Local woman who served in WWII turns 100, reflects on time in Navy

PLAINVIEW — Alice Starnes, a local veteran who served in the Navy during World War II, turned 100 years old last month.

Starnes, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Sept. 23, was one of approximately 100,000 women who volunteered to serve in a special branch of the U.S. Navy Reserve known as the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).

Though women were generally prohibited from joining the armed forces up until this point, the Navy needed more men freed for sea duty, so President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the WAVES in July 1942.

Starnes, who today lives in Lubbock, was living a relatively ordinary life working as a schoolteacher. However, after hearing about the WAVES from radio and newspaper advertisements, she felt compelled to act, and enlisted in 1943.

“Everyone wanted to do their part, and so I volunteered,” Starnes said.

Starnes attended boot camp at Hunter College in New York City, then known as the U.S. Naval Training Center (Women’s Reserve). She said her clearest memory from that time was a weekend visit from Frank Sinatra, who had been supporting the war effort by giving free concerts for service members.

After her initial training was over, Starnes said the next step was sorting the women according to their strengths and then giving them their initial assignment.

“We were given a barrage of tests, and they decided I needed to be in the pilot program,” Starnes said.

Starnes transferred to Naval Air Station Atlanta, where she learned to operate the Link Trainer, one of the first flight simulators that trained pilots how to fly without the use of visual references.

After finishing her training on the Link Trainer — colloquially known as the “Blue Box” — Starnes transferred to what was then known as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Corry Field in Pensacola, Florida. There, she and other WAVES taught more than 1,000 American and British pilots how to fly by instruments in preparation for overseas deployment.

“We taught the young pilots how to fly by instruments only,” Starnes said. “They had to learn how to fly at night. They couldn’t very well fly over Germany and not know their instruments.”

By 1945, Starnes had transferred once again to Naval Outlying Landing Field Barin in Foley, Alabama, where she continued her work with the naval aviation community. When the war ended, Starnes traveled to New York City to participate in the victory celebrations there.

“We marched down Fifth Avenue for miles and miles,” Starnes said. “We were so exhausted by the time the parade ended, we didn’t even go on liberty. We went back to the dormitory.”

After more than two years, Starnes left the WAVES with the rank of Specialist Teacher 2nd Class and returned to her former life. Though her own service was over, Starnes’ life since World War II has stayed closely entwined with the Navy. She went on to marry a Navy chaplain and has a son and granddaughter who are both Navy veterans.

“We are a Navy family,” she said.

When thinking back on her service, Starnes keeps in mind that she was a small part of a much bigger picture. She was not the only member of her family to aid the war effort: Her younger brother served in the Navy and her sister worked in a factory producing war supplies in Los Angeles. Although she is proud of her service, Starnes said that, like so many other members of America’s Greatest Generation, she had simply answered the call of history.

“I was doing my duty for my country, which a lot of other people were also doing,” Starnes said. “The people in the United States were so wonderful. I can’t even say how we did it.”