Welcome to April! For a couple of weeks, I thought Mother Nature forgot to bring spring to Tucson with our 100 temperatures. However, I think she realized she was a bit to early and we’re now in our beautiful weather with highs in the 80s and cool nights.

It’s also the first Saturday of the month so it’s time for Randy Seaver’s latest challenge for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1)  Family stories are often about “Turning Points” and “Major Decisions.”  

2)  This week, please describe a “Turning Point” in the life of one of your parents (or for both of them, or for grandparents).  Describe the decision, and discuss the outcome of it.

I can think of several ancestors who had turning points in their lives, but I’m going to go with my mother’s decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy as a W.A.V.E. during World War II.

My Aunt Barbara once told me that my mother was a bit on the immature side even by the time she was finishing high school and she said the best thing Mom ever did was join the Navy.

In 1944, my mother was living at home with my grandparents and aunts after her high school graduation in Ridgewood, Bergen, New Jersey. She hadn’t really decided what she wanted to do with her life, but I think she was looking for a bit of an adventure. With World War II still going strong, she decided a military career was right for her.

After enlisting, Mom was quite disappointed to learn her “boot camp” (if that is what it was called for the women) was in Oklahoma during the winter. However, she dutifully reported, made some long time friends and, most importantly, gained clerical and secretarial skills which she not only applied in the Navy, but gave her a career path after she was discharged.

Mom was also thrilled to learn that after basic training, her assignment was to be in San Diego.

Mom always talked about her war service with pride. She kept in touch with other W.A.V.E.S. who served in San Diego for more than twenty years after the war ended and I am now the proud caretaker of her military papers and the photos she took during the war.

I think my Mom would agree with Aunt Barbara that her military service was a huge turning point in her life.

Thanks, Randy. This is a great topic that can be used multiple times, sharing stories about other ancestors.