WWII Navy WAVE Julia Parsons will turn 104 years old on March 2, 2025. Please help us celebrate and honor her by sending her a birthday card or, if you live in Western Pennsylvania, pay her a visit. Julia loves visitors. Please send cards to: Julia Parsons, Room 201, 4363 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA
by Anna Elizabeth "Betty" Robertson DigbyUsually when I recall bygone days, my mind returns to the peaceful setting of my childhood and all is seen against a backdrop of nature, wooded hills, and an endless sky.Today, however, memory turns to the white marble and granite structures of Washington, DC. I see myself standing on the
As told to Todd DePastino Julia Parsons is the last surviving codebreaker of World War II. On March 2, 2025, she will turn 104 years old. Julia served in the Navy WAVES and was assigned to the Shark Division at the Naval Communications Annex in Washington, DC, where he worked on
. . Julia Parsons volunteered for the Navy WAVES—“Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service”—in 1942 after graduating from Carnegie Tech. She studied cryptology at Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College, and then she was ordered to Washington, D.C. for top secret duty. She joined section SHARK, whose job it was
. . Ruth D'Hert During WWII, Ruth D’Hert chose the Navy WAVES (“Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service”) because the uniforms were navy blue. “Being a Mormon, I was looking at the uniforms, for one thing. I decided on the WAVES because their uniforms were more conservative. They were navy
. . Ila Cole Coming from a large family (nine siblings) and having four brothers in military service, it seemed like a normal decision for Ila to want to join the WAVES at the age of twenty. She grew up in a small town in Iowa and had a nice
