Making WAVES in the Sooner State [1944 – Oklahoma] US Navy

A Naval base in the middle of Oklahoma? It may be hard to believe, but thousands of male and female Navy personnel spent time training in the wide open spaces of the Sooner State during World War II.

This post card was sent by a Navy service member stationed in Norman, Oklahoma, and depicts the hydroelectric Quanah Parker Dam to the West in what is now Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps the sender, Russell, found time for a weekend trip to this scenic part of the state during a reprieve from his hospital duties in 1944.

Just south of Oklahoma City, the U.S. Navy established a Naval Air Station, Naval Air Technical Training Center, and Gunnery School in the town of Norman. Construction on Navy facilities began in 1942, and the Navy developed a close relationship with nearby Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma University. The airfield, newly built by the university, was leased to the Navy for the duration of the war and was used to train Naval pilots (source). Machinists and aircraft maintenance technicians were also trained at the installation.  WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) and SPARS (US Coast Guard Women’s Reservists) were trained on Oklahoma A&M’s campus, and the college boasted the largest enrollment of WAVES in the country, at over 10 thousand during the war (source).

You can see an image of the dedication of the the Navy Hospital on the website of the Norman Museum. Another exterior photo, as well as one of an actress visiting a patient, allows us to peek into the world in which this postcard was written.  The museum also features an impressive number of fascinating historic photos of aviation and ground operations that took place during the war: https://www.normanmuseum.org/wwii-navy-bases.html. I recommend you take a peek.

Dear Betty,

Received your card sure was glad to hear from you. I may be home soon. How are things at the shop. Gee I sure miss you. Please write when you can.

Love Russell

From: R SAYSF USN Hospital, Norman Oklahoma

To: Miss Betty Pavler | Ecorse, Michigan

Postmark: U.S. Navy Aug 16 1944

Navy Operations in Norman, Oklahoma during World War II

The featured photo of this post shows “Members of the first class of WAVES to graduate from the Aviation Metalsmith School, at the Naval Air Technical Training Center, Norman, Oklahoma, 30 July 1943.” Source: Naval History and Heritage Command.