
And that was what I
thought I had to do.
My grandmother encouraged me
because she was in the Red Cross
and she had a very spiffy uniform.
And she said Jean, you
really need to do this.
So, I joined and I
never looked back.
Now, I'd like to clarify
one thing here too.
We've mentioned the Woman's
Army Auxiliary Corps,
it didn't stay the Woman's
Army Auxiliary Corps very long
because the other services
were enlisting
and commissioning their
women into their services,
rather than in this
funny auxiliary status.
So, the Army went back;
and by the way,
the Army had to compete not only
with the Navy and its being part
of the reserves, and the
Marine Corps and so forth,
but we had to compete with them
for those very spiffy
uniforms they wore.
And we were in khaki.
So, we had to do everything we
could to improve recruiting.
So, they decided the WAAC had
to stop, the auxiliary status,
or drop it, and become
the Women's Army Corps.
So, the change was made in September
in 1943, and we all converted then,
and finally we were in the Army.
Meanwhile, thousands of WAACs
who had none of the protections
of the Geneva Convention,
because they were in an auxiliary,
were already serving
overseas, in Europe, I Africa,
and going to the southwest Pacific.
And those women had
none of the protections
of the Geneva Convention, because
they were not really military.
So, by converting to the
WAAC we suddenly realized
that we were members of
the United States Army.
But also, the auxiliary had
some really funny titles for us.
Instead of private the
enlisted women were auxiliaries.
When you graduated from officer
candidate school you were not a
lieutenant, you were
a third officer.
First lieutenant was
a second officer.
A captain was a first officer.
And that's as high as it went.
The enlisted NCOs were called
leaders not corporals or sergeants.
So, it was a really kind of
a rinky-dink arrangement.
And so, when the law
passed and we all got sworn
into the Women's Army Corps we
felt like we had been born again.
And we had.
[ Applause ]
Now, as I said earlier, this
was a rather strange thing
for a woman to be doing.
Now, I'm just curious as to
the reaction of your families
and friends when you told them
that's what you were going to do.
>> Marion Ownbe: Well,
as I had already said,
my brother was very
supportive, thought it was great.
My father was the sort of person
that would never give me advice.
He thought I could
make up my own mind.
Mother didn't want me to go.
It's all so new, and strange
and you better wait a while
and see how things work out.
But I found I couldn't wait.
And so, for the most part,
my friends all thought
that it was an interesting
thing to do,
but none of them were
ready to follow suit.
>> Ruth Rothberg Erno: I think I've
already told you about my family,
and their pride and excitement
about my going into the Navy.
But in the generals, mentioning
about the uniforms for the WAAC,
I must tell you that we in the WAVES
were very, very fortunate and very,
very proud, that our
uniforms were designed
by the famous French
fashion Mainbocher.
And ours, or course, were the
blue, the officers didn't;
at that time did not
wear the gold stripe.
It was what was called the reserve
blue stripe, it was a light blue.
And there is a story with regard
to our first director we'll tell,
with regard to the stockings,
because for the WAVES
it was our uniform,
our coat, you know, and our hat.
The handbag was not considered part
of the uniform, that was optional.
But the question was with
regard to the stockings,
much coordination had been made with
the British because of the uniforms
that the WRNS wore, that was
the Women's Royal Naval Service.
And they wore black stockings.
So, it had been considered that we
would have to wear black stockings.
But our first director, Mildred
MacAfee went to the person
who was then chief of naval
operations, and she told him
that it was not wise for
us to have black stockings
because the substance that they
use to dye them black was needed
for other parts of the
war effort [laughter].
[ Applause ]
>> Betty Splain: We did so
many things for the war effort,
including no black stocking.
Wouldn't that had been terrible?
Because the Coast Guard had;
at the Navy at the time of war,
the Coast Guard becomes
part of the Navy.
And war had been declared, so the
Coast Guard was part of the Navy.
I went to Navy boot camp,
but we wore Navy uniforms,
except we made a few adjustments.
Coast Guard buttons, a white
shield four inches from the cuff
of the right sleeve, and the
Coast Guard seal as color devices.
They were metal seals.
So, our uniforms were pretty
much the same other than that.
But back to the reason
and friends and parents.
My friends thought it
was kind of exciting.
There was no one, I had
two sisters and a brother.
My brother was only eight years old.
Neither of my sisters were eligible.
And it just seemed like someone
in the family should go to war,
or do something for the war effort.
But the reaction of my friends,
was oh gosh, that's great.
When they'd come in to say,
have you gotten your orders yet?
Because I think the processing
was like three or four months,
my father would say damn fool.
But my mother would
just look in wonder.
But, the family wasn't
really in favor.
My brother John cried
any time anyone mentioned
that I was going in the service.
And the day I left he said,
'I should be going not
you,' bless his heart.
But those first days were not easy.
Boot camp was less than a month.
I was, again, from Massachusetts
along with Ruth when we arrived
at the WAVE training center
at Hunter College there were
300 women Navy, Coast Guard
and Marine Corps who
reported to Hunter College.
And not realizing that
a week earlier,
another group that
large had arrived,
we went to the mess hall our first
day, and this course of women
in unison sang, 'do you pak your ca
in Havad Yad next to the cribstone.'
And we didn't know what was
wrong with those people.
But they were mimicking
our Boston accents.
>> Dr. Martha Settle Putney:
Well, when I decided to enlist
in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps,
my parents had little
or no question.
They trusted my judgment.
Mainly because my younger brother
who was already in the Army
and in the quartermaster corps,
and was to be a part of the Battle
of the Bulge was overseas.
But I convinced my
mother and my father
that this was a volunteer
organization.
If they wanted to send me overseas,
there was only one
avenue for me to ask out.
It was volunteer, we had
not then been in the Army.
[ Applause ]
>> Jean: Well, first of all
let's tell the audience,
what it was that you were
doing in the military.
>> Dr. Martha Settle Putney:
My duties in the military,
after having finished service
schools, I was assigned
as a company officer to
a basic training company.
Now, the most junior officer
in a basic training company
is the supply officer.
And that is an extra way to start.
Because there you learn all of
the nuts and bolts of the company.
And I stayed with that
company for almost 10 months.
And then when I noted that blacks
were not being recruited as much
as before, I applied for training
school, the adjutant general school.
Now, when I applied for adjutant
general school, all my housemates,
my quarter mates laughed at me,
joked with me, wanted to bet me.
Because they knew, and they
thought I should have known
that the Army did not send blacks
to adjutant general school.
They sent blacks to mess hall
school, maybe to personnel school,
maybe to administration
school, but not to AG school.
But they were the ones who had
to apologize and come to me
and said, we didn't know it.
I was sent to adjutant
general school.
And I was sent with a
group of non-blacks.
Now, adjutant general school,
in case you want to know
as in San Antonio,
Texas at Sam Houston.
I knew, and they knew
I would have problems.
But the officers who accompanied
me, decided when we first got
on the train, you will
have no problems,
we'll be your protective guide.
Anything that happens to you
is going to happen to us.
And they acted that way all the
way through my tenure at AG school.
[ Applause ]
>> Jean: Well, we all knew we
were pioneers back in those days,
and do you really think
that the military had any?
Well, were you prepared
for the military,
and was the military
prepared for you?
>> Ruth Rothberg Erno: Well,
when I was sworn into the Navy,
I immediately received orders
to go to the University
of Wisconsin to radioman's school.
Just, when I got the orders,
those orders were cancelled.
Because at that time, they were
about to establish what became the
Navy Training School for WAVES,
our boot camp, which
was at Hunter College.
As Betty said, she
had gone to Hunter,
but I was in the first class
there and when we arrived,
although it on paper had been turned
over, the college had been turned
over from the city to the
Navy, much was not ready.
Our first meal in their lovely
cafeteria had these tables
with four chairs around it.
And of course, we went up
through the cafeteria line
with the Navy trays, sat down,
and then some men came over
and they said, lift the trays,
and they took the tables away.
We were billeted in apartment
buildings that the Navy took over.
There were about six blocks to walk.
And it was cold, cold.
It was winter, and
now, the apartments
in those buildings was
a foyer, a bedroom,
a living room, and a kitchen.
Can you imagine 16 women living
in that small space
with one small bathroom?
There were two double bunks in
the bedroom and three double bunks
in the living room, and we
had double bunks in the foyer,
and even two people
slept in the kitchen.
Our uniforms, although we had been
told that we would be outfitted,
you know, a uniform in the
matter of a couple of days,
the course that was supposed to have
been 6 weeks long was curtailed,
and we left in three weeks.
And it was two days before we
left that we got our uniforms.
So, that meant all during that time,
we were wearing the
one civilian outfit
that we were allowed
to bring with us.
So, I don't know if
they were ready for us.
>> Betty Splain: At
Coast Guard headquarters,
they were not ready for us.
And there was a lot
of resentment I think.
The gentleman I reported to
was a brand new lieutenant JG,
because the Coast Guard
had no reserve
to call on as the services had.
They just gave commissions
to enlisted personnel
who had served a certain
length of time.
So, the lieutenant I was assigned
to thought this was the worst thing
the Coast Guard ever did and put me
at a desk in back of him, so
he wouldn't have to look at me.
But that wasn't as bad as one of
my boot camp buddies who reported
to a captain in office
of operations.
And when she reported to him,
his response was good God,
first horses, then
dogs and now women.
So, you see, welcome aboard,
they didn't know the
meaning of it at that time.
However, on the other side of the
coin, every time I was eligible
by time in grade to
take an examination
for promotion, my boss
recommended me.
And before the three years
in that office was up,
I was running his office.
He hardly ever showed
up except to say hi,
what do you want me to sign today?
And as for the captain, he
recommended June for OCS,
and at her little going
away party in the office,
he recalled the words
that he had said.
And he said, I eat every
one of those words.
June has been the most
wonderful assistant in my office.
I have never known
anything quite like it.
So, at least they were coming
around, it was taking time.
It was a different world.
[ Applause ]
Jean: Marion, you went to
OCS, you went to admin school
and you went to OCS, right?
Des Moines, Iowa.
Where did you go from there?
>> Marion Ownbe: After I
finally got out of Des Moines,
I was kept around all
of my OCS class was kept
around for months waiting for the
change over from the WAAC to the WAC
when we would, assignments
would open up.
And from there I was assigned
to the Army Air Forces,
to the Air Service
Command at Patterson Field.
Later, that became Air Technical
Service Command when it was combined
with the material command
at Wright field,
become the Air Technical
Service Command
at Write Patterson,
and my office moved.
I worked there in a
personnel office.
>> Jean: Now, as we all know,
particularly from the last panel,
the armed forces particularly
the other services
who would hardly accept black,
the other services other
than the Army would not
accept blacks at all
until very close to
the end of the war.
The only service that was actually
actively recruiting black women was
the United States Army.
And that was at the absolute
insistence of Oveta Culp Hobby,
also the first lady,
Eleanor Roosevelt,
and Elizabeth Thoone [assumed
spelling] were actively involved
in trying to get the Army to be
sure they recruited black women.
Well, the Army was, and the services
were required by law, the draft law,
to recruit 10% blacks
in the service.
This started, I believe about 1942.
And so, the decision was made that
that same ratio would be applied
to the recruiting in the Army.
And when that decision was
made, the WAC faced the issue
of how they would deal with
integration when the service,
the Army was totally
segregated by race.
So, I'd like, if you'd
talk about this Dr. Putney.
>> Dr. Martha Settle Putney:
The Army accepted blacks
on the same basis,
accepted black women
on the same basis they
accepted black men.
It was segregated.
Everything was segregated
in the Army.
Even the quota system, which
was established at 10%,
which was not adhered to.
Only the first officer
candidates class was 10%.
After that 6%, maybe 5%, maybe 4%.
They stopped recruiting blacks.
The basic reason I think they
stopped recruiting them was
because they did not want to sign
black women to clerical jobs.
They wanted them for KP duty,
kitchen police duty,
janitorial work.
There's nothing wrong with that,
but it's not acceptable for blacks
who were qualified in other skills.
Now, Fort Des Moines
was much different.
And I'm emphasizing it,
much different from many
of the other Army posts
where blacks were stationed.
Mainly because of the
influence of Mrs. Beth Thoone.
She had almost total influence,
if not through Directory Hobby,
at least through Eleanor Roosevelt,
who had of course, by whom she had
of course the ear of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
the President of the United States.
At Fort Des Moines,
the chapel, the theater
and the post exchange
were never segregated.
They were always integrated.
There were only two activities that
were integrated when I got there,
and I understand they
were integrated even
after I left Fort Des Moines.
In the course of my tenure at
Fort Des Moines, the swimming pool
by accident was desegregated.
I'll tell you the accident.
All of the non-black companies were
assigned swimming pool hours 5 days
a week.
Blacks were assigned one day.
But there happened to be a company
there, special training unit,
which had about 10-12 blacks
in it who were assigned
with the non-black companies.
I happened to be an officer, a
black presence in the company.
The woman came to me and asked
me, where are we going to swim?
I told them, swim with your
company, swim with your unit.
They looked at me and said, what?
I said, look, I'm ordering
you to swim with your company.
And they knew what
an Army order was.
So, the swimming was desegregated,
and remained desegregated even
after I left Fort Des Moines.
Also, the mess hall during Saturday
and Sunday was desegregated,
and remained desegregated as
long as I was at Fort Des Moines.
Now, the reason for that is because
there was two commanding officers
who did not please the
blacks at Fort Des Moines.
They got in touch with Mrs. Beth
Thoone, Mrs. Beth Thoone got
in touch with Mrs.
Hobby, also Mrs. Roosevelt
and those two commanders were
transferred, or forced to resign.
The last, and most, the one
that remained a long
time was Colonel Hall,
who was a very operable man, who
was tolerant of many of the things
that we did, as long as they
did not cause a big problem.
[ Applause ]
>> Jean: Now, since we've
been in World War II
and we knew what it
was like way back then.
And we read the papers today and
we listen, we watch the television,
and we listen to what's
happening in the military today
with regard to military women.
People want to know.
I am often asked, and
I'm sure you are.
How is it different from what it
was back in 1942, and 43, and 44.
My answer is always it's night
and day, the differences,
but I think it might
be useful for us
to discuss what our reactions
are to those differences.
>> Marion Ownbe: Personally,
I think it's great
that women have been given
more and more responsibility.
And I know that it would have been
difficult for women of my generation
to accept the integration with men
that those women have accepted.
But, I think that it's progress
and there can be more equality.
[ Applause ]
>> Betty Splain: All I can say is
I am so envious of the women today.
They have opportunities that we
couldn't have even dreamed of.
And as I had indicated, those three
weeks of boot camp, that was it,
except correspondence
courses which I had to take
in order to get promoted.
But all I can say is I envy them,
and wish I were there [applause].
>> Jean: I think the
primary difference
that I notice is the degree of
integration that exists today
within the armed forces,
based on gender.
I think people don't realize how
segregated we were in World War II,
even though the Army was the
only one that had a corps,
the other services did not
have corps, but nonetheless,
we all were ruled by separated
sets of policies that were designed
by women, for women that
permeated all of the armed forces.
After all, we were just a generation
or so removed from
the Victorian Era.
And many of our laws,
and many of our policies,
and many of our attitudes
were very Victorian in nature,
that's why women were; it
would not have been feasible,
or even considered
appropriate to have women living
in the same barracks, for example.
They even segregated the bachelor
officer quarters by gender.
They had assignments that
were totally different.
Now, all though women worked
with men in the workplace,
the enlisted women had to be
assigned to an all-female unit
where they lived when
they were off duty.
And they had a commander who paid
great, great care to the behavior
of the women and the way
that dormitories were run.
It was a whole different world.
Today, the women are
really on their own.
And what we've discovered
is, when you put them
on their own, they're not children.
Even though they're a
lot younger than we were,
they know what they're doing,
they've got the training,
they consider themselves
soldiers, not women in the Army
or in the Navy they're sailors,
the Marine Corps they're Marines,
they're not women Marines.
In the Coast Guard, they're no
longer SPARS, they are integrated,
totally within the Coast Guard,
more so than the other
services I might add.
>> Betty Splain: Just another point,
when I got here, in Washington,
DC in World War II,
we were barracked
at a rooming house on 16th Street.
Now, I was 21, so that was kind
of 21 to 30 was the age group.
We had 10 o'clock bed check.
Isn't that exciting?
The way they are today, I mean
they have integrated barracks.
But, we had 10 o'clock bed check.
We could not be out on the
street alone after 9 o'clock.
We had to have an escort
or another SPAR with us.
Times have changed, thank God.
[ Applause ]
Ruth Rothberg Erno: Well, my
experience was slightly different.
When I finished at boot camp,
I was sent to Naval Aviation
Technical Training Center, Norman,
Oklahoma, where they had
three technical schools going.
Thousands and thousands of men were
going through the schools that were
in operation day and night.
And when I arrived, there were
only 40 of us who arrived.
For our orientation, the commanding
officer looked and he said,
I see that we have women
among the seamen who are here.
And he says, I want you to
know that seamen are seamen,
whether they wear skirts or
trousers and I considered
that a very, very healthy remark.
And then, beyond that
wherever I went,
I was the only woman in uniform.
>> Jean: I think it's interesting
to realize that almost every ship
in the United States Navy today,
with the exception of submarines
at the moment, every ship
has an integrated crew almost
without exception.
And the commanders
have said consistently,
that those are better crews
than single-gender male crews.
They just seem to work
better together.
Now, we're just about out of time,
do you have any questions
that we could take?
>> Speaker 1: What kind
of stockings did you wear?
>> Jean: She wanted to
know about the stockings.
>> Betty Splain: You see, these.
>> Ruth Rothberg Erno: She
asked what kinds of stockings.
The women in the Navy, we could
choose whatever underwear we wished.
And we purchased, you know
a natural color hose, yes.
There was no regulation
about the black.
>> Jean: Well, I think since
we're on stockings again,
I think it might be useful to ask
Dr. Putney if she'd like to talk
about stockings in the Army.
>> Dr. Martha Settle Putney: I don't
know whether the question you had
in mind when asked
what kind of stockings.
You know, the civilians did not
have available silk stockings.
Those were rationed.
In the Army there was no
rationing, you got so many pairs
and when they were worn
out you got so many pairs.
And some of them were
rayon, mine were rayon,
I don't know whether
yours were cotton or not.
>> Jean: Well, actually we
were issued cotton hose.
And the rayons were for dress.
But as I recall the issue
of the black stockings
in the Navy went a little
further than that and that is,
it seems that the black hose in
those days were only wore by ladies
of the night, which is a graceful
way of saying prostitutes.
And that was the reason they really
didn't want to wear black hose.
Another question?
Well, one more question.
>> What was the most
difficult part of your service?
And also, did you remain
friends with the people
that you served with after the war?
>> Jean: Did you remain friends
with the people after the war.
>> Dr. Martha Settle Putney: I did
not keep up with those individuals
that I served with after the war.
But later on, when I decided to
write up a history of the blacks
in the Woman's Army Corps, I got
in touch with several of them,
and they contributed
information to the book.
Did that answer your question.
>> Betty Splain: My boot camp buddy,
Josephine Good [assumed spelling],
we arrived at boot camp the
same day, arrived in Washington,
DC the same day, and she
lives in McClain and she had
to cancel her trip to the memorial
today, so we're really sorry.
But I have kept very
close in touch with her.
>> Jean: I have many friends
that I made during World War II,
but they were in the Army, and when
I transferred to the Air Force,
I lost contact with
most of those women,
only in recent years have we come
across one another again
and become friends.
I have many Air Force friends,
subsequent to World War II,
but I have very few left.
Well, unfortunately,
most of us who served
in World War II are
dying off like flies.
I've lost a lot of friends
lately, both male and female
that I served with in World War II.
And I think it's just the right
time, it's almost past time
that we had a memorial to
the men and women who served
in the armed forces in World War II.
And it was, I believe, I may be
prejudice, the greatest generation.
[ Applause ]
>> This has been a presentation
of the Library of Congress.
Visit us at LOC.gov.