Mildred McAfee
Then Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee in 1942-43, while serving as Director of the WAVES.
(Naval History and Heritage Command)

Founding the WAVES

Captain McAfee discusses how she joined the WAVES.
By Taira Payne
April 2023
Naval History Magazine
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On 3 August 1942, Mildred McAfee (later Mildred McAfee Horton) was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves, making her the first female line officer in the U.S. Navy. Future Captain McAfee was the president of Wellesley College when she was recruited to become the first director of the newly established WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). In this excerpt, Captain McAfee discusses how she became involved with the WAVES and her early introduction to rank.

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) learning to repair and maintain Navy fighter plane engines at Naval Air Technical Training Center, NAS Norman, Oklahoma. October 1943.
Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) learning to repair and maintain Navy fighter plane engines at Naval Air Technical Training Center, NAS Norman, Oklahoma. October 1943. (U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

 

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Taira Payne

Taira Payne was the Project Manager, Digital Assets & Web for the U.S. Naval Institute until January 2022. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science, specializing in Archives and Digital Curation, from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor’s in History from Washington College.

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