CDR Doris T. Westcott Oral History

title:

CDR Doris T. Westcott Oral History

creator:

Westcott, Doris Tennant (1908 March 21 - 2006 May 16)

subject:

Navy WAVES

description:

Doris Westcott was born on March 21, 1908 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Her family moved to Fullerton, California in 1910, and she grew up there with her parents. She graduated from Fullerton High School in 1926 and, although at first she planned on going to college at University of California: Berkeley, she instead decided to attend the University of Southern California. There, she double majored in Physical Education and Spanish, and was very active in participating in several different sports and other campus activities. Her junior and senior years at USC, 1929 and 1930, she won an award from the university, and at the ceremony her senior year she was offered a job as the assistant Dean of Women at Compton Junior College upon graduation. She also met her future husband, Jack Westcott, when they were in a class together at USC. Although they went to a dance his fraternity hosted together, they both were focused on school until their graduation and did not formally date until after they'd both finished their time at USC, marrying in 1935. She was working at the school in Compton when Pearl Harbor had been bombed, and once she got back from work one day her mother, who had been visiting at the time, said an awfully official sounding man had called and told her to come to Lila Terrace for an interview by 5pm. She went, and after a rather confusing while of being questioned, they offered her the chance to be the first woman from California to become a Navy WAVE. Although she initially declined, they had her get a physical before leaving and she ended up joining. She went to Smith College for training, then was sent to Stillwater, Oklahoma to start the first training school for WAVE Yeoman. From there, Doris was sent to San Francisco, the 12th of 13 Naval districts in the United States, as the first district director of the WAVES. At an important swearing in ceremony at San Francisco, Doris met Eleanor Roosevelt and was asked to have tea with her the next time she was in DC. Doris accepted, but didn't think much of it until she was in DC later and Mildred McAfee reminded her, telling Doris she absolutely had to go. Doris was also invited to have dinner with the First Lady another night, but had gotten home well after the dinner and only found out about the invite after the fact. After leaving the military with the rank of Commander, Doris got a Masters in education in 1947 using the GI Bill and returned to Compton to continue working in education, although looking back on it she wishes that she had stayed in the Navy. She stayed in California since then, and, as of the interview, offered a scholarship for students to USC for 11 years. Doris passed away in May of 2006. For jer service, she was awarded an American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and Presidential Citation. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2003-09-10

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

985; 2003.985

source:

VHP | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

270786

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1942-47

rights:

Unrestricted