McKenzie: Local WAVES disbanding

The last of the WAVES have rushed Charlottesville’s shore.

The Virginia Blue Ridge WAVES Chapter 57, founded in 1988 by area Navy veterans of Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service during World War II, will fold its flag and return its charter as membership retires to nursing homes and assisted living centers.

“We have to give up the charter and that’s kind of sad because we’re an old unit and we’ve been very active until recently,” said Ellen Diming, who served in the WAVES during the last world war. “We’ve transferred the records because almost everyone in the unit was getting too old.”

The WAVES is not a young group. Created in August 1942 as the country went to war, it included women serving in the Navy and Coast Guard. Women attended boot camp and basic training and were considered members of the Navy Reserve.

Unlike today’s Navy — where women serve on ships, in ports, in airplanes and on bases — WAVES were restricted. They were still official members of the military, however, and received the same pay rate as male counterparts and were subject to military discipline, although they could not serve aboard ships or aircraft.

WAVES served in clerical work, aviation, the Judge Advocate General’s corps, medical, communications, intelligence and quartermaster corps. They did nearly every job normally filled by sailors so that sailors could be sent to sea and to battle.

Jean Lowenhaupt, a local member, intercepted Japanese message in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Diming trained other women for the service. Like other troops released from duty at war’s end, she attended college on the GI Bill.

The unit didn’t sit on its military laurels and remember the glory days. Members got involved in the community and kept rolling.

They collected food for the Thomas Jefferson Area Food Bank.

They raised money for a variety of scholarships

They contributed to a Navy WAVES museum in Florida.

They wrote letters to American soldiers in Kuwait on the eve of the Gulf War.

They organized and attended memorial services for military personnel.

“We always tried to do something in the community,” Ms. Diming said. “We were proud of our service.”

As time takes its toll on the membership rolls, national WAVES leaders are looking at changing their organization to attract membership.

“The national board will be meeting next year and they have decided they want to change the name to Women in Sea Services,” Ms. Diming said. “That will open it up to the women serving in the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Marines and the Merchant Marine.”

Active duty and retired women Navy veterans are currently eligible to join the WAVES, Ms. Diming said. That, unfortunately, is not happening in great numbers. For the Blue Ridge chapter, that means the flag will be folded and anchors dropped.

“Our numbers are going down,” Ms. Diming said. “The whole generation from World War II is dying off and they’re not able to get younger women who have served to join. It’s sad, because we had the unit for so long.”