📖 1953 WAVES Boot Camp – Company 126W, USNTC Bainbridge (*The Ship’s Bell*)

Front Cover, Great Lakes USNTC "The Ship's Bell" 1953 WAVES Company 126W. | GGA Image ID # 13f3209ea5

QuickFacts

• Training Center: U.S. Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland
• Year / Company: 1953, WAVES Company 126
• Commander: TE1 P. Muenchow (Company Commander)
• Graduates: 52 women (graduated 10 August 1953)
• Organization: 32nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment
• Training Dates: 12 June – 10 August 1953
• Document Type: Yearbook (The Ship’s Bell)
• Standout Features:
  • Leadership by Capt. Joy Bright Hancock and Lt. Cmdr. Jean M. Stewart
  • Full roster of 52 women recruits with middle initials
  • Strong photographic record of command staff and recruits

What Makes This Unique ✨

Company 126 represents the continuity of WAVES training during the early 1950s, just after women were formally integrated into the regular Navy (1948). With Capt. Hancock and Lt. Cmdr. Stewart shaping policies at the top, and TE1 P. Muenchow directly leading recruits, the company showcases how the Navy balanced administrative, technical, and supply roles for women in the Cold War.

This yearbook is also remarkable for its large, diverse roster of 52 women, including recruits with distinctive surnames (e.g., Gambacorta, Zurawski, Hippensteel, St. Cyr) that reflect America’s ethnic breadth. For genealogists, this is an especially rich primary source.

👩‍✈️ WAVES Company 53-126 Leadership

• CAPT Joy Bright Hancock, USN — Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women
• LCDR Jean M. Stewart, USN — Officer-in-Charge, Recruit Training for Women
• TE1 P. Muenchow, USN — Company Commander

🌟 Noteworthy Leaders

CAPT Joy Bright Hancock — Trailblazing naval officer, former Director of the WAVES, and one of the “first eight” women integrated into the Regular Navy in 1948.

LCDR Jean M. Stewart — Officer-in-Charge of Women’s Recruit Training, bringing continuity of leadership and administrative experience from WWII.

TE1 P. Muenchow — Company Commander, Technician’s Mate (Electronics) First Class, reflecting the technical specialties women increasingly held during the Cold War Navy.

🌟 Leadership Profiles

Captain Joy Bright Hancock (1898–1986)

Hancock was one of the first women to join the regular Navy under the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act (1948). She began as a Yeoman (F) in World War I and went on to become Director of the WAVES (1946). By 1951 she held the title Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women, overseeing women’s careers and shaping policies during Korea and beyond.

LCDR Jean M. Stewart (1910–?)

Commissioned in 1943, Stewart brought extensive administrative experience from logistics and aviation commands. By 1952 she was appointed Officer-in-Charge of Recruit Training (Women) at Bainbridge, directly responsible for molding companies like 125 and 126. She bridged the gap between WWII WAVES and Cold War women’s training.

TE1 P. Muenchow (Company Commander)

As Teleman First Class, Muenchow oversaw Company 126 through its 8-week course. Telemen specialized in communications and clerical administration, making Muenchow an ideal leader for WAVES training. Though less documented than Hancock or Stewart, her role reflects the importance of non-commissioned leadership in Navy boot camps.

RosterAndPortraits 📋

The 52 women of Company 126 trained from 12 June to 10 August 1953, graduating into Navy specialties ranging from administrative clerks to supply technicians.

For genealogists, the inclusion of middle initials makes tracing service records and obituaries significantly easier.

WAVES Company 53-126W Bainbridge NTC Recruits, Page 1 (Aldrich-Goo)

1. Dolores E. Aldrich
2. Jeanne M. Anderson
3. Mary S. Arrant
4. Bonnie F. Barnhouse
5. Margaret K. Baskas
6. Mary E. Bentley
7. Janet R. Berthold
8. Carole E. Blamire
9. Etta M. Boone
10. Jean B. Brunetti
11. Sharon L. Bruns
12. M. M. Costello
13. Carol L. Devine
14. Mary L Dyson
15. E. J. Evanoff
16. Frances T. Favia
17. Helen L. Ferry
18. K. J. Fitzgerald
19. Palma J. Fortino
20. Orpha F. Fuller
21. Genevieve V. Garcia
22. Jimmie O. Garner
23. Ada Y. Goo

WAVES Company 53-126W Bainbridge NTC Recruits, Page 2 (Hamann-Zurawski)

1. Bernetta J. Hamann
2. Patricia R. Herward
3. Jacqueline F. Holak
4. Alice H. Isa
5. Doris M. Koeplinger
6. Cynthia J. Lewis
7. Donna M. Lisle
8. Ollie B. Lively
9. June M. Lombardo
10. Gloria Lovett
11. Carol A. Mattke
12. Merab A. McKee
13. Nancy J. McLean
14. Ethel E. Meadows
15. Shirley D. Odham
16. Ettamay E. Patrick
17. Carolyn A. Petrie
18. Beverly A. Pope
19. P. J. Randolph
20. Julia E. Rodrigues
21. Margie A. Smith
22. Doris J. Stover
23. Joyce L. Strange
24. Thelma J. Stuner
25. Margaret E. Swanson
26. Barbara J. Wander
27. Mynatte F. Warren
28. Hilda Williams
29. Louise L. Zurawski

🌟 Recruit Highlights

Ada Y. Goo

With a rare surname of Chinese origin, Ada Goo’s presence reflects the growing diversity of Navy women in the 1950s. Her inclusion demonstrates that WAVES training was opening opportunities across ethnic lines during a period of broader integration in the armed forces.

Louise L. Zurawski

A distinctly Polish-American surname, Zurawski represents the Navy’s outreach into immigrant communities. Many recruits with Slavic or Eastern European backgrounds in this roster highlight how second-generation Americans were central to postwar service.

CPT JOY BRIGHT HANCOCK, U. S. NAVY
Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel For Women

Captain Joy Bright Hancock, U.S.N., first served as a Yeoman (F), First Class, U.S. Naval Reserve Force at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yards at Camden, New Jersey, and later as Chief Yeoman (F), she was attached to the U.S. Naval Air Station at Cape May, New Jersey. She was mustered out of the service in September, 1919.

On October 24, 1942, Captain Hancock became Women's Reserve Representative for the Bureau of Aeronautics and for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air. She was transferred to duty on February 25, 1946, as Assistant Director (Plans) of the Women's Reserve, and on July 26, 1946, she assumed duty as Director of the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Navy, in the rank of Captain.

On October 15, 1948, Captain Hancock was one of the eight women sworn into the regular Navy of the United States, under the Women's Armed Service Integration Act of 1948. She was assigned duty as an Assistant to the Chief of Naval Personnel, in the temporary rank of Captain, and is serving as an Advisor to the Chief of Naval Personnel on women's affairs. On 17 May 1951 her title was officially designated as Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women.

In addition to the Commendation Ribbon, Captain Hancock has the Victory Medal, for service during World War I, and is entitled to the American Area Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

LCDR JEAN M. STEWART, U. S. N.
Officer-in-Charge Recruit Training for Women in the Navy

Lieutenant Commander Jean M. Stewart, U.S.N., reported to the Recruit Training Command for duty as Officer-in-Charge of Recruit Training (W) in December 1952. Just prior to assuming her present duties, Miss Stewart was Assistant for Women and Assistant Personnel Officer on the staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.

A graduate of Mills College, Oakland, California, Miss Stewart was first commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve in March 1943. Her first duty was with an Advanced Base Outfitting Detachment of the Amphibious Training Command at Port Hueneme, California, where she served as Administrative Assistant until April 1945. This assignment was followed by duty, also in administration, on the staff of the Commander, Western Sea Frontier with headquarters in San Francisco, California.

In August 1946 she was transferred to Washington, D. C., where her assignments included duty in the Office of Naval Material, the Bureau of Aeronautics, the Air Transport Section of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and on the staff of the Commander, Fleet Logistic Air Wings, as Assistant Air Traffic Coordinator.

In recognition of her services during World War II, Miss Stewart was awarded the American Area Campaign Medal and the Victory Medal.

WAVES Company 53-126W Bainbridge NTC Recruits, Page 1 (Aldrich-Goo and Company Commander TE1 P. Muenchow). | GGA Image ID # 13f370abc0

WAVES Company 53-126W Bainbridge NTC Recruits, Page 2 (Hamann-Zurawski). | GGA Image ID # 13f3d64572

Noteworthy Images 🖼️

• Front Cover, “The Ship’s Bell” (1953) | GGA Image ID #13f3209ea5
• Captain Joy Bright Hancock (Portrait) | GGA Image ID #13f33ad46d
• Lt. Cmdr. Jean M. Stewart (Portrait) | GGA Image ID #13f33ad46d
• Recruits Group Portraits (pp. 2–3) | GGA IDs #13f370abc0, #13f3d64572

These photos vividly capture the faces and uniforms of early Cold War WAVES, as well as the leadership figures guiding their service.

Relevance And Research 🎯

Teachers & Students: Offers a lens into the early Cold War era, when women transitioned from “temporary wartime WAVES” into permanent Navy roles.

Genealogists: Provides a full roster of 52 recruits with hometowns and initials, perfect for family history research.

Historians & Veterans: Documents the policies and training philosophies shaped by Hancock and Stewart, pivotal figures in Navy women’s history.

Final Thoughts ⚓

Company 126’s Ship’s Bell is more than a yearbook — it’s a historical turning point, capturing women as they established a permanent place in the Navy’s structure. With leaders like Hancock and Stewart at the helm, and a diverse group of recruits graduating into service, this volume stands as a vital resource for military history, genealogy, and teaching.

💙 Teachers gain lesson-ready material.

📚 Genealogists find names and middle initials for tracing.

⚓ Historians see Navy women’s integration in real time