Interview by Adrian Calvache, Pathfinder Labs' Developer and Friend of Lucille Posner
Lucille Posner is a
living legend: A veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserve during WW2, she is the last
living Aerographer’s Mate from the W.A.V.E.S. Program.
In this blog, Lucille
shares her story of military involvement, transition, growth and purposeful
community building.
What was your
experience in the military?
“I was just a girl who lived
in Kansas, and during WWII I chose to serve in the U.S. Naval Reserves.” Lucille selected the rate of Aerographer’s Mate after doing some research into the job
fields provided to women in the W.A.V.E.S. program, which relieved sailors from a variety of shore duty positions so they could go out to
sea.
She attended boot camp
in the old Hunter College Campus (which is now Bronx Community College, both
part of the City University of New York) in August of 1943. She is still quick to
note the things we take for granted now were a luxury in her time in boot camp,
like air-conditioners in August.
After boot camp she was
sent to Advanced “A” school. In early 1942, the wartime
expansion dictated larger class sizes to meet the needs of the fleet. Primary
Aerographer School was re-sited off the Naval Air Station to nearby Lakewood NJ, where the
Navy had taken possession of a former Catholic Prep School. Lakewood became considered the auxiliary site for Naval Station Lakehurst for the remainder of the war, and was also known as the
“Lighter than Air Station” as this is where the U.S. Navy conducted blimp
training. After completing “A” school, Lucille was meritoriously advanced to Petty
Officer Third Class.
Since she was a
reservist and living in Kansas, she would report to do her duty at the closest
Naval Air Station in Norman, OK. While on duty, she took meteorological readings and worked
closely with the air tower from January until April 1944.
She was next stationed
as a meteorologist from May to June 1944 at Naval Air Station Fairfax, a Navy
Elimination Air Base which was used for screening pilots. One of her favorite
memories was how Fairfax was also a Joint Base Operation, with contractors
building and testing new planes for Allied Forces. With the war pushing advances in 1940's technology, she was able to see some of the newest air technology before it reached the front lines.
In September 1944 she
was assigned to what she considers her most prestigious duty station, the Bureau of Intelligence - Naval Communications Annex in Washington D.C. The U.S. had just recently
completed building the Pentagon and they needed Japanese weather code breakers, and Lucille
was given a Special Cause for War assignment to help decipher weather transmission
codes. One of her best experiences was going to see the National Mall and take
in the sights during liberty.
Lucille switched
stations from the Pentagon to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi until the end of the war.
Though her contracted time was technically up prior to this, she like many other G.I.s during this time had to
endure the WWII points system to get out. She finally accumulated enough points in 1945, exiting the service on December 12 as a Petty Officer Second Class. She received multiple offers
to stay in her position after the war but, as she states, “I had performed my duty to the
highest regards.”
How did you find the
process of re-entry into civilian life?
On June 22, 1944, the
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 - commonly known as the G.I. Bill of
Rights - was signed into law. This granted education benefits to those who served during WWII both at home and overseas. The benefits were opened to W.A.V.E.S., and Lucille was afforded the chance to go to college following her Naval service.
Lucille was tired of
living in Kansas, and decided to give a shot at living in New York City. Her
mother was a native New Yorker and Lucille dreamed of living there since childhood. She and her new husband, another WWII Veteran she'd met during her service time, moved to the East Side of Manhattan.
“The GI Bill helped
send me to school at New York University but I had to enroll in 1946, since it
was too late by the time I got out in 1945 to enroll.” She majored in Statistics and was later employed at MetLife, where she worked for 35 years until her retirement.
What do you see are
some of the biggest changes in the Navy between then and now?
In her time, racial and gender segregation were prominent issues. From
the time her first Chief Petty Officer saw the W.A.V.E.S. members performing
meteorological operations, his mentality was that of someone who thought women
had no place in “his Navy.” It was a hard time to be in the service, but Lucille continued to do her job and do it well.
She loves to see women are now advancing in all branches and job fields,
and to see such steps in desegregation across all groups. She hopes in her lifetime it will
continue to be a more balanced and representative military.
Staying involved in the
Veteran Community.
Her late husband was
the one who got her initially connected her to the veteran community, but she
has become a mainstay at events even since his passing. She has been
invited to the New York Stock Exchange to be commemorated for women veterans,
and still occasionally puts on her old uniform to attend women-in-service
events.
As an Alumni of NYU she
attends many events dedicated to veterans, and has been honored by local
organizations like the United War Veterans Council as an advocate for the
community.
Lucille
now lives on the east side of Manhattan in New York City, staying active with
walks and meeting up with friends old and new.
She
also has something in common with one of the developers at Pathfinder Labs: as
two Navy meteorologists, they have a lot to talk about.