WOMEN VETERANS HISTORICAL COLLECTION
	Rose Elaine Male Letters, 1944-1946 #WV-0231   Name:  Male, Rose Elaine Branch:  WAVES Served:  WWII   CONTENTS:  2 folders of correspondence   ACQUISITION:  Purchased from a collector, February 2002

DESCRIPTION:   This collection of letters was written by Rose Male to her family in Schenectady, NY, during World War II.  Rose enlisted in the WAVES in the fall of 1944.  She first wrote home from basic training at the US Naval Reserve Training School at Hunter College in the Bronx, NY, but then moved to Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls for yeoman school.  While there, Rose reported on taking shorthand classes, undergoing periodic inspections, fire drills in the middle of the night, and graduation exercises.  The bulk of her letters were written once Rose was transferred to Washington, DC.  She seemed to enjoy the job, although many times feeling overworked.  She mentioned working with civilians in her office, one of them being an African-American woman. For the most part, Rose's letters focus on how she and other WAVES spent their free time-- going to movies, dances, concerts and taking weekend excursions.  She was anxious for the end of the war and the end of her service, many times expressing her homesickness.  

These letters present a picture of life during war time-- relating how strangers would sit down together in overcrowded restaurants, and about how the war changed the dating and romance scenario for young men and women. 

LOCATION:  

Women Veterans Historical Collection
#WV-0231

Papers, Printed Material, Photographs

Correspondence, 1944-1946

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Last updated Tuesday July 17 2007.

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