Oral History Interview with Lois Howard Gray

Partial Transcript: At that time, see, this was in '43, the WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service] were not established until late, late 19--uh--42.

Segment Synopsis: Prior to joining the Navy, Gray worked as a teacher in her hometown of Glasgow, Kentucky. Gray states that the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor were a real turning point in terms of American support for involvement in World War II. Gray attended Ward-Belmont, an all-girls boarding school and junior college in Nashville. Gray also got an AB from Transylvania University in Lexington and took classes at Western Kentucky University. Gray took on a job teaching job in Glasgow amid a nationwide teacher shortage. Gray worked there for eight months before deciding to enlist in the Navy. Gray also mentions her interest in art and how she was able to further pursue this interest at Ward-Belmont.

Keywords: Art education; Teacher shortages

Subjects: Art; Artists; Barren County (Ky.); Boarding schools; Cousin; Education; Education, Higher; English; Father; Girls' schools; Glasgow (Ky.); History; Junior colleges; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Mother; Nashville (Tenn.); Nineteen forties; Patriotism; Public schools; Sister; Teachers; Teaching; Transylvania University; United States; United States. Navy; Ward-Belmont College (Nashville, Tenn.); Western Kentucky University; Women; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: So, were you teaching then when you decided to--join--?

Segment Synopsis: Gray wanted to join the Navy so that she could contribute to the war effort, which was difficult for people in rural areas to do so. Gray had heard about the resulting labor shortages from men going to serve in the military and found out that there was a military airplane factory in Louisville. Just before attempting to find work at the airplane factory, the WAVES program was established in the U.S. Navy. Modeled in part after similar programs in the British Army, WAVES was established by Wellesley College President Mildred H. McAfee. Gray was also motivated to enlist in the military because her father was a World War I veteran. Additionally, Gray explains that patriotism was an important value in society during her childhood, reinforced by parades celebrating veterans and fallen service personnel, such as Armistice Day and Memorial Day.

Keywords: Exams; Labor shortages; Louisville Courier-Journal; Mildred H. McAfee; Naval officers; Officer candidate school (OCS); WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; Women's Army Corps (U.S.)

Subjects: Airplanes; Americans; Armistice Day; Barren County (Ky.); Childhood; Design; Emotions; Factories; Father; Glasgow (Ky.); Indianapolis (Ind.); Interviews; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Louisville (Ky.); Memorial Day; Men; Mother; Nineteen forties; Parades; Patriotism; Proud; Rural; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; United Kingdom; United States; United States. Army; Veterans; Veterans Day; War; Women; World War I; World War II

Partial Transcript: Okay, well tell me a little bit more then about the process . . .

Segment Synopsis: Gray wanted to contribute to the war effort, after realizing that many of her male childhood friends were enlisting and going to the front with very little military training. Gray was horrified by the mass casualties resulting from the war, which she says put into perspective the mild inconveniences that American civilians were experiencing, such as the rationing of household goods. Gray describes the Lieutenant Commander of WAVES, Mildred McAfee, as a smart and capable leader. Gray saw the establishment of WAVES as an opportunity to serve her country,

Keywords: Casualties; Civilians; Commodities; Friends; Mildred McAfee; North Africa; Sacrifices; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; Women's Army Corps (U.S.)

Subjects: Americans; Death; Education; Europe; Gas; Italy; Men; Nineteen forties; Patriotism; Rationing; Soldiers; Sugar; Training; United States; United States. Navy; War; Wellesley College; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: . . . Because we weren't treated like these women . . .

Segment Synopsis: Gray explains that women training as pilots in the Women's Army Corps were never officially recognized by Congress for their efforts in the war. Gray states that WAVES personnel were treated better and received equal pay with their male counterparts. Gray states that some men in the Navy that she worked with did not want the WAVES there, but having female superiors helped when there was a problem.

Keywords: Congress; Dwight Eisenhower; Mildred McAfee; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; Women's Army Corps (U.S.)

Subjects: Airplanes; Americans; Death; Equality; Hierarchy; Men; Nineteen forties; Pilots; Salaries; Training; United States; United States. Army; United States. Navy; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: So, anyway I went to Northampton . . .

Segment Synopsis: Gray underwent basic training on the campus of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Gray was one of the first women from Kentucky to enlist in the WAVES. Out of Gray's small hometown of Glasgow, Kentucky, around fourteen women enlisted in the WAVES. Gray states that there were a total of around 250,000 WAVES personnel by the end of the war. At boot camp, Gray fell into a routine of classes, lectures and exams. Gray and the other recruits were expected to keep their rooms clean and make their beds every morning. Gray recalls that she was taught what she considered to be common knowledge, such as hand washing and sanitation procedures. Gray also states that recruits learned the basics of the situation on the ground in the war.

Keywords: Boot camps; Captains; Classes; Demerits; Meals; Officer candidate school; Routines; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Americans; Barren County (Ky.); Beds; Behavior; Calisthenics; Common sense; Education; Food; Glasgow (Ky.); Hand washing; Health; Learning; Lectures; Marching; Nineteen forties; Northampton (Mass.); Pilots; Sanitation; Sleep; Smith College; Teaching; Training; United States; United States. Navy; Volunteers; War; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: They--um--you know, would look through all your testing to see where you would be going for active duty.

Segment Synopsis: After completing basic training, Gray was assigned to work in the Naval Intelligence Office in Washington, D.C. Gray states that she worked at a Navy building on Constitution Avenue NW, near the Lincoln Monument. Gray explains that only enlisted personnel in the Navy could use the barracks. Gray and the other women had to find their own housing, which was difficult amid a massive housing shortage in Washington D.C. from the influx of service personnel and civil servants moving to the city during the war. Gray initially lived at an apartment in Friendship Heights with a friend and had a one hour commute by bus to work. Gray then obtained a room at a YMCA closer to work, primarily because, according to Gray, Washington D.C. was not safe for women traveling home from work at night. Gray's work involved designing the silhouettes that were to be placed on military airplanes and ships. Gray says that the women in the office were forced to do most of the more basic work in the design process, including creating training manuals for service personnel.

Keywords: Active duty assignments; Communications; Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool; Ships; Training manuals; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; YMCA

Subjects: Airplanes; Americans; Art; Artists; Barracks; Commute; Constitution Avenue (Washington, D.C.); Design; Friendship Heights (Washington, D.C.); Housing; Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.); Men; Nineteen forties; Rent; Roommates; Safety; Silhouettes; Smith College; United States; United States. Navy; United States. Office of Naval Intelligence; Washington (D.C.); Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.); Women veterans; Work; World War II

Partial Transcript: So--um--that went on for several months, and I thought that you know, I can't go on like this, this war is going on and on.

Segment Synopsis: Once Gray expressed a disinterest in designing silhouettes, her commander allowed her to switch over to the map division of the Naval Intelligence Office. Gray attended naval intelligence school at Hood College to prepare for this new role. Gray enjoyed this work in the map division, since it was more hands on than her previous work. Gray discusses the change in the military hierarchy following the death of Admiral Knox. Gray explains that Naval personnel were automatically promoted up the military hierarchy based on their length of service. Gray and the other WAVES women were tasked with working three different shifts intermittently and always had to be accompanied by a Marine guard at night.

Keywords: Commanders; Frank Knox; Franklin D. Roosevelt; James Forrestal; Length of service; Manuals; Naval intelligence school; Shifts; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Admirals; Americans; Clerks; Frederick (Md.); Hierarchy; Hood College; Identification; Maps; Maryland; Military intelligence; Nineteen forties; Respect; Security; United States; United States. Army; United States. Navy; United States. Office of Naval Intelligence; Washington (D.C.); Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: Okay, so what did you do?

Segment Synopsis: Gray details her work in the map division of the Naval Intelligence Office. Gray and the other WAVES personnel were tasked with preparing the maps of the front in Europe for morning briefings that Naval officers conducted each day. Gray recalls that admirals from outside the Naval Intelligence Office would travel to attend these meetings frequently. Gray says that the WAVES women were not permitted to participate in the meetings. Gray explains that the maps had to be updated frequently to accurately reflect the latest military intelligence. Gray adds that the maps were small in scale to help identify key areas in battles, for instance.

Keywords: Battle of the Bulge; Battles; Briefings; D-Day, 1944 (Normandy invasion); Dwight Eisenhower; Exclusion; General MacArthur; Towns; WAVES; William Frederick Halsey Jr.; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Admirals; Allied Expeditionary Forces programme; Allied forces; Americans; Communication; Discrimination; Europe; France; Germany; Maps; Meetings; Military intelligence; Nineteen forties; Pacific Islands; Pacific Ocean; Pentagon (Va.); Secrets; Sexism; United States; United States. Navy; Washington (D.C.); Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: So, tell me, what was your longest day?

Segment Synopsis: One of the most difficult days for Gray while she worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence was receiving news of the Battle of the Bulge. Gray recalls that Naval Secretary James Forrestal rarely exhibited any emotions at work and almost never smiled. Gray says that political leaders today do not have the same level of respect and decorum that officials like Forrestal did. Gray briefly expresses her negative opinion of George W. Bush.

Keywords: Battle of the Bulge; Decorum; George W. Bush; James Forrestal; Lincoln Reflecting Pool (Washington, D.C.); WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Americans; Bethesda (Md.); Christmas; Communication; Constitution Avenue (Washington, D.C.); Crises; Military intelligence; Salute; United States; United States. Navy; United States. Office of Naval Intelligence; Walking; Washington (D.C.); Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: Well, what did it feel like to be getting these maps and seeing what was going on? How did that impact you?

Segment Synopsis: Gray recalls that the Navy was preparing for an invasion of China prior to the Japanese surrender. Gray remembers that she was on military leave vacationing in Canada with a friend when she received the news that the Japanese had surrendered to the Allied Forces following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Upon traveling back to Washington D.C., Gray stopped in New York and recalls that everyone was talking about the atomic bombs that had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Gray had mixed emotions about the atomic bombings, relief that the war was over, but horrified at the massive destruction and loss of life caused by the nuclear fallout. Gray believes that President Truman exercised good judgment in dropping the bombs, and saved lives through this decision, yet at the same time destroyed a lot of lives in the process.

Keywords: Casualties; Civilians; Harry Truman; Military leave; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Allied Forces; Americans; Atomic bomb; Atomic bomb victims; Atomic bomb--United States--History; Canada; China; Death; Emotions; Hiroshima-ken (Japan); Imperialism; Japan; Japanese; Judgment; Maps; Montréal (Québec); Nagasaki-ken (Japan); New York (N.Y.); Nineteen forties; Nuclear weapons; Pentagon (Va.); Respect; Summer; United States; United States. Navy; United States. Office of Naval Intelligence; V-J Day, 1945; Washington (D.C.); Women veterans; World War II; World War, 1939-1945--Japan--Hiroshima-shi

Partial Transcript: Well talk--tell me a little bit about that. I mean you--you're . . . the founder of a--of a large construction company and you've been working with Japanese . . .

Segment Synopsis: In the 1970s and 1980s, Gray ran the Gray Construction Company with her husband and began to work with Japanese companies. Gray got along well with her Japanese counterparts, but initially had communication problems since she did not speak Japanese and her Japanese colleagues did not speak English. Gray talked to a CEO of a Japanese company during a visit to Tokyo, who shared that he was also a veteran and had been operating a submarine during the Pearl Harbor attacks. Gray believes that Japanese society as a whole has used World War II as a learning experience and have attempted to be less insular and travel the world. Gray discusses the importance of honor in Japanese culture, which she believes contributed to the positive business experiences she had working with Japanese companies.

Keywords: Dinner; Gray Construction; Interpreters; James Norris Gray; Jim Gray; Toshiba Corporation

Subjects: Architects; Asia; Barren County (Ky.); Business; Children; Construction contracts; Cooperation; Cross cultural communication; Culture; Daughters; Economics; English; Europe; Glasgow (Ky.); Gray family; Honor; Intelligence; International travel; Japan; Japanese; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Learning; Lebanon (Tenn.); Nineteen seventies; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; Respect; Sons; Tokyo (Japan); Toshiba televisions; Tourists; Travel; Wealth; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: Some men in the Navy were resentful of women coming in and taking their jobs.

Segment Synopsis: Gray experienced several instances of sexism and discrimination while serving in the Navy. Gray recalls that it was difficult for WAVES personnel to find housing. Gray remembers seeing a sign in front of an apartment building that said, "No WACS, no WAVES, no dogs." Gray says she was forced to move sixteen times in the two years she lived in Washington, D.C. due to the substandard living conditions present in the dwellings women could actually rent. Gray states that her male colleagues at the Naval Intelligence Office were nice to her once she got to know them. Gray also says that she was not taken seriously by the male Naval doctors when she expressed concerns about her health. In one instance, Gray had a high fever and was anemic, but was simply referred to a psychiatrist by the Naval doctor. Fortunately, Gray's cousin worked for the Red Cross and lived in nearby Alexandria, and was able to take care of her health needs.

Keywords: Bed bugs; Doctors; Friends; Living conditions; Moving; WACS; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; Women's Army Corps (U.S.); YMCA

Subjects: Alexandria (Va.); Americans; Anemia; Barracks; Bethesda (Md.); Cousin; Discrimination; Discrimination in housing; Emotions; Fever; Food; Food poisoning; Health; Men; Psychiatrists; Red Cross and Red Crescent; Rent; Roommates; Sexism; Sick; Sleep; United States; United States. Army; United States. Navy; United States. Office of Naval Intelligence; Washington (D.C.); Willard Hotel (Washington, D.C.); Women; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: The war was over and so of course, as soon as the war was over, they started all this dismantling, which of course had to happen right away.

Segment Synopsis: Once World War II officially ended, Gray says that the federal government and the military sought to dismantle its organizations especially created for the war effort. As a result of this restructuring, Gray was sent to a naval air station in Fort Lauderdale for three months. Gray lived in a hotel with an ocean view and enjoyed her job assignment for the most part. Gray recalls that the captain forced women to attend cocktail parties several times a week.

Keywords: Captains; Overseas personnel; Priorities; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Cocktail parties; Discrimination; Federal government; Fort Lauderdale (Fla.); Military; Nineteen forties; Ocean; Sexism; United States. Navy; Women veterans; World War II

Partial Transcript: What did being in the Navy . . . during World War II mean to you? And what does that mean to you today?

Segment Synopsis: After two years, Gray was ready to leave the WAVES and return to Kentucky. Gray says that she is proud of her military service and wants to pass on this legacy to her children and grandchildren. Recently, Gray had the opportunity to travel to Europe with her daughter-in-law and granddaughters and visited Normandy. Gray recalls that this visit to Normandy left an impression on one of her granddaughters, who had recently studied World War II in school. Gray adds that military personnel in World War II who served overseas have a different perspective than those who served in the US, explaining that the overseas experience dominates the discourse of what is taught about World War II in schools Gray recalls that she memorized the poem "In Flanders Fields" as a child in school, which commemorates the soldiers that died in battle during World War I. Gray says that this poem had a lasting impact on her. Gray also spoke at her granddaughter's class about her World War II experiences, since according to Gray, the school was only teaching students about the Holocaust. Gray adds that there was widespread suffering throughout Europe beyond the Holocaust.

Keywords: Jewish; WAVES; Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

Subjects: Austria; Baltimore (Md.); Barren County (Ky.); Childhood; Children; Death; Diversity; Education; Emotions; Europe; Experience; Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial (Waregem, Belgium); France; Generation; Glasgow (Ky.); Granddaughters; History; Holocaust; In Flanders' fields; International travel; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Legacy; London (England); Men; Normandy (France); Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial (France); Paintings; Paris (France); Poems; Poppies; Proud; Russian Jews; Spain; Suffering; Teachers; Teaching; Teenagers; Trauma; Understanding; United States. Navy; Women veterans; World War I; World War II