alb3820149

Lt. Pickens and Ensign Wills, 1944

Lt. Harriet Ida Pickens and Ensign Frances Wills, first Negro Waves to be commissioned. They were members of the final graduating class at Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School (WR) Northampton, MA., December 21, 1944. On July 30, 1942, the WAVES became a World War II division of the US. Navy, and consisted entirely of women. The name was the acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of World War II, and at the end of the war the women would not be allowed to continue in Navy careers. Their official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname of the WAVES stuck. The WAVES did not initially accept African-American women into the division. From the fall of 1944 onwards, the Navy trained roughly one black woman for every 36 white women enlisted in the WAVES which was below the 10% cap agreed upon by the armed services in 1940.

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Title:

Lt. Pickens and Ensign Wills, 1944

Caption:

Lt. Harriet Ida Pickens and Ensign Frances Wills, first Negro Waves to be commissioned. They were members of the final graduating class at Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School (WR) Northampton, MA., December 21, 1944. On July 30, 1942, the WAVES became a World War II division of the US. Navy, and consisted entirely of women. The name was the acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of World War II, and at the end of the war the women would not be allowed to continue in Navy careers. Their official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname of the WAVES stuck. The WAVES did not initially accept African-American women into the division. From the fall of 1944 onwards, the Navy trained roughly one black woman for every 36 white women enlisted in the WAVES which was below the 10% cap agreed upon by the armed services in 1940.

Category:

History: Personalities

Credit:

Album / NARA/Science Source

Releases:

? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size:

3600 x 4546 px | 46.8 MB

Print size:

30.5 x 38.5 cm | 12.0 x 15.2 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

1944 • 20 20TH XX XXTH TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20 XX TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20TH CENTURY • 20TH • AFRICAN-AMERICAN • AMERICAN • BLACK WOMEN • BW • CELEBRITIES • CELEBRITY • COLORED WOMEN • DECEMBER 21 • DECEMBER 21ST • ENSIGN • FAMOUS PEOPLE • FAMOUS • FEMALE • FIGURE • FIRST NEGRO WAVES COMMISSIONED • FRANCES WILLS • HARRIET IDA PICKENS • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • HISTORY: PERSONALITIES • IMPORTANT • LIEUTENANT • LT • MILITARY • NAVAL RESERVE MIDSHIPMEN'S SCHOOL • NAVAL • NAVY • NEGRO WOMEN • NOTABLE • PEOPLE • PERSON • PERSONALITIES • PERSONALITY • PHOTO • PHOTOGRAPH • PICKENS • SECOND WORLD WAR • TWENTIETH CENTURY • UNITED STATES • US • USA • WAVES • WELL-KNOWN • WILLS • WOMAN • WOMEN ACCEPTED FOR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY SERVICE • WOMEN • WORLD WAR 2 • WORLD WAR II • WORLD WAR TWO • WW II • WW2 • WWII