Article • Dayton and Montgomery County, OH, WWII Heritage City

(H)our History Lesson: Navy WAVES Building Decryption Bombes in Dayton, Ohio

Illustration of two WAVES in uniform, one brunette and one blonde, purposefully walking on shore by military boats, with skyscrapers in the background. Red text box reads: "Don't miss your great opportunity..The Navy needs you in the WAVES"
Photo 1: John Falter, "Don't Miss Your Great Opportunity..The Navy Needs You in the WAVES" recruitment poster, 1944. The Women’s Armed Forces Integration Act of 1948 led to women’s permanent place in the US Navy.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress. No known restrictions.

About This Lesson

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front, focused on Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains photographs, background reading, and two primary sources to contribute to learners’ understandings of the Navy WAVES contributions to building Bombes, a decryption machine for military intelligence, in Dayton, Ohio. It was written by educator Sarah Nestor Lane.

Objectives:

  1. Identify reasons why Dayton was selected as the location of building the Bombes.
  2. Describe the accomplishments of the Navy WAVES in Dayton, OH.
  3. Explain: a) reasons why women chose to enlist in the WAVES and b) the impact the WAVES had on military intelligence decryption efforts.

Materials for Students:

  1. Photos 1 - 6 (can be displayed digitally)
  2. Readings 1, 2, 3 (two primary, one secondary)
  3. Recommended: map of the Dayton area, Montgomery County, or the state of Ohio, to plot locations.
  4. Extensions: 1) Videos 2) Additional primary source reading

Getting Started: Essential Question

How did the Navy WAVES located in Dayton, Ohio contribute to the home front intelligence efforts?

Illustration of young girl with braided pigtails and an open book resting her chin on her hand. She looks wistfully at a framed photo of a uniformed WAVE in front of a vase of flowers. Text reads: "Wish I could join too!" "Serve your country in the WAVES"
Photo 2: John Falter, "Wish I Could Join Too!" recruitment poster. This painting depicts a younger sister looking at a picture of her sister in the WAVES. Approximately 40,000 posters were created of this image alone.

Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Read to Connect

Woman wearing dark, uniform dress writes a letter on her bedside table while sitting on the edge of her bed.
Photo 3: WAVES in Sugar Creek Cabin - May 19, 1943, Dayton, Ohio.

Courtesy of the Dayton History Archives.

By the numbers: WAVES (nationwide)

  • Recruitments were aged 18 to 36 (and officers 20 to 50)

  • In total, 90,000 women served in the WAVES (both enlisted and officer ranks).

  • 70 enlisted and two officers were African American women (later recruitment).

Quotation to consider:

“That was the very last thing before you left the Navy. You walked in this room and he put the Bible in, and you put your hand on it and I had to repeat after him that I swore I would never tell of my activities during World War II. Like you know the consequences. If you talk, you’ll get shot. We went home and we never talked. Don’t you think that’s remarkable? That 600 women went home, got on with their lives, and never said a word.”

-Veronica Hulick, a member of the WAVES who were stationed in Dayton working with Bombes (from 2001 interview reunion; credit: NCR archives, Dayton History)

Four rows of uniformed women marching in line. They are wearing dark, dress coats that go down past the knee and their WAVE caps.
Photo 4: Women marching from Sugar Camp (note label under light); September 8, 1943 in Dayton, OH.

Courtesy of the Dayton History Archives.

Questions for Readings 1 and 2, Photos 1-3

  • What living quarters and accommodations were provided to the incoming WAVES?

  • Why was Dayton selected as a city to build Bombes in?

  • Describe the importance of the Bombes.

  • What did the Navy WAVES accomplish while in Dayton? How did this connect to the work in Washington DC?

A female operator sets the rotors on a US Navy bombe, a massive electromechanical codebreaking machine, prior to a run.
Photo 5: A US Navy Cryptanalytic Bombe, one of the codebreaking machines that were built from 1943 – 1945 in NCR’s Building 26.

Photo by brewbooks, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

Black and white portrait of Sue Unger Eskey, a young woman with dark curly hair. She is wearing a hat with a brim and a dark blouse. She looks to the right of the camera with a neutral expression
Photo 6: Sue Unger Eskey, WAVES picture, who was at Sugar Creek Cabins in Dayton. Eskey was interviewed in 1943 about the daily lives of the WAVES in Dayton but could not reveal their secret work.

Courtesy of Dayton Codebreakers, Montgomery Co. Historical Society


Questions for Reading 3, Photos 4-5

1. Why did Sue Eskey enlist in the WAVES?

2. Describe Eskey’s work with the Bombes. Include her tasks and the dangers of the work for the WAVES.

3. How do you think Eskey's enlistment story and time in Dayton compares to other WAVES’ experiences?

Extension Activities:

1. Videos

Support your students’ understandings with more visual, multimedia resources.

2. Additional Primary Source reading

Teacher Tip: Note how the WAVES' work is described in the article.

"Fifty WAVES Begin Training At NCR Plant," The Dayton Herald (Dayton, Ohio), Wed, Apr 21, 1943 (p. 5)

“A detachment of about 50 WAVE’s (Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service) arrived yesterday to begin training at the National Cash Register company (NCR).

First of a group of several hundred who will arrive within the next few days, the WAVE’s will learn the operation of bookkeeping machines manufactured by the company, and used by the U.S. navy department.

The WAVE’s will be quartered at Sugar Camp on Schantz Avenue, summer camp maintained by the NCR where the company conducted schools for its salesman in previous years.”

Resources

Dalton, C. (2013). Home Sweet Home Front: Dayton During World War II.

Dayton Codebreakers

National Air and Space Museum: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service: The WAVES Program in World War II

Recruitment Posters | Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II

Recruiting Posters for Women (navy.mil)

Last updated: August 11, 2023

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