W.A.V.E. members in formation (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)

Photographed at ground level, the uniformed women in this image form a seemingly endless diagonal line as they disappear into the distance. They are W.A.V.E.S. (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). President Franklin Roosevelt temporarily opened limited naval service to women in 1942, recognizing the need to engage the full strength of the US population to win the Second World War. Though in their service as metalsmiths, engine specialists, and control tower operators W.A.V.E.S. rarely wore skirts, Wayne Miller’s photograph emphasizes their uniform femininity by focusing on their evenly aligned skirt hems and pantyhose.