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Frieda Hardin || Guestbook || Updates || WAVES Links
HOME || Table of
Contents || Shorelines Newsletter
Frieda Hardin ||
Guestbook || Updates || WAVES Links
The above box will display
a photo album from the archives of
Oklahoma State University
Web WAVES
Collection
..... however it does take some time just to load and
depending on the speed of your modem it could be several minutes
October 9, 1942, Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) began
participation in a program for the United States Navy and eventually produced 10,000 women
for active service.
The WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) trained to perform secretarial
and clerical functions for the navy in order to free more men to fight during World War
II. The first class of WAVES consisted of 644 women and each
subsequent class yielded a maximum of 1250 graduates. They came from every state to
participate in twelve weeks of intensive training. WAVES spent eight hours each day in the
classroom studying secretarial skills such as shorthand, stenography, and
typing plus more advanced courses in history and naval correspondence. Each day concluded
with one hour of drill or other physical exercise such as volleyball or badminton.
The Navy realized its personnel requirements in December 1944 and decommissioned the
school. The final class of WAVES graduated Oklahoma A&M April 16, 1945.
All of the photos and text are from the Oklahoma State University Web WAVES Collection
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