Facts About The WAVES and SPARS - Women’s Vital Role in WWII Military Support (1943)
Front Cover, Facts About The WAVES and SPARS Brochure, 11 February 1943. “Never in history has there been such an urgent need for American women to serve their country. This is total war — a war in which every woman as well as every man must play a part.” | GGA Image ID #2230a74d03
Quick Facts
- Date: 11 February 1943
- Publisher: U.S. Navy Recruiting Station
- Purpose: Recruitment of women for WAVES (Navy) and SPARS (Coast Guard)
- Format: 12-page wartime pamphlet
- Audience: Women ages 20–35, with at least two years of high school
- Standout Features:
- First-generation WAVES & SPARS recruiting pitch during WWII
- Full pay, benefits, uniforms, and opportunities equal to men at shore stations
- Mainbocher-designed uniform highlighted as both functional and flattering
What Makes This Unique ✨
This 1943 pamphlet is one of the earliest recruitment tools for women in the Navy and Coast Guard during World War II. Its language is urgent, patriotic, and persuasive, emphasizing that women’s service was essential to freeing men for combat duty.
Unlike later yearbooks, this is a promotional and instructional piece, spelling out eligibility, pay, training, and assignments in detail — making it a rich genealogical and historical source.
Facts About The WAVES and SPARS (1943)
Relevance to the United States Navy for Teachers, Students, Genealogists, Historians, and Others
The brochure Facts About The WAVES and SPARS (1943) offers a detailed overview of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARS) during World War II. This pamphlet is a crucial resource for historians studying the role of women in the military, as it outlines how these organizations were created to free up male personnel for combat roles by allowing women to take over essential positions at shore stations.
For teachers, this brochure serves as an informative and engaging resource for discussions on gender roles in the military during the war, highlighting how women’s contributions were formalized and expanded. This is also an excellent piece for students studying U.S. military history and World War II, as it emphasizes the significance of these units in supporting the war effort.
For genealogists, the document can provide helpful context for understanding the type of roles women played in the military, which could aid in tracing family members who served in the WAVES or SPARS.
Never in history has there been such an urgent need for American women to serve their country. This is total war — a war in which every woman and every man must play a part. There are essential service jobs that must be filled at home — man-size, full-time jobs in which you, as a member of the WAVES or SPARS, can serve your country and release men of the Navy and Coast Guard to fight at sea. How you can do it is explained in this leaflet.
What are the Waves and Spars?
The WAVES is an organization of women whose job is to replace Navy men at shore stations. The SPARS is an organization of women whose job is to replace Coast Guard men at shore stations.
As a member of the WAVES or SPARS, you wear the same Navy blue, win the same ratings and earn the same pay as America's finest fighting men.
And you'll hold the same shore jobs that men now fill. At Navy and Coast Guard bases throughout the continental United States, WAVES and SPARS are needed to fill positions in radio, communications, storekeeping . . . in mechanics and aviation groundwork .. . in offices and other special fields.
There are important positions in the WAVES and SPARS for women with experience in practically every occupation. Have you worked in an office as a typist, secretary, operator of business machines, filing clerk, or bookkeeper? Have you sold merchandise or checked stock in a store? Do you know anything about radio, telegraphy, photography? Did you ever work in a library, serve at an information desk or telephone switchboard, do tailoring or sewing? Have you a mechanical "bent"? If so, your knowledge and experience will be valuable to the Navy. And it will help you obtain rapid promotion and better pay.
On the other hand, suppose you have no special experience. There is a place for you, too, in the Navy. If you can meet physical and educational requirements, Navy training will take care of the rest and fit you in a few months for the post where you will be of greatest service to your country and yourself.
Where will you serve?
After being sworn in and ordered to active duty as an enlisted WAVE or SPAR, you will go first—at government expense—to one of the training schools. These are located at colleges in every part of the country. The school to which you are assigned depends on the type of job you are being trained in. The training period averages four months.
After your training, you will be assigned to duty where you are most needed—with the exception that you will not be asked to serve outside of the continental United States. Among the possibilities are Miami, San Diego, Norfolk, Washington, D. C., the Navy Yard at Boston, the airbases at Corpus Christi or Jacksonville, or any other Naval or Coast Guard establishment where a well-trained woman can replace a man.
You will not select the base where you will be stationed, but your request for service in a particular place will be given consideration as long as it does not conflict with the needs of the Navy or Coast Guard.
How Will You Live?
Your living and eating quarters will depend upon the location at which you are stationed. In some places, you may live in barracks especially built for the purpose. In towns where there are many WAVES or SPARS, they will probably be housed in groups. At other places, you may arrange for your own quarters. In this case, you will be given an extra allowance to pay for your food and rooms.
Pay up to $126 monthly—plus allowances
Many women now earn as much in the WAVES and SPARS as they ever did in civilian jobs. You will enlist as Apprentice Seaman at $50 a month. And that money is just part of your income — because, in addition, all your living expenses are paid. You'll get good food, comfortable quarters, the finest medical and dental care—all free. Where government facilities are not available, you will receive, in addition to your pay, subsistence and quarters allowances totaling $2.75 a day.
On top of that, you get $200 worth of uniforms free—trim, Navy blue uniforms designed by the famous stylist Mainbocher to flatter every figure. Hat, jacket, insignia, shirt, tie, skirt, bag, gloves, coat —"everything that shows" is provided to you, plus a credit of about $40 for any other clothing you may need.
Also, you will be entitled to allowances for your dependents. You can buy life insurance at low government rates. You will get the privileges of free mail, reduced rates on transportation, complimentary movie and theatre tickets where granted. In the WAVES and SPARS, there is a chance to qualify for promotion, and a raise in pay accompany each advancement in rating.
Can you meet these requirements?
- Term of Enlistment — For the duration, plus six months.
- Citizenship — You must be a native-born American. Or if you are not native-born, you or your parents must have naturalization papers.
- Age — You must be at least 20 years old and not yet have reached your 36th birthday. If under 21, you must have the written consent of your parents or guardian.
- Marriage — A WAVE may not marry, or be married to, a man in the Navy. A SPAR may not marry, or be married to, a man in the Coast Guard. In case of such marriage, she must either resign or be discharged.
- Dependents — Women with children under 18 will not be accepted.
- Character — When you enlist, you will be asked to furnish three references.
- Education—You must have had at least two years of high school or business school.
- Experience—You will be asked to submit a record of your occupation since leaving school.
- Physical — You must pass a Navy physical examination to show that you are in sound health.
- Height — You must be at least 5 feet.
- Weight—You must weigh at least 95 pounds.
- Eyes — Your vision must be not less than 6/20 in the worst eye, with binocular vision (two eyes) not less than 12/20. Each eye must be correctable with glasses to 20/20. Note: 12/20 vision means that you can read at 12 feet what perfect eyes can read at 20.
- Hearing — You must be able to distinguish whispered words at 15 feet.
- Teeth — Natural teeth must be in sound condition, or you must have a satisfactory replacement.
How to apply for the WAVES or SPARS
- First, go in person or write to the nearest Navy Recruiting Station (there is one in nearly every town) and ask for WAVE or SPAR application blanks. Or, if more convenient, you may go or write to the nearest Office of Naval Officer Procurement (located in 34 leading cities).
- When you apply, be sure to give the following information:
Your age and date of birth.
Your education.
Your marital status —married, unmarried, widowed, divorced.
If you have any children, how many and the age of each.
If you are married, your husband's occupation.
- If you appear to qualify based on the information you give, you will receive an official application blank and other necessary papers. Fill in all the information requested about your qualifications, get your three character references, your family doctor's statement of your physical condition, birth or baptismal certificate, marriage or divorce papers, if any, and a transcript of your education and occupational record. Then return all documents to the office from which you secured them.
- If your application is accepted, you will be sent — with transportation paid — to the nearest Office of Naval Officer Procurement for an interview, aptitude test and your Navy physical examination. If you pass these successfully, you will be sworn in—ready to serve your country shoulder to shoulder with the men of the Navy. If you fail, transportation expenses will be paid to your home.
Brochure Information
Join the Navy
Apply for the Waves or Spars Today
U. S. Navy Recruiting Station
Post Office. Building
Springfield, Ohio
NMI-34990--2.11.43 7 M
Key Themes
🌊 Recruitment and Roles
WAVES = Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (Navy).
SPARS = Coast Guard Women’s Reserve.
Women were promised equal pay and ratings as men for shore duty, including:
- Radio, telegraphy, and communications
- Aviation maintenance and mechanics
- Storekeeping and supply
- Office work, typing, filing, and business machines
🏫 Training & Assignments
- Initial training at Navy-contracted colleges (avg. 4 months).
- Post-training assignments across the U.S. (e.g., Miami, Washington, D.C., Corpus Christi, San Diego).
- Promise: women would not serve outside the continental United States.
💰 Pay & Benefits
- Base pay: $50/month as Apprentice Seaman (≈ $900 today).
- Allowances for food & housing if not in barracks.
- $200 worth of uniforms free, designed by Mainbocher.
- Medical/dental care included.
- Opportunity for rapid promotion and life insurance.
✅ Eligibility Requirements
- Age: 20–35 (with parental consent if under 21).
- Unmarried; no children under 18.
- Minimum two years high school.
- U.S. citizen (or naturalized).
- Minimum height: 5 feet; minimum weight: 95 lbs.
- Correctable vision to 20/20; good hearing and dental health.
Educational & Historical Relevance 🎯
Teachers & Students: Primary-source tool for WWII home-front studies, gender roles in wartime, and propaganda analysis.
Genealogists: Provides context for family members who joined WAVES/SPARS in the early war years.
Historians: A lens into U.S. Navy and Coast Guard policy toward women, pay equality at shore stations, and recruitment messaging.
Noteworthy Detail 🖼️
The uniform receives special attention, showing the Navy recognized women’s service and sought to maintain both functionality and dignity in presentation.
The brochure stresses “man-size, full-time jobs”, signaling how the military framed women’s service as both temporary and essential.
Dictionary of Words or Abbreviations
- WAVES: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, a U.S. Navy program for women during WWII
- SPARS: The Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, the female counterpart to the WAVES
- Rating: The term for a job or role in the Navy
- Navy Blue: A dark blue color used for Navy uniforms
- Fouled Anchor: A symbol used in naval insignia, depicting an anchor with rope tangled around it
- Aptitude Test: A standardized test to measure a person’s ability to perform in specific military jobs
- Enlisted: Military personnel who are not officers, performing the day-to-day duties within the service
- Officer Procurement: The process by which the Navy recruits and assigns officers to various duties
Educational and Historical Insights
📌 The WAVES and SPARS in WWII: This pamphlet provides insight into the contributions of women during World War II. While the war is often remembered for its male soldiers, the WAVES and SPARS played essential, though less recognized, roles at home, handling tasks that allowed men to go overseas and fight.
📌 Expansion of Women's Roles in the Military: The creation of the WAVES and SPARS during the war was a turning point in military gender roles. It gave women a chance to serve in leadership and technical positions previously closed to them. This evolution can be used as an example in classrooms or research on gender equality in the military and how societal views on women in combat and technical roles have evolved over time.
📌 Uniform Design: The uniform design by Mainbocher was meant to strike a balance between military function and feminine aesthetics. This uniform also highlighted the Navy's recognition of the women’s contributions and their desire to maintain the dignity and professionalism of the U.S. Navy.
Final Thoughts ⚓
This 1943 Facts About the WAVES and SPARS pamphlet is more than a recruitment leaflet — it’s a window into a cultural turning point. Women’s military service was framed as both patriotic duty and professional opportunity, with clear pathways for training, pay, and recognition.
💙 For educators, it illustrates WWII mobilization at home.
📚 For genealogists, it contextualizes ancestors’ service.
⚓ For historians, it represents the Navy’s earliest formal push for women in uniform.
