Regular Navy
On July 30, 1948, the Women's Armed Forces Integration Act allowed women to serve as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in the peactime military with some restrictions. Recruitment for women to join the Navy during the Korean War went to national levels as the goal was to have 11,000 women on active duty, but only 9,000 joined before the war's end in July 1953. Despite the goal falling short, the overall women who served during the war nearly tripled between 1950 and 1953.
Other Resources:
NMUSN Women in the U.S. Navy Pamphlet
NHHC Women n the U.S. Navy Focus
Image: 80-G-708655: Ten Years of the WAVY Blue, July 1952. WAVES in formation training at Naval Station Center, Bainbridge, Maryland. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
