PhM3 Florence H. Mast Oral History Side A

title:

PhM3 Florence H. Mast Oral History Side A

creator:

Mast, Florence Catherine (Haug) (1921 January 29 - )

subject:

Navy WAVES

description:

Side 1 of 2. Florence C. Mast (formerly Haug) was born on January 29, 1921 in Newark, New Jersey. Her family moved to Irvington, New Jersey not long after because her father got a job there as a policeman. She graduated from Morrell High School in 1938, using a program that allowed her to graduate at 16 so she could look for work. Her father was a 20-year Navy veteran and her brother enlisted in the Navy at 17 right after the United States officially joined the war, which greatly influenced her choice to enlist in the Navy WAVES. She enlisted in New York City in June 1944, a choice that her parents were very supportive of and her husband—who was in Germany with the Army at the time—strongly opposed. She went to basic training at Hunter College, and while it took time for her to adjust, she greatly enjoyed marching and drilling. She was sent to the Hospital Corps Training School in Bethesda, Maryland after completing basic. Her first station after training was at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital in Pennsylvania, where she worked overnights in the Medical Records Office. She was transferred to the Naval Air Station in Norman, Oklahoma where she did much of the same work. This is the station she was at on V-J Day, and she went to dinner with a fellow pharmacist’s mate in celebration. She was discharged from New York City in November 1945 and she was excited to get out, but was also worried about reuniting with her husband who she hadn’t seen on five years since he was drafted. They divorced a few years later, and she married a man she met at work. Since leaving the service, she has worked as a secretary in medical centers, in the movie industry, and with Lockheed Aircraft. When she left the service Mast had reached the rank of pharmacist’s mate 3rd class, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2006-01-26

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

611; 2006.611

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

058872

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1944-45

rights:

Unrestricted