‘You felt, well, until the war’s over, I’m going to do all I can to help.

In July, 1942, the Navy opened its ranks to women. The female recruits were known as WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), the idea being that the women could perform tasks here while the men were sent off to fight. Oceanside resident Luella May Holland, wanting to do her part for the war effort, joined the Naval Reserve in May, 1943, from Chicago, with her parent’s permission because she was only 20. Holland studied radio and was stationed in Santa Ana for most of the war, where she met her soon-to-be husband, Bill Holland, at the Santa Ana base. Last May she founded WAVES of North County, which meets every other month for members to trade experiences. Holland discussed the war and her adjustment to the regimented life style with Times staff writer Terry Rather in her Oceanside home. Don Bartletti photographed her.

It was a different world then. This was war, our country was at war. We had been bombed at Pearl Harbor, and you just wanted to do your part. Right at the beginning of the war, women couldn’t go in. So, when they opened it up for WAVES, I just started percolating to get on in and do something. The patriotism everyone felt in those days is so different from now.

I expected boot camp to be rough because I heard the fellows talking about it. But I didn’t realize how rough it would be for me to adjust to it, for all of us to adjust to it. The instant you went to boot camp, you had a huge culture shock.

We didn’t know what to expect. The officers told us when we first got there, “As long as you’re here, except on the weekends, if you look around and you’re alone, you’re in the wrong place.” I’m sure it’s still something of a shock to people going in.

After having been a free agent all my life, in radio school I had absolutely no free time. We had a few hours on Friday and Saturday night until midnight and Sunday until 9 p.m. The rest of the time you’re in the barracks, or studying. It was very demanding, physically, emotionally and mentally. None of us had ever studied anything like radio. We had tests every weekend, and if you didn’t pass, you were out. Lights out may have been 9:30, but many of us studied under our blankets with a flashlight.

For day-to-day living that was it, and that was rather confining. We worked close to the fellows, but it wasn’t like you might imagine. Here you are in the midst of a bunch of men, you’d think you’d be dating and having parties. You weren’t. You were working, and that was it.

But I enjoyed the feeling of being in the thick of it. I didn’t particularly enjoy the regimentation, the you do what the Navy says whether you like it or not. That part I could do without. But, for what I did, when I did it, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world. You felt well, until the war’s over, I’m going to do all I can to help. You lived life for today.

When I went in, I had no intention of getting married. The fellow I married, Bill Holland, had been overseas for the war. Then he came back to the states to Santa Ana, where we worked together. We worked through these long nights together in the radio room, so we became very well acquainted. He asked me to marry him still early in our relationship. We had been dating for two months, so we agreed to be engaged.

Then we found out they were going to ship a whole lot of fellows from the base overseas. We thought, hey, we could get some leave for a honeymoon if we get married now, so why not do it now? We were married Dec. 29, 1944.

My husband and I didn’t really think in terms of where we would live, how many children we would have, how’s he going to make a living for us. We didn’t think like that. We didn’t know how long the war would last. When we got married, the war seemed to be stretching into infinity. So you kind of lived for today, enjoyed what you can for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

After the war, it was a complete switch for everyone in the war, including the men as well as the women. “Oh boy, its over, let’s get back to civilian life!”

The WAVES of North County was started last May, so we former WAVES can get together and talk about those days. We consider ourselves kind of dinosaurs, we date so far back. Nobody can really share our reminiscing unless they were there.

Everyone says what a great experience it was being in the WAVES. We don’t know if we’d do it again, but it sure was great then. We enjoyed the feeling of participation, being part of what was going on. It was a bad time for America, but it was very exciting times. It was all devoted to the war effort, to getting the war over.