October 30, 2024
Claudia’s story continues:
The office was small. Naval insignia and blue and gold posters were displayed about the room. A young woman dressed in a naval staff uniform…a white short-sleeved button-down-the-front dress with a long blue tie secured in a square knot at the neck…sat behind the reception desk. The lobby area held ten straight-back chairs. Five of them occupied by men. Claudia walked to the desk. The woman smiled.
“Are you here for the position?”
“The position?”
“Plane mechanic. We’re hiring today. If interested, take a seat. Petty Officer Williams is conducting interviews. Name?”
“Uh…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know your name?” the receptionist asked amusingly.
“My name is Claudia Woods…I don’t know about being interviewed…about this job.” Claudia noticed pamphlets listing civil job opportunities stacked on the corner of the desk. “May I have one?”
“Yes, of course. Have a seat. Petty Officer Williams will answer any questions you have.”
Claudia glanced at her wristwatch. Her business with the Rations Board didn’t take long; she could spare a few more minutes. She turned and took a seat. All five men, as if never having seen a female before, strangely watched her every move. Self-consciously Claudia adjusted her skirt over her knees and crossed her ankles.
One by one the men were called to the inner office. Claudia grew nervous as the last man entered. Who was behind that door? What was going on in there? She chuckled to herself as she thought of the scene from The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy, the tin man, the scare crow, and the lion first encounter the Great and Powerful Oz. Claudia’s mouth seemed parched when the last interviewee exited the office. He glanced her way and left the lobby.
“You may go in now, Miss Woods.”
Without correcting the receptionist, Claudia rose from her seat and readjusted her purse strap over her shoulder. She eased the office door open and found Petty Officer Williams sitting behind an oak desk; his head bent over paperwork. A framed portrait of a single-mast ship with three billowing headsails gliding through a sea of green hung on the wall behind him.
“Have a seat,” he said motioning to the chair in front of the desk.
Claudia slowly sat down.
“Name?”
“Claudia Woods.”
Upon hearing a female voice, the officer looked up from the paper on which he was writing and put his pen down. He was smartly dressed in an open-collar khaki uniform. The Petty Officer’s insignia devices pinned to his collar…an eagle with wings outspread perched over three chevrons…denoted his rank.
“Tell me Miss Woods. Why are you here today?”
“Mrs. Woods. I’m married.”
“I see.” Petty Officer Williams scrutinized her, never breaking eye contact.
Claudia fidgeted in her chair and felt like some sort of germ smeared on a glass slide being examined under a microscope. Finally, she spoke, “I’ve seen the posters all over town asking for civil airplane mechanics. I was curious about the position.”
“Do you have experience as an airplane mechanic, Mrs. Woods?”
Claudia frowned. “No, I was under the impression from the posters that experience was not necessary.”
“Why are you interested in this particular job at the N.A.S.?”
“To do more for the war effort; to serve my country.”
“Do you have children?”
Claudia wriggled her wedding band around her finger. Not from nervousness but from a newly found sensation of annoyance. “Was that question addressed to the five men who preceded my interview?”
Claudia regretted her response when Petty Officer Williams’ eyebrows shot upward. “It’s a legitimate question. Women are responsible for the care of their children. I dare say very few fathers are asked to leave their assignments to care for ill children. That’s a mother’s job, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Are there female mechanics on your staff now?” Claudia boldly asked.
“Well, yes, there are. Single women.”
“So, your poster is wrong.”
“I’m sorry?” Petty Officer Williams’ face reddened.
“There isn’t an urgent need for plane mechanics at the Naval Air Station. I was mistaken.” Claudia stood. “Sorry to waste your time. It’s a shame more women…even married ones…are not hired to replace the men who are needed elsewhere…at the battle fronts overseas, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Have a nice day, Mrs. Woods,” Petty Officer Williams grumbled.
Claudia left the office and walked back to the La Armada apartment complex. Her mind caught in a whirlwind of thought and frustration.
Mallory greeted her at the door. “Come in. My younger two are napping. Yours are in Jack’s room. How did it go?”
Claudia removed her purse from her shoulder and practically plopped down upon the sofa.
“Cup of coffee?” Mallory asked already preceding to the kitchen.
Claudia breathed in and looked around. This apartment’s layout was exactly like her own except the bedrooms were on opposite sides. Guess all the units were similar. Mallory handed Claudia a mug of hot coffee and sat down beside her.
“You’re not joining me?”
“I have water. So, did you get your ration books exchanged?”
“Yes, no problem there. Mallory, I’ve not asked. What does your husband do on base?”
“He’s an aviation cadet. Why?”
“So, he knows the female mechanics who repair the planes?”
“I don’t think so. But I know a couple. Why?”
Claudia placed her cup on the coffee table and turned toward Mallory. “Would you introduce them to me?”
“Well, yeah, of course. What’s this all about?”
Claudia pulled the pamphlet from her purse and handed it to her friend. “Ever see these?”
“Claudia, wait! Are you interested in being a mechanic?”
“Well, you won’t believe this…but I interviewed with an officer from the base before I came home.”
“You didn’t!” Mallory sat back against the sofa; astonishment washed over her face.
“Well, sort of. At first it was just an impulse…a curiosity. The interviewer was far from encouraging. Was only interested in single female candidates. Mothers are definitely taboo it seems. My curiosity turned to resentment. I was actually rude to a U.S. Naval officer!” Claudia laughed.
“Oh, my.”
“So, tell me about these women. Are they single?”
“Yes, the two I know…Sarah Kenedy and Jo Beth Murphy.”
“How do you know them?”
“Met one in the laundry room, the other in the mail room. They also live in our complex. What are you up to?”
“What if there are actually moms out there…even in our complex…who’d be interested in working at the base?”
“How is that possible without childcare?”
“Exactly! What if we organize childcare?”
“Who?”
“You and me…and whomever else wants to help.”
Mallory chuckled. “How would we do that?”
“Oh, I don’t know…was just a thought. Anyway, thanks for watching my boys for me. Remember I owe you a favor.”
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Fun Facts:
Prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, women were only allowed to serve in any branch of the military as nurses. After the US declared war on Germany and its allies, each branch of the service had a women’s auxillary: The Women’s Army Corps (WACs), Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARS), Marine Corps Women’s Reserve (USMCWR), and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Approximately 350,000 women served in the military during WWII. These brave, 1940s trail-blazing women replaced men in noncombative rolls…were office workers, gunnery instructors, trained new pilots, flew transport planes, repaired equipment and freed men up to fight.
Women were crucial in the civilian industry as well as they replaced the men who served in the military. Rosie the Riveter became a familiar symbol during WWII. Rosie’s iconic motto, “We Can Do It,” described the determination and grit women who worked in factories exhibited. Women learned new skills and earned their own wages even though they were lower than a man’s salary doing the same job. These women developed a keen sense of self-worth, pride and value for being part of an extremely important endeavor.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt became a household name. Eleanor and her supporters brought visibility and power to feminism in the 1940s. Eleanor inspired women around the world. Throughout the war, the president sent his “missus” on fact-finding missions and listened carefully to her counsel. She became his chief campaign asset and a tireless worker on his behalf. After her husband’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt had thought to retire, but President Truman needed her as an adviser and an ad hoc diplomat. Her collaboration with women’s organizations and with the fledgling United Nations provided women with a useful role model during the post-war period as they readjusted to lives as homemakers. paragraph taken from an article about feminism during the 1940s…interesting read.
https://www.theclassroom.com/feminism-during-1940s-14003.html
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Part 6 of Claudia’s story will be posted Monday, November 4th
What is Claudia’s plan? Will she succeed?