Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes the letters Mrs. Alsmeyer wrote home during her service in the WAVES, 1943-1945; letters written to her in the 1980s from former WAVES recounting their experiences during the war; a scrapbook kept during the war and other memorabilia kept on her service and on WAVES in general; source materials gathered on WAVES and women in the navy, including newspaper clippings and magazine articles; and material on the WAVES National Corporation and its newsletter, White Caps.

Mrs. Alsmeyer enlisted in the Navy in 1943 at the age of 20. She served as a Pharmacist's Mate at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. In 1981, she wrote a book called The Way of the WAVES that described her experiences as a WAVE. The response to the book from former WAVES was so great that she authored a second book, Old WAVES' Tales. This second book is a compilation of the letters Alsmeyer received from former WAVES relating their World War II experiences. These letters and copies of both books are included in the collection.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Papers of Marie Bennett Alsmeyer, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.