OH 1163 | Oral History

OH 1163

Her experiences as a member of the WAVES during World War II. Youth and education in Elgin, Illinois; effects of Great Depression on Elgin and her family; community attitudes toward roles of women; high school education at Elgin Academy; brief college career at Bradley University and the University of Iowa; actuarial work in Chicago; bookkeeping work in Fresno, California, 1942; family debate concerning internationalism versus the America First Committee; shock of the Pearl Harbor attack; decision to join WAVES and process of enlisting, September, 1942; radio school at Madison, Wisconsin; assignment to Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C., 1943; breaking German submarine codes; working with Enigma; dealing with permutations and mathematical equations; lodging and eating arrangements; social life; transfer to Dayton, Ohio, and security arrangements; German Bund; continuation of work with Enigma in Dayton at National Cash Register plant; construction of code-breaking computers; moving the computers from Dayton to Washington; using the new computers in breaking codes; Officers Candidate School, Northampton, Massachusetts, January, 1944; transfer back to Naval Intelligence in Washington, 1944; job-related stress; her sense of accomplishment and contributions to the war effort; adjustments to civilian life; lasting effects of her experience in the WAVES.

About this Oral History

Physical Description 128 pp. plus documents (4 pp.)
Terms of Use Open
Interviewer(s) Sarah Canby Jackson
Date of Interview March 17, 1997

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