Original Item: Only One Available. This is a genuine World War II recruitment poster published by the U.S. Navy with artwork by Milton Paris. The size of the poster is 23” x 19 ½” and is mounted on a thick cardboard backing. The poster shows a female in Navy Uniform pointing out from the poster, with directions to the nearest recruiting office at 110 E. Wisconsin Avenue  in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the background, in a blue spatter style, are 3 white silhouettes of sailors loading what appears to be a large deck gun from a ship.
 
The poster reads:
THE NAVY NEEDS YOU
JOIN THE WAVES NOW
APPLY AT THE NEAREST RECRUITING STATION OR THE OFFICE OF NAVAL OFFICER PROCUREMENT...110 E. WISCONSIN AVENUE
MILWAUKEE , WISCONSIN
 
In the top right corner, “MILTON PARIS” can be found.
 
This poster was originally folded, but has been mounted on thick poster board and now the patriotic colors are beautifully saturated and vivid. The overall condition is excellent, with minor wear on the corners and edges due to age and storage.
 
The United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 30. This authorized the U.S. Navy to accept women into the Naval Reserve as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level, effective for the duration of the war plus six months. The purpose of the law was to release officers and men for sea duty and replace them with women in shore establishments. Mildred H. McAfee, on leave as president of Wellesley College, became the first director of the WAVES. She was commissioned a lieutenant commander on August 3, 1942, and later promoted to commander and then to captain.
 
The notion of women serving in the Navy was not widely supported in the Congress or by the Navy, even though some of the lawmakers and naval personnel did support the need for uniformed women during World War II. Public Law 689, allowing women to serve in the Navy, was due in large measure to the efforts of the Navy's Women's Advisory Council, Margaret Chung, and Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States.
 
To be eligible for officer candidate school, women had to be aged 20 to 49 and possess a college degree or have two years of college and two years of equivalent professional or business experience. Volunteers at the enlisted level had to be aged 20 to 35 and possess a high school or a business diploma, or have equivalent experience. The WAVES were primarily white, but 72 African-American women eventually served. The Navy's training of most WAVE officer candidates took place at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. Specialized training for officers was conducted on several college campuses and naval facilities. Most enlisted members received recruit training at Hunter College, in the Bronx, New York City. After recruit training, some women attended specialized training courses on college campuses and at naval facilities.
 
The WAVES served at 900 stations in the United States. The territory of Hawaii was the only overseas station where their staff was assigned. Many female officers entered fields previously held by men, such as medicine and engineering. Enlisted women served in jobs from clerical to parachute riggers. Many women experienced workplace hostility from their male counterparts. The Navy's lack of clear-cut policies, early on, was the source of many of the difficulties. The WAVES' peak strength was 86,291 members. Upon demobilization of the officer and enlisted members, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz all commended the WAVES for their contributions to the war effort.