Elizabeth Jane Gersey (nee Hughes)
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Elizabeth Betty Jane “B. J.” Hughes Gersey served in the U.S. Navy. She served during World War II, from 1942 until 1945.
Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill creating WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), part of the U.S. Navy, on July 30, 1942.
Ms. Gersey entered the first class accepted for service. Ms. Gersey was the first woman from Duluth to enlist in the newly formed WAVES. She was in the first class of Navy women trained as Radiomen First Class (Petty Officer). Ms. Gersey trained as an Air Traffic Controller at the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Florida, for four months, and then replaced the Traffic Controller there who had trained her.
She was honorably discharged from the Navy in July 1945. Ms. Gersey was born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1921. She graduated from Central High School in 1938.
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Betty Jane "B.J." Hughes was a Duluth Central graduate in 1938, followed by two years at Duluth Junior College.
Prior to WWII she worked in the Vital Statistics area of the Duluth Health Department in City Hall. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill creating WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) on July 30, 1942.
Betty Jayne entered the first class accepted for service. She was then sent directly to the Navy Training School for Radiomen at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
She adds, “There was no boot camp for women at that time so we trained alongside the men to learn Morse code and other communication skills.”
Upon completion of training as a Petty Officer 3rd Class Radioman, she was assigned to duty at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, FL. There she served as air traffic controller and later as supervisor in the main communications center.
After 3 years she was discharged as Petty Officer 1st Class Radioman (E-6) in 1945.
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Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall Veteran’s History Form; interview from Minnesota Historical Society. Below is information from the Minnesota Historical Society’s collection. (© 2006 Minnesota Historical Society, All Rights Reserved.) To learn more, including photographs, visit http://stories.mnhs.org/stories/mgg/story.do?... ----------
In mid-1942, having made the acquaintance of the Duluth, Minnesota, Navy Recruiter, I learned that women radio operators would be recruited in September 1942. To prepare myself ahead of that date, I enrolled in a men’s Morse Code training class and found that I really enjoyed learning code. I was Duluth’s first WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and wrote a column while in the Navy for the Duluth Herald newspaper, which the Navy felt encouraged other women to enlist. Enlisting in September 1942, our group of potential radio operators was sent directly to the Navy Radio Training School at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. There was no basic training facility for this pioneer group of WAVES. We marched to classes in our civvies and high heels until tailors from Marshal Field’s in Chicago came to Madison, measured each of us individually and sent our well-fitting uniforms to us in late October. We felt very special the first day we marched to code class in our new uniforms! After three months of intensive training, 55 of us were assigned to active duty at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, (Later referred to as JAX). We left Madison as qualified radiomen in 28-degree-below-zero weather in our wool blue uniforms and found the 80-degree temperature in Jax to be almost overwhelming. Upon arriving there, we were housed in one of their two-story BOQ (Bachelor Officer Quarters) buildings with four women to a room and two sets of bunk beds. We had a pool behind our quarters and were happy when what had been men’s gang showers were remodeled into individual shower stalls for us women. We were not allowed to walk to the base area where German POWs were housed behind tall metal fences so I never had the opportunity to see that aspect of WWII history. Serving as an air traffic controller for four months, I witnessed many plane mishaps as young men were training to become Navy pilots. During those months, I was trained by Traffic Controller Stuart Shank, whom I replaced when he was shipped out to Italy. It was a special privilege for me to get to know the man my enlistment allowed me to replace, as that was a major point in recruiting Navy women. One of the most memorable events in my Navy life was being contacted by the then Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, and being told that I was being granted a special 10-day leave to christen the Navy ship PASSACONAWAY, which was a Navy net tender used in the waters around Japan toward the end of the war. It was a great experience to stand atop that high platform and swing the ribbon-wrapped bottle of champagne and loudly say. “I christen thee PASSACONAWAY!” I will never forget that thrill. One disturbing memory involved my duty in the tower. An Army transport plane was on the flight line, going to Miami. It was usual for the pilot to ask if anyone wanted to fly to Miami, and there were always some Navy personnel there in Operations Office waiting for a “free hop” on their day (s) off. There were seven Navy nurses waiting for a hop, but the pilot could accommodate only six. So, one of the nurses had to stay behind and was on the flight line, undoubtedly very unhappy that she couldn't accompany her friends. As I cleared the transport for take-off, the plane began to rise and was about to circle the tower when it suddenly burst into flames. The plane and all personnel plunged into the ground, killing all on board. The nurse watching the plane leave must still be having nightmares, about how close she came to getting killed. As Watch Supervisor, I will never forget that, either. As with most other servicewomen, I imagine, we had the opportunity to see and often meet celebrities. We were entertained by USO shows, including Bob Hope and his men and women movie stars. Because Radio Central was housed in the tower building, many of us saw famous people come and go as they landed and entered the Operations building. Many sailors on active duty at Jax had been musicians in famous bands of the 1930s and 1940s, and we had Saturday night dances at the Mainside auditorium. Those musicians had come from bands such as Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnett, and Bob Crosby. We really missed those talented men as they began to ship out to war, one after another. After V-J Day in August 1945, our women began to be discharged. I was discharged as a First Class Petty Officer (Radioman). We returned to civilian life and found it to be far less exciting than our Navy life. Many of us married and began to raise our families, which brought us all the excitement that we could handle! How fortunate I am to have served in the Navy during WWII! I was able to release another radioman for overseas’ duty, and my memories are filled with friendships of those service days. What more could I ask for? Duluth native Elizabeth (BJ) Hughes Gersey was discharged from the WAVES in 1945. To keep in touch with friends made in the service, B.J. initiated two round-robin newsletters beginning in 1953, and began publishing a newsletter, “Scuttlebutt,” for friends with whom she served at Jacksonville Naval Air Station (JAX). B.J. continues to be active in the Women Veterans of Minnesota, and has shared the story of her World War II experiences with many Minnesota students over the years. When Navy Radioman 2c B.J. Hughes first met her new boss, Traffic Chief Radioman 1c Jon J. Gersey, she wasn’t too impressed, but in a short time she grew to like-then love-him. The two were married at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida on February 24, 1945. B.J. & JON GERSEY: NAVY Nuptials Waiting until the end of a war that seemed to stretch forever into the future was hard for some young couples of Minnesota’s Greatest Generation who were eager to marry and begin a life together. Some chose to tie the knot before the war ended. In the case of military couples, this meant a transfer for one of them, as husbands and wives were not permitted to be stationed at the same base, or in the same theater of operations. Elizabeth (B.J.) Hughes and Jon J. Gersey met and married at Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. B.J. remembered a few “waves” at the beginning of the courtship that soon turned to “smooth sailing” for this Navy couple. After completing my radio training at the University of Wisconsin Navy Training School, I was assigned active duty at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida (NASJAX). My rate was Petty Officer Third Class Radioman. During my first year at JAX, I was trained as an Air-Traffic Controller in order to relieve a man in that job at JAX. The Navy needed male radiomen overseas so they asked about five of us if we would like to train as Controllers. I readily said I would like that training. In 1944, I earned my Radioman 2c (second class) rating and began planning my leave to go to my home in Duluth, Minnesota in June. The Navy gave me the privilege of christening a Navy ship while I was on leave. I have a lot of great memories of that event. Meanwhile, Jon Gersey trained to be a Radioman at the Navy Training School in Moscow, Idaho, and had spent two years at Naval Air Station Trinidad, also as a Radioman. In July of 1944, he had already received his Radioman 1c promotion and became my boss, the Traffic Chief. As he reported to the Officer of the Day (OOD) in the Administration building at JAX, he walked into our office, put his seabag down off his shoulder, and exclaimed, “Women! I’m not going to serve with women!” He went back to the OOD and asked for a different assignment The OOD said, “Sailor, you’re in the Navy and you’ll go wherever you are assigned. Get back upstairs and get to work!” And so he did . . . You can imagine how the entire staff of women was thrilled by that remark! I suppose he didn't think we were competent, and that he had worked only with men in Trinidad. He soon realized that he had to learn to work with women, and he finally began to soften up and accept us. My first personal interaction with Jon didn't go very well either. Usually, the circuits would slow down on the midwatch (midnight to 8:00 a.m.) so someone on watch would grab a dust cloth and try to make the office a bit cleaner after all-day windows open and no air conditioning. I dusted everything that looked dusty and then went to Jon’s desk. He was “resting” back in his swivel chair with his feet on the desk. I asked him to please move his feet so I could dust his desk too. He said. “YOU move them,” with a slight grin on his face. I just glared at him and walked away, saying silently to myself, “let him clean his own desk.” Things warmed up, little by little, when a hurricane brushed across on my birthday in September of 1944. We were stranded in our office because many trees had been uprooted due to the high winds and rain. Traffic on the base was at a standstill. Rations of Hershey bars and hot tomato soup were brought to us, supposedly for extra energy, as we manned the circuits and couldn't get to the mess hall. After shoulder-cramping hours on the circuits, I asked someone to please relieve me for a few minutes so I could stretch my shoulders and ease the pain. Jon came over and massaged my neck and shoulders over and over until the pain subsided. I looked around, smiled and said, “Thanks, Jon,” and Jon said, “Any time.” The number 24 was very important in our courtship. We had our first date on November 24 and went bowling. I told him I had never bowled but would love to try. My first game was 132 and he wanted to know if I really had never bowled before. My next two games were in the mid-70s so he began to believe me. We went to a diner for a snack and Jon continued to put nickels in the booth’s nickelodeon for the same song, over and over It wasn't until we were on the bus back to the base that I realized that the song was “Don’t Fence Me In.” When Jon spent Christmas at home in Elmhurst, Illinois he sent me three cards with baby kittens on the covers. This told me that he remembered that I had once said that I wasn't fond of cats but loved little kittens. I began to realize that Jon was someone I really cared for. He was a gentle man and a gentleman. Jon gave me my engagement ring on January 24, 1945 and our Communications Officer immediately had him transferred to a Navy base at Cocoa Beach, Florida (an area later named Kennedy Space Center.) Married couples couldn't work together in those days. Jon said he wanted me to know that diabetes was very strong in his family, his mother having died of the disease shortly before Jon reported to NASJAX. I accepted that fact with no reservations and we planned to be married on February 24 at the Catholic Chapel on the base. Jon gave me his mother’s engagement ring, vintage 1918, which she had willed to him for his bride. I was very honored to wear it. My sister Marilyn Hughes, traveled from Duluth to be my maid of honor. Our Navy buddy, Bob Duncan, was Jon’s best man. We had a small reception in town for twelve of our Radioman friends, and we left by train to spend our two-day honeymoon at Cocoa Beach, Florida the next morning. Jon returned to his duties at his base and I went back to the Comm Office in JAX to monitor the circuits again at NASJAX. I found it interesting that the Navy supplied me with a wallet-size copy of our marriage certificate so I could check into a hotel with Jon, but he didn't need such proof. We managed to switch duty watch every now and then so we could spend time together in JAX. In early June, I found that I was pregnant. In those years, a Navy servicewoman who was pregnant could not remain on active duty. Jon and I took our leaves to visit each other’s families in Illinois and Minnesota. I received my Honorable discharge in July 1945, after 34 months of active duty. I returned to Duluth and lived with my family until Jon was discharged in November. We were thrilled to welcome our son Tom on February 1, 1946. Jon then returned to the Chicago area and stayed with his family while he found employment and an apartment. I flew with Tom to Chicago in June to join Jon. Our apartment was lovely – third-floor front in a six-plex brick building – at the 1946 rental price of $45 a month. We were very happy. We lived in Chicago for over seven years, during which time our daughter Leslie was born. Following a visit to Minneapolis in mid-1953, we agreed that moving to a home in Richfield would be to our children’s advantage. Jon was especially pleased with Minnesota’s lakes and all the outdoor facilities for our family to enjoy. He made friends quickly and became an avid sportsman, enjoying fishing, golfing, hunting and bowling. My two sisters living in the Minneapolis area and their families rejoiced with Jon when he bowled his 300 game. We were so proud of him! I enjoyed raising my children, serving as a Cub Den mother, as well as participating in and chairing various fund drives. Jon and I organized our block parties where our neighbors and the children enjoyed good food and family camaraderie. Adults and children had a lot of fun taking part in races on our street, which we had blocked off at each end. What good times we enjoyed in the ‘50s! Jon passed away in 2000 after our 55th wedding anniversary. Those were wonderful years for all four of us Gerseys. And it all began at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida!
