Lucille Kemper
(Nee Helen Lucille Sturm)
WAVES
Pharmacist’s Mate, Third Class

Interviewed by Alex Greene
Adult Secretary Erin Anderson

We had six weeks of "Boot Camp" or basic training at Hunter College, Bronx, New York.  We lived in apartments near the campus.  Here we took courses in current events, basic naval terms, we marched, had air craft identification , marched, took P.E. classes, and MARCHED!!  I tried out for the singing platoon and made it.  We had the privilege of singing on the radio, singing for church services and and we piped to Eleanor Roosevelt "on board" one day.   Everyone was there to help with war effort. 

My next four weeks was spent at St. Albans Naval Hospital on Long Island, New York where I went for highly intensified Corps School Training.  We were sent to our first duty station.  I was assigned to Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia.  I was a corpsman on a ward where contagious diseases were treated.  During this time I also played the clarinet and saxophone in the station dance band.

A funny memory of the time I was doing ward work.  I was instructed by the head nurse to ask everyone who passed me to wash their hands in a creosote solution before entering our TB ward.  That day was the Captain's Inspection---so I asked the Captain to follow the procedures.  He looked a bit annoyed but did it anyway.  On his way out, he looked at me and said "nice job".  I grinned.

After V-E Day, I received orders along with 149 other college graduates to return to Hunter College for Rehabilitation School.  We were divided into four groups; Blind, Deaf, Occupational and Physical Therapy. I was in the group to teach lip-reading to the boys with hearing losses. A total of 132 women graduated from the 149 who started.

While in Rehab School, V-J Day occurred and we celebrated on Time Square in New York City.   It was packed with people just like it is on New Year’s Eve. We went to New York City on several occasions.  We even got to go to the opera.

The war was over but some boys returning from fighting needed rehab so our group was "frozen" for 6 months, we could not be discharged for 6 months. My next duty station was the US Naval Hospital in Philadelphia. There I did a number of jobs; I ran the elevator, typed records in the morgue, worked for a commander in the Public Works Office, and helped a lieutenant write a paper comparing all the hearing aids on the market at the time. 

I was discharged in New Orleans  in April 1946 and received a "ruptured duck" for my uniform.

You were asking what the pay was like.  Our pay was $50.00 per month as an Apprentice Seaman (A/S).  You could study and take a test and if there was an opening you could move up a grade.  If you moved up a grade you would get more money.  By the time I was made Pharmacist Mate 3 (PhM3/c) I was making $78.00 dollar per month.  Of course we got our food, uniforms and lodging free.

I still have the New Testament with the WAVE emblem on it.  It was given to us as A/S, the first page contains a message to all service people from President Roosevelt. Click on the page and you can read the inscription  from the President.

After I returned to Parsons, I received a call to teach music in Medford, Oklahoma.  I used the G.I. Bill to attend the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. I also added hours to my private pilot's license.  The G.I. Bill was a great gift to the veterans.

One of the things I am proud of, relating to my WWII experiences, is that I helped dedicate the Women in Miltary Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial.  This memorial stands at the entrance to Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC and was dedicated in December, 1997.

You asked me what I thought the biggest misconception about WWII was.  I think that it is that some people say the Jews were no persecuted and killed by the Nazis.  I have visited the concentration camps at Auschwitz.   The tour guide led us into the gas chambers where Jews had suffered and died.   He closed the door--it was a haunting and eerie feeling. 

I met my husband, Howard Kemper, in 1947 and we were married in 1948.  We have three children and seventeen grandchildren.  We love to travel but we love to return to Overland Park, Kansas, too.

Permission granted for use by Lucille Kemper © 2001
Transcribed by Erin Anderson and Jon Bosch