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(H)our History Lesson: Always Ready: Women in the Coast Guard during World War II

Black and white photo of 10 women in 2 lines rowing a boat in coast guard hats
Though they would mostly serve on the home front, women who enlisted in SPARS went through military training including swimming and boating.

The United States Coast Guard. 190530-G-G0000-3003.

Introduction:  

During World War II, opportunities for women expanded, including in the military. The Coast Guard, like other branches, created a women’s reserve known as the SPARS (Semper Paratus-Always Ready) in 1942. Thousands of women from across the United States enlisted. They went through basic training and then were stationed on the home front to “free a man up to fight.” Spars faced challenges and discrimination, but also contributed to the war effort in many ways.  

Learning about their stories is one way to think about the contributions and changing roles of women during World War II.  

Note about language: The Women’s Auxiliary was known as SPARS. An individual servicewoman was a Spar.  

Grade Level Adapted For: 

This lesson is intended for high school learners but can be adapted for learners of all ages. 

Black and white photo of white woman at desk in military uniform flags in background
Dorothy Stratton was recruited from WAVES officer training to be the Director of the SPARS. She led the group through World War II.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard

Objectives:

  1. Identify the roles women played in the Coast Guard and in the larger WWII effort

  1. Identify challenges and opportunities faced by women in SPARS during WWII

  1. Evaluate how women’s participation in WWII changed their roles during the War

Inquiry Question:  

How did Spars’ experiences change the way they saw themselves during and after World War II? 

Background Reading

The following article can be read by teachers for background knowledge or can be assigned to students.

Teacher Tip: Students could read and answer the questions for consideration. The questions can also be used to help guide students when taking class notes.  

Questions for Consideration 

  1. Why were the SPARS established? How did it allow women to participate in the war effort? 

  1. What were the requirements for a woman who wanted to join the SPARS?  

  1. How were the women’s experiences in the SPARS, both during training and during their deployment, similar and different from a man in the Coast Guard? *This question may need you to form a hypothesis but be sure to back it up with evidence from the text! 

Black and white image of a woman in a dark coast guard uniform with different aspects labeled
Among other aspects of training, new Coast Guard recruits had to learn military discipline, including how to wear their uniform. This example is the Service Dress Blue uniform from 1942.

Courtesy of the United States Coast Guard.

Student Activities:

Activity 1: Life in SPARS

Life in any military branch is often different than what people envision. SPARS, had to recruit women into the service. They had to do so quickly and in competition with other branches, like WACS or WAVES. All women serving in SPARS had to go through basic training. They were then assigned to a variety of jobs across the country. Some of these jobs used skills they already had, like typing or dictation. Others offered the opportunity to learn a whole new set of skills. Some women enjoyed the experiences in SPARS, others struggled with the new tasks or the attitude of those around them.  

To learn more about why women joined SPARS and how their lives changed as a result, read about their experience once they had joined the Coast Guard. How did the experience meet expectations? How did their experiences over the course of war change their view of themselves and the United States? 

The following are excerpts from Spars, collected either in writing or through oral history interviews. The excerpts are in order from shortest to longest. They also go in chronological order from training to deployment experiences. Choose 1 or 2 perspectives. As you read them, write down 3-5 phrases that describe their actual experiences. Consider: 

  • What did the women do?  
  • How difficult or easy were the tasks for them? How similar or different were they from what they experienced at home? 
  • How were they treated? Did they face any discrimination because they were women in the military? How did they respond? 

Teacher Tip: Assign students different perspectives so they can come together and compare different readings. This step takes longer than the poster analysis, so this strategy can also save class time.  

You can find more readings in the full group memoir, Three Years Behind the Mast. 

SPARS Memoirs and Interview

Class Discussion:

Share with your classmates, either in small groups or the whole class, what 3 things you learned about life in SPARS from your source(s).

Activity 2: Top Secret SPARS

Background Information: LORAN is a type of long-range navigation system. Electric signals are sent out from different radio stations to determine the relative position of a ship or plane. The technology was very new in World War II and could be sensitive. The Coast Guard operated 72 LORAN stations across the United States. By the end of World War II, these stations monitored 30% of the globe [1]. LORAN stations were operated in secrecy during the war.  

Optional: Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Video on how LORAN works.  

In 1944, a group of SPARS took over the LORAN monitoring station in Chatham, Massachusetts. Coast Guard historian Robin Thomson believes it was “the only all woman station of its kind in the world.” [2] The commanding officer, Lt. (JG) Vera Hamerschlag, wrote about her experience after the war in the SPARS group memoir, Three Years Behind the Mast.

Sepia photo of a woman in dark uniform holding a small dog
Vera Hamerschlag was in charge of the SPARS run LORAN station in Chatham, Massachusetts. She gave a detailed recollection of her time there to the joint SPARS memoir, Three Years Behind the Mast.

Photo Courtesy of the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.

Reading Questions:

  1. According to Hammerschlag, why were Spars chosen to operate the LORAN Station in Chatham?
  2. How did Hammerschlag and the other Spars feel about taking over the LORAN Station?
  3. What jobs did the women expect to do? What jobs did they actually do?
  4. How did the SPARS at the Chatham LORAN station contribute to the US’ efforts in World War II?

Exit Ticket:

Teacher Tip: You can discuss this question as a class before leaving or ask students to write their own answers in a short paragraph, then submit it to you for assessment.

What part of women’s lives in the coast guard stood out the most to you? How were their lives different than many women at the time?

Teacher Tip: You may want to talk with students about gender roles in the 1930s and 1940s, and expectations of women’s lives before the War if you have not already done so. For more resources about how women’s lives changed during the war, see the Park Service Page on “Women in World War II.”

Call Out Box: Interested in more activities? See the companion lesson, (H)our History Lesson: “An Unforgettable Experience:” Diverse Stories of Women it the World War II Coastguard

Further Resources

This lesson was written by Alison Russell, a consulting historian for the National Park Service in partnership with the National Council on Public History.

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Last updated: October 4, 2024