Mary Ellen West poses by a palm tree in Pensacola, Florida, wearing the WAVES all-purpose coat and soft-brimmed hat, in 1944.

Storekeeper Third Class Mary Ellen West (right) sits at a typewriter while two other WAVES work at desks in their shared office at Whiting Field, Florida, in 1944. The wo[...]

Portrait of Mary Ellen West taken while she was attending Navy Storekeepers School at the University of Indiana in 1944.

WAVES navy blue slacks worn with the short-sleeve white shirtwaist and black seaman's tie. This uniform worn by Mary Ellen West from 1943 to 1946.

WAVES officer's navy blue wool double-breasted overcoat with three pairs of Navy gold buttons, belt sewn on the back, and reserve blue stripes on cuffs. This coat worn by[...]

WAVES enlisted soft-brimmed hat with blue cover and navy tally with "US Navy" in gold letters across the front. Worn with interchangeable navy, white, and seersucker cove[...]

Documents Mary Ellen West's time at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro); her service in the U.S. [...]