cover image Mother Was a Gunner's Mate: World War II in the Waves

Mother Was a Gunner's Mate: World War II in the Waves

Josette Dermody Wingo. US Naval Institute Press, $28.95 (234pp) ISBN 978-1-55750-924-6

In 1944, Wingo joined the Waves, the special women's branch of the U.S. Navy. Her well-written memoir of her service is in many ways typical of its genre: the shocks of basic training; the fleeting wartime romances; the anxiety as dates for shipping out approached. Wingo was trained as an anti-aircraft gunner, and at Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay she was a gunnery instructor. She and her counterparts not only crossed the military gender line but also taught men the craft of shooting down enemy planes. This work is a valuable addition to the literature on WWII and women's studies. (Nov.)