Skip to main content
Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service “WAVES” was the US Naval Reserve Women’s branch established on July 21, 1942. The branch was established to replace men stationed ashore to provide more sea duty sailors and officers. By the end of 1942, there were 770 WAVES Officers and 3,109 enlisted. In 1945 these numbers had grown to 8,475 officers and 73,816 enlisted. Following the War, many WAVES were demobilized, however the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in 1948 was signed into law allowing women to serve in the regular Navy. The term WAVES continued in usage for Navy women unitl the 1970’s.  The WAVES uniforms were custom designed by Mainbocher, the famous New York fashion house. The uniforms included a white style uniform, a seersucker version with gray and white stripes, and a blue version.