1 00:00:02,202 --> 00:00:09,976 GUEST: This is my mother's, uh, flight jacket, two pictures of her, and her flight log. In the Navy, 2 00:00:09,976 --> 00:00:17,417 she was a stewardess. She was one of only 30 WAVES who were, uh, taken into a squadron and 3 00:00:17,417 --> 00:00:24,224 given the namesake "The 30," uh... Guys, when they were being discharged, there was a guy 4 00:00:24,224 --> 00:00:31,398 that was slashing the back of the jackets, and she just refused. So she ended up stealing it 5 00:00:31,398 --> 00:00:36,169 from the Navy and had to stand the captain's mast for that. So, we're very proud of it. (chuckles) 6 00:00:36,169 --> 00:00:40,240 APPRAISER: As you should be. So, what is the captain's mast? 7 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:45,311 GUEST: It's one step below a court-martial, and, uh, she could have been in serious problem for, 8 00:00:45,311 --> 00:00:47,947 uh, stealing it. But, uh, fortunately, they let her go. 9 00:00:47,947 --> 00:00:49,482 APPRAISER: They were demilitarizing... 10 00:00:49,482 --> 00:00:51,251 GUEST: Yes. APPRAISER: ...all of the material from the Navy. 11 00:00:51,251 --> 00:00:54,120 GUEST: Yeah. The, the 30, uh, jackets were all being destroyed, 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,057 and as far as I know, that's the only one that has survived. 13 00:00:57,057 --> 00:00:59,259 APPRAISER: Yeah. I've never seen another one for a WAVE before. 14 00:00:59,259 --> 00:01:00,493 GUEST: Mm-hmm. 15 00:01:00,493 --> 00:01:04,864 APPRAISER: The WAVES, Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services. The 16 00:01:04,864 --> 00:01:09,769 WAVES were formed in, in 1942 to alleviate some of the services, 17 00:01:09,769 --> 00:01:14,207 get men out into, into ships and in combat. So they did all sorts of jobs, 18 00:01:14,207 --> 00:01:18,211 from working in hospitals to, like your mom, be working on an aircrew of an aircraft. 19 00:01:18,211 --> 00:01:20,046 GUEST: Mm-hmm. 20 00:01:20,046 --> 00:01:25,819 APPRAISER: To be crewing a plane at that time was pretty impressive. They were in service through 21 00:01:25,819 --> 00:01:31,724 the end of the war, and were demobilized in, in 1948. They had done that so that they could 22 00:01:31,724 --> 00:01:36,162 be actually integrated into the regular Army, Navy. And that was due to their service, um... 23 00:01:36,162 --> 00:01:39,099 GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: ...during World War II, 24 00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:42,735 that they actually became regular members of the, of the military. And she served when? 25 00:01:42,735 --> 00:01:46,506 GUEST: The very end of World War II into peacetime. 26 00:01:46,506 --> 00:01:48,641 APPRAISER: So it looked like from... The... ...the, the logbook here... 27 00:01:48,641 --> 00:01:49,442 GUEST: Mm-hmm. 28 00:01:49,442 --> 00:01:53,713 APPRAISER: Looked like the fall of 1945 into '46, '47? 29 00:01:53,713 --> 00:01:55,081 GUEST: Yeah, mm-hmm. 30 00:01:55,081 --> 00:01:59,419 APPRAISER: And it seems like she did some traveling. She flew around quite a bit. She did. 31 00:01:59,419 --> 00:02:06,192 GUEST: Her main unit was covering from Boston to Miami, and then she did Bermuda to San Francisco. 32 00:02:06,192 --> 00:02:10,997 APPRAISER: Well, it's wonderful that we have a leather flight jacket, 33 00:02:10,997 --> 00:02:18,605 a U.S. Navy version AN-J-3A. The only ones I've ever seen before were worn by men. You've got 34 00:02:18,605 --> 00:02:23,743 a wool waistband, cuffs that have a few holes, it's got a little wear from use, 35 00:02:23,743 --> 00:02:26,679 but it's still in good condition. You said your mother is wearing it in this photograph? 36 00:02:26,679 --> 00:02:31,084 GUEST: Yes. Her jacket there and her boots. Her 37 00:02:31,084 --> 00:02:33,853 flight boots. Yeah. She stole, actually, the flight boots... 38 00:02:33,853 --> 00:02:35,522 APPRAISER: (chuckles) GUEST: ...also, from the Navy. 39 00:02:35,522 --> 00:02:38,691 APPRAISER: For the group, we would put an auction estimate of $1,000 to $1,500. 40 00:02:38,691 --> 00:02:41,694 GUEST: Oh, really? 41 00:02:41,694 --> 00:02:46,099 APPRAISER: Part of the value being in the jacket itself, but the historical value 42 00:02:46,099 --> 00:02:49,903 is what's really important with it. I'm sure glad that we could see this today... 43 00:02:49,903 --> 00:02:49,602 GUEST: Thank you, Mom. APPRAISER: ...and talk about your mom.