WAVES was the
bacronym used for the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, the
World War II women's branch of the
United States Naval Reserve. It was established on 21 July 1942 by the
U.S. Congress and signed into law by the president on 30 July 1942. This authorized the
U.S. Navy to accept women into the naval reserve as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level, effective for the duration of the war plus six months. The purpose of the law was to release officers and men for sea duty and replace them with women in shore stations.
Mildred H. McAfee became the first director of the WAVES. She was commissioned a
Lieutenant Commander in the Navy on 3 August 1942, and was the first woman commissioned in the US Naval Reserve. (She was later promoted to captain.) McAfee, on leave as president of
Wellesley College, was an experienced educator and highly respected in her field.