It’s been more than 60 years since Lucy “Josey” Anderson of National City retired as a Navy WAVE following World War II but she’s still getting accolades.
Anderson in April was presented a proclamation by the County Board of Supervisors honoring her military service.
“Lucy Anderson is part of The Greatest Generation that defended our nation and the world and I was proud to recognize her,” said County Supervisor Greg Cox.
Besides the proclamation, Anderson, who has lived in the same home in National City for 60 years, was rewarded with a trip to Washington, D.C. That trip came courtesy of Honor Flight San Diego, a branch of the non-profit nationwide Honor Flight Network that escorts veterans to our nation’s capital to see veterans memorials and to recognize their contributions to our country. Honor Flight San Diego provides free trips funded by donations from individuals and organizations that wish to celebrate veterans.
Anderson was one of more than 80,000 women who participated during the war and shortly thereafter in the United States Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve), better known by the acronym Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). WAVES served at 900 shore stations and in Hawaii. The purpose of the law creating Waves was to release officers and men for sea duty and replace them with women in shore stations.
Though most Waves worked in secretarial and clerical fields, some became doctors, attorneys and engineers, fields heretofore open only to men.
A cook during and after the war, Anderson earned numerous medals including Good Conduct and World War II Victory citations.
Reminiscing about her military experiences as a Wave, Anderson, a North Carolina native, recalled her toughest assignment.
“The night before Thanksgiving, I had to roast 104 turkeys by myself, stuffed ‘em too,” she said adding she cooked the birds 18 at a time in three pans on three oven shelves.
“I started early the night before and didn’t finish until 7:30 or 8 a.m the next morning,” Lucy said.
Anderson also recalls being cited for courageous conduct during an unusual incident that transpired in her all-female barracks.
“One night I was sleeping on the top of a double-decker metal bunk and I heard this noise and someone woke me up and it was a man,” she said. “So I got out of bed, grabbed him by the arm, and proceeded to get on top of him and restrain him until the Shore Patrol (military police) came.”
Anderson was equally surprised when she got called into the captain’s office the next day.
“The captain told me, ‘I heard you got yourself a man last night.’ They gave me a meritorius citation for being brave.”
Asked what’s the biggest difference in the way things are in society today than they were back in World War II, Anderson answered, “Responsibility, and patriotism. We had love of the country (then) more than they do today. We were in there to do the job. Today, most people don’t care if the job gets done or not.”
“I’ve had a good life,” said the spry 92-year-old who married a sailor and settled down and had three children after retiring from the military in 1952. “I’m just appreciative of all the honors that I have received. I met some nice girls, had some good bosses, served under some good leaders — that was a plus.”
