WAVES of the Navy

Details

Description

Today is the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES. On July 30, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Public Law 689, creating the Navy's Women Reserve Program, which paved the way for officer and enlisted women to enter the Navy.

The first women to serve in the U.S. Navy were nurses, beginning with the “Sacred Twenty” appointed after Congress established the Navy Nurse Corps on May 13, 1908. The first large-scale enlistment of women into the Navy met clerical shortages during World War I, and the second came months before the United States entered World War II. During World War II, more than 80,000 officers and enlisted women served in the WAVES.

All 11 Navy Bands worked together to collaborate on this march. “WAVES of the Navy”, was written in 1943 by WAVES officers Elizabeth Ender and Betty St. Clair. You can hear at the end how the march also lines up perfectly with “Anchors Aweigh.” We would like to thank our shipmates at U.S. Naval Academy Band, Navy Band Southwest, Navy Band Southeast, U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa Band, Navy Band Northeast, U.S. 7th Fleet Band, Navy Band Great Lakes, U.S. Fleet Forces Band, and Navy Band Northwest for helping us bring all the combined talents of Navy Music together.

Women – active, reserve, and civilian – significantly contribute to the strength of our Navy and the defense of our nation. Naval history is full of trailblazing pioneers who paved the way for more than 120,000 women serving today. Women have served in every rank, from seaman to admiral and in most every job, from naval aviators to explosive ordnance disposal technicians. Every job, space, and rank in the Navy is open to women, and women serve in nearly every Navy community. As we celebrate 80 years of accomplishments, we also look forward to what will be accomplished next.