Naval War College (U.S.)

Azarian discusses his youth in Hartford, CT, his being drafted in the Army Air Corps, his training in the B-24 bomber as an armor gummer, gunnery school, missions over Austria and Yugoslavia, the explosion of his plane, his time in prison camp at Barth, Germany and his escape to France at the war's end.

Youth in Amsterdam, N.Y.; Employment at General Electric Corporation;Joined the Navy, September 1942; Boot Camp, U.S. Naval Training Station, Newport, RI.; Radio School, Bedford Springs, Pa.; Radioman, USS Borie; Rescue of German POWs; Encounter with German Subma­ rine; Sinking of USS Borie, 1November 1943; Rescue by USS Gough; Served in USS J. Fred Tal­bot; Radio Technician School, Chicago, IL; Radio Technician School, Corpus Christi, Tex., 1944; Assigned to Trenton, NJ., radar installation, 1945; Discharged, 1945; Graduate, University of Missouri; Boston Fuse Company, St. Louis, Mo. Part of WWII Veterans Project.

Smith, Larry 1892-1987. Reminiscences of her youth and life as a Navy wife, including growing up in Annapolis on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy, social life with midshipmen, marriage, World War I, life in Shanghai and Chefoo, China, and travel to Manila, 1925-1928; Assignment to the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., and comments on the Naval War College in the 1930s; Impressions of Ad­mirals W. T. Sampson, W. Rodgers,]. P. Pringle, T. Hart, R. A. Spruance, E. G. Kalbfus and CAPT R. C. Smith; Assignment to Hawaii; Retirement in Newport, R.I., 1940. Part of History of the Navy in Narragansett Bay Project.

Ravin, Mary Anna Silverman, 1924. Typescript of interview with WWII WAVE, includes youth in Providence, R.I.; Graduation from University of Rhode Island, 1944; Enlisted in WAVES in 1944; Training and indoctrination at USNTS (WR) , Bronx, N.Y.;Assigned to Medical Corps as a pharmacist' smate, St. Albans Naval Hospital; Radio Chicago Radar School Infirmary; Bethesda Naval Hospital; Great Lakes Naval Hospital; Death of FDR and reaction to; Social life in the Navy; Tufts Medical School; Internship; Marriage and medical practice on Cape Cod; Membership in Ocean State WAVES.

Gray discusses her service in the WAVES as a yeoman from 1943 to 1946, including boot camp at US Naval Training School (WR) and yeoman school at Oklahoma State University as well as her assignment at the Norfolk Naval Air Station during the war. She was head of demobilization office at Bainbridge, Maryland, by the end of the war. Joining the WAVES was the most important thing she did in her life.

Gray was born in Scituate, RI in 1923. She graduated from Coventry High School in 1941 and worked as an office clerk before joining the WAVES. She graduated from RI College and taught English in RI public schools before retiring and running a girls camp in Maine. Part of the WAVES in WWII Oral History Project.

Caswell, Idary, 1923-. Reminiscences of a WAVE who served in WWII as a Pharmacist's Mate. Includes youth in Maine; College; Enlistment in WAVES in 1944; Training at USNTS, Bronx, N.Y.; Corps school; St. Albans Hospital; Duties and cases at St. Albans; Black women in WAVES; Recreation; VJ Day cele­brations in NYC; Discharge in May 1946; GI Bill for degree at University of Maine; Impact of WAVES service and WWII on women; Postwar marriage and work.

Sullivan, Mary Catherine, 1924. Reminiscences of a WAVE who served in WWII as a Yeoman. Includes youth in Providence, RI.;Secretary, OPA, 1924-1944; Enlisted in the WAVES in 1944; Training and indoctrination at USNTS, Bronx, N.Y.; Yeoman training at Iowa State College, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Assignment at Quonset Point NAS as Yeoman, Naval Air Bases Group; Social life and recreation; Barracks living; V:J Day Celebration; Transfer to Department oflnterior, Coal Mines Administration, 1946-1947; Discharged in June 1947; Joined USNR, 1948; Marriage and family; Employment as secretary, Metropolitan Llfe; Membership in Ocean State WAVES; Impact of WAVES on life.

Hawthorne, Mary E. 1916-2002. Reminiscences of naval career of WAVE officer who served during WWII and Vietnam War. Early years in Providence, R.I., education and graduation from University of R.I., 1937; M.A. from Penn State College and faculty position there, 1940-1944; Enlisted in the WAVES in 1944; Reac­ tion to bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941; Attended U.S. Naval Midshipmen's School, Northampton, Mass.; Assigned to NAS Pensacola, Fla. as Aviation Psychologist, Hospital Corps; Assigned to organize Navy Rehabilitation Training Center USNTS, Bronx, N.Y.; St. Alban's Hos­pital; VJ Day celebrations; Discharge, 1946; Ph.D. Michigan State University, 1950; Faculty, Penn­sylvania State University and Boston University. Naval Reserves and recalled to active duty, 1964- 1971 at Naval Medical School, Bethesda, Md.; USAF, Organized, Physician's Assistant Program; Head Physician's Assistant Program Michigan State University; Veterans Administration; Retire­ment and volunteer activities.

Fagan discusses her career as a storekeeper in the US Navy from 1980-2003. She comments on her reasons for joining the Navy, her boot camp, and advanced training, shoe and ship billets, including service on USS Nimitz and her promotion to senior chief.

Pion, Mary Jeanne Ziegler, 1921-. Reminiscences of an enlisted Marine (WR) during WWII. Youth in Marietta, Ohio; Attended Business College, Columbus, Ohio; Employment at Lazarus Co; Reaction to Pearl Harbor bomb­ ing;Joined the MC in March 1943for patriotic reasons and new experiences; Trained at USNTS (WR) Hunter College; MC uniform; Assigned to Discharge Department, MC HDS, as secretary; Lived in Henderson Hall, then apartment; Promoted to Sta.ff Sergeant; Social life and recreation; Met husband; Married in March 1944; Discharged in August 1944; Impact of MC service on life; Member WMC Association; Employment after marriage and family.