White Caps WAVES National Newsletter

Looking For ........

• Looking for women in the WAVES who played in a concert band, drum and bugle corps, or any type of dance or marching band as part of their WAVE experience. I am writing a book on the women’s military bands during WWII and need information on WAVES who played in these groups, and recollections of their experiences in the bands. If you were a musician while in the military as full-time duty or for fun, please contact me. Dr. Sullivan, jill.sullivan@asu.edu or (480) 965-7369).

• Memory book of the 1952 3rd Regiment, Company 74 (WAVES) at the Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD, Recruit Training Command. Will purchase or a copy would be fine. Contact: Betty (Nichols) Tognetti, 960 Lindale Dr., Marion, IA 53402-2849, (319) 377-7882, Atogne9479@aol.com.

• I was in the WAVES in WWII and stationed in Seattle where I worked in the Navy Post Office. I am trying to find out where the WAVES barracks were. Do you remember? Were they at Sand Point? I would appreciate any info. Contact me via: ruthslaught@yahoo.com

• Were you in the communications field during WWII? Did you work on the Bombe Project on Nebraska Ave. in Washington, DC? Walter Reiss, husband of the late Bertha Boron (a lieutenant in intelligence/ communications), is trying to determine if his wife worked on this project. Now that the documentation has been declassified, a lot of information is available about the project, except a list of those WAVES who were involved with it. Debbie Anderson, NCR Dayton Office, and Peg Fiehtner, retiree, National Security Group, are performing research, and hope to be able to get to the National Archives and look for information regarding the women who served there. Peg estimates that 3,000 or more WAVES passed through the doors on Nebraska Ave., and, if she and Debbie cannot find a roster, she hopes to be able to develop one. If you were one of these ladies, or know someone who was, please contact Dassa Carvey. (Address located on page 2)

the main gate for the new Museum with its own entrance. The Naval Museum is grateful for donations, from various sources, to be used in displays at the Museum. Several groups have visited the museum and attendance has been high. The Great Lakes Naval Museum Board thanks all who have made financial or artifact donations. Please continue your monetary donations. It will be used to build the Museum. The address is: Great Lakes Naval Museum, P. O. Box 886307, Great Lakes, IL 60088-6307.

BASEBALL’S HALL OF FAME
By Alice Anderson
Gateway WAVES Unit 5 St. Louis, MO

We have among us a member who was one of 600 inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, MO. You wouldn’t hear it from

Edna (Frank) “Frankie” Dummerth – she’s very quiet about it – but she was a member of the All-
American Girls Professional Baseball League, inducted into the Hall of Fame, in 1988. Edna played softball from the time she was 13 years old, and loved it. Back in 1944, Edna was on a league that played softball at Fox Park in South St. Louis.

When the major and minor league boys were called to active duty, they left few on the fields. Phillip Wrigley, the Cubs owner at the time, founded the All-American Girls League to fill that void.

Edna heard of the League, and she and a friend applied. She was accepted and was assigned to the Minneapolis Millerettes. Her position was catcher, and now she was playing baseball instead of softball.

While she only played a short time, she traveled with the team and played in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and South Bend.
The team did practice time in LaSalle or Peru, IL.

When they began trading players, Edna was traded to the Racine Belles. But, before she reported to the new team, she got on a train and came back to St. Louis. That’s when she joined the Navy.

If you saw the movie “A League of Their Own”, you got the gist of what she experienced, to a point. Edna says the team found housing for them in homes – two players together – close to the stadium they were playing.

Only about 300 of the 600 players are with us today. The league held forth through the 40’s but disbanded in 1954. When the boys returned from the war, the league wanted their parks back.

Edna was unable to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1988, when the group was officially inducted, but did plan to be in Cooperstown in September for the 60th Reunion. Edna and two other players, Audrey (Kissel) Lafser and Irma Bergman, were guests of honor at Busch Stadium, June 21, 2003, taking the field and being introduced before the game.

If you’re a Baseball Card collector, ask Edna about hers. Every player in the Girls’ League has their own card. I have one and it’s autographed by “Frankie”!

GREAT LAKES MUSEUM
Submitted by Ella Wiberg,
Past VP and member
GLNM BOD

Members of the Great Lakes Naval Museum Board have been meeting on a regular basis to resolve the building of a new Museum. There are many facets to this process. The main focus of this group has been to find a location where visitors have easy access without going through the security gate. We also need to look at ways to locate financial assistance.

Rear Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN, Commander, Naval Service Training Command, is an enthusiastic supporter of the Museum. She has been instrumental in locating an area near