Gertrude Jones Jordan grew up in Pennsylvania. She was one of the first black women in the state to join the WAVES. She was stationed primarily in Brooklyn, New York during the war. Jordan viewed her service in the navy as a way to fund her college education. Jordan was discharged from the WAVES on February 6, 1947, and went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Food, Nutrition, and Child Development, later working as a nurse.
In her own words:
Below, listen to excerpts from an oral history conducted with Gertrude Jones Jordan.
