Caroline Considers

At 26, Caroline Wenz was an elementary school teacher in Perrysburg, Ohio; she also assisted her mother in publishing the Perrysburg Journal. Caroline had surely been following the news of World War II in the paper and on the radio and had heard about the need for women, as well as men, to join the war effort. Moreover, her hometown friend Virginia had earlier signed up for duty and had become an officer in the Navy. In 1942, Caroline seems to have made a private decision: to join the WAVES (US naval reserve for women).

This recruiting booklet was among Caroline's papers. (Click to enlarge any image.)