When legislation was passed in 1948 giving women permanent status in the routine and reserve Navy, it was mainly due to the efforts of Pleasure Bright Hancock, the author of this revealing memoir. Her prominent role was acknowledged at the time by the secretary of the navy who credited her ideals, energy, and enthusiasm as the moving force behind the historic integration of women into the U.S. Navy, consisting of the 1942 establishment of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This individual account of those formative years has long been considered the best study readily available. Originally published in 1972 and out of print for nearly twenty-five years, it is now being reissued in paperback to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the birth of the WAVES. Hancock’s own work as a Yeoman in World War I used the armed services a lesson in the benefits of having females in uniform. Her descriptions are eye opening of those early days and her later efforts, when lastly in a position of authority, to argue the case for women. With a wealth of paperwork and many photos, she narrates not just her profession but also the evolution of Navy ladies, using vibrant information of the legal fights to get ladies admitted into the routine Navy. She reminds us that although it was not till 1967 that the last constraint of rank was eliminated, WAVES always served with equal spend for equal work. This new edition of her book will introduce generations of Americans to the issues of establishing a place for ladies in the Navy and information of Hancock’s dogged pursuit of reasonable treatment for women in the armed services.
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