My Summer with HRNM and the ODU TIR Program: Anne Marie Pope

Anne Marie Pope visits fellow TIR Interns at the Virginia Air and Space Museum

This post was written by Anne Marie Pope, ODU TIR Intern and Education Volunteer at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. 

In my short time as an educational volunteer at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, I have learned the value of creativity in education. I am finishing up my Master of Science degree in Secondary Education for English in Old Dominion University’s Teacher Immersion Residency Program. This program is truly unique, affording me many opportunities that are shaping the teacher I will become. After finishing my time as a teacher candidate in Norfolk Public Schools during the 2012-2013 school year, I will begin my career as a full-fledged, bona fide teacher this fall. My experience at the HRNM has pushed me to think creatively in an effort to integrate “Englishy” skills and knowledge from various disciplines while furthering the museum’s goals to reach high school students through its educational outreach program.

My involvement at the museum has been well-timed. Deputy Director of Education, Matthew Eng, has been looking for resources and connections to become involved in the work of history classrooms in Norfolk’s high schools. His belief in the necessity of an engaging education for high school students is evident in his priority to reach these students just as effectively as he already reaches elementary and middle school students. I hope that the relationship that we have formed will be a beneficial one for both the museum and the school system, serving as a bridge between the two. I hope to easily connect him with history educators in my building, providing them with some resources to engage their students in creative ways.

Perler Bead Craft Activity 

Because my concentration is not history, my involvement with the museum’s education department has been highly focused on the integration of reading and writing into the secondary history classroom. Current educational research shows that in order for reading and writing instruction to be truly effective, it must be covered across the disciplines. Rather than categorize close reading, informational writing, and critical thinking as skills for use only in the English classroom, students must see how it applies to every area of study if they are to be well-prepared for the workforce.  Additionally, I’ve been challenged to consider the benefits of the integration of historical thinking into the English classroom. Many English curricula are encouraging teachers to use nonfiction and informational texts alongside the literature they teach. Why not use this opportunity to reiterate what students are learning in their history classes? The use of material in various classes only reinforces its importance in the minds of students.

During my time with the HRNM, my goal became to create projects that integrate these skills for use in both English and history secondary classrooms. These projects needed to be useable by Eng and the educational outreach staff at the HRNM, while engaging students who come from a variety of backgrounds in high-need areas like Norfolk. In the short weeks that I have been here at the museum, with the help of Eng and educational intern Kasey Greer, I’ve been able to come up with some programs that I think will be incredibly beneficial in these educational environments. Each project begins with a visit from a museum educator to the classroom. The lesson given by the educator provides students with the background knowledge they need to know about a topic and serves as a springboard from which students jump into the given project. These projects utilize both primary and secondary texts to teach students about the topic at hand. They require small group collaboration and individual thought to coincide with a variety of skillsets, including both visual and verbal modes of communication and both researched and creative modes of conception. Each project aligns with English 11 and Virginia/U.S. History standards in Virginia, allowing them to easily slip into instruction without disrupting unit pacing and focus. Ideally, these projects will engage students while pushing them to higher levels of critical thinking through reading, writing, and creation.

Family Fun Friday, "HRNM Boot Camp"

In addition to program development, I was able to participate in some of the gallery activities for younger students, including HRNM Boot Camp on Family Fun Friday and various arts and crafts activities. The Hampton Roads Naval Museum’s dedication to reaching students in unique ways has left a lasting impression on me and has certainly charged my growth as a teacher. I admire the educational staff’s motivation to develop a passion for local history in their students and have been privileged to be a part of the program’s development.

To see Anne Marie's thoughts about the summer experience, go see the first two episodes of "The Internship" on our Youtube page.  Episode 1 Episode 2

War Paint: NAS Oceana A-6s

Pictured here is plane #502, an A-6 Intruder from the NAS Oceana-based Attack Squadron Fifty-Five.  The black silhouette of a missile boat to the left of "502" recognizes the pilot's successful sinking of a Libyan Navy Nanuchka-class missile corvette in March 1986. A second marking is shown to the left below the the aviator's name (Lieutenant Commander Larry Jones).  This represents the air strike against Benia Air Base in Libya.  At least four MiG-23s were destroyed, with twelve others damaged. 

Picture here is an A-6E intruder from Attack Squadron Eight-Five, also based at NAS Oceana.  Its kill mark comes from the same operation as the VA-55 Intruder.  VA-85 Intruder launched strikes Lybian missile boats approaching U.S. surface ships.  After being damaged by Rockeye cluster bombs, this particular A-6 shown above fired a Harpoon anti-ship missile, sinking the Libyan vessel. 

Both the VA-55 and VA-85 strikes were part of a series of "Freedom of Navigation" operations in the Gulf of Sidra, which the Libyans claimed as their territorial water.  Disregarding this designation, the United States moved in carrier battle groups.  The Libyan government responded with aircraft intercepts and missile gunboat sorties.  Called Operation Prairie Fire and Operation El Dorado Canyon, naval fighters and bombers made several strikes against the Libyan military units in the spring of 1986.

This is an A-6, plane number "504" from the NAS Oceana based Attack Squadron Seven-Five (a.k.a. "The Sunday Punchers").  VA-75 led the Navy's air assault on the first day of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991 .  The bomb markings signifies that this particular aircraft participated in thirty-four strikes against Iraqi targets.

 According a VA-75 veterans' website, "Over the next 43 days, flying around the clock, the Puncher delivered over 1.6 million pounds of ordnance, flew 2,150 combat hours in 498 sorties without a loss or damage to any aircraft. For their efforts, the Sunday Punchers became the most decorated Navy squadron of Desert Storm."

"Military Chic": WWII WAVES Uniforms

During World War I, Navy women, known Yeoman (F) or more crudely as yeomanettes, wore uniforms that combined pre-existing pieces such as the “Norfolk jacket” and the popular “sailor hat.”  The Navy chose these easy-to-compile uniforms so that the ladies would look professional, but distinctive from the male sailors.  The government discontinued this form of sailor dress when it eliminated the Yeoman (F) rate at the end of the conflict.

The Yeoman (F) uniform was practical with feminine lines.  Note the era's popular "sailor hat."

As the United States entered World War II, it quickly became clear that the country would need much more man (and woman) power to emerge victorious.  This prompted the contested creation of a women’s auxiliary unit for each branch of the military.  On July 30, 1942, Congress created the Women’s Naval Reserve, colloquially known as the WAVES.

WAVES wearing civilian clothes arrive at the Indiana University Naval Training School in October 1942.  Since the uniforms could not be immediately mass-produced, the first group of WAVES had to have them handmade at local department stores.
Photograph Credit: Indiana University Archives

Because the Yeoman (F) uniform was too outdated to fit with military or civilian styles of the 1940s, the Navy put together a committee of military leaders and fashion experts to decide upon an appropriate new ensemble.  Like their World War I counterparts, the Navy leadership did not want the women to dress like men.  Instead, Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee, leader of the WAVES, explained that their uniforms needed to strike a balance between “becoming and functional.”

Mrs. James V. Forrestal, wife of the Under Secretary of the Navy and former fashion editor for Vogue, suggested a designer with a similar philosophy. Main Rosseau Bocher, known as Mainbocher, was born in Chicago and served in France during World War I. After the war, he stayed in Paris and became a fashion editor for Vogue in 1923. In 1929, he left the magazine to start his own design shop.  He soon gained a reputation for high quality “understated, elegant designs.” In 1940, Mainbocher moved back to the United States and opened a shop in New York.

Overall, Mainbocher wanted women to wear clothes that were practical and versatile, as well as chic. In 1942, Mainbocher agreed to design the WAVES uniforms and charged the Navy one-dollar for his designs.  This was the first military uniform designed by someone well known in the fashion world.  As a result, the uniforms themselves received a great deal of press coverage, to the extent that it upset some female officers.  The WAVES were quite aware that Mainbocher designed their uniforms, and some women even asserted that the “trim and ‘natty,” uniforms had encouraged them to join the Navy instead of another branch.

WAVE officers at Indiana University, wearing their service dress uniforms.  These were considered "military chic."
Photograph Credit: Indiana University Archives

For some, that sense of pride remained even after the war.  Marjorie Philpotts Grantham, Norfolk native and 1935 graduate of Maury High School, served as a WAVES lieutenant during World War II.  She donated her service dress uniform, complete with the white dress shirt, to HRNM.  In a letter to the curator, her love of the uniform showed through.  She reminded him to be sure the tie was “tied in a square knot, not a ‘granny,” and mentioned that she hoped to find a shoulder bag to add authenticity.  Mrs. Grantham, like many other women of her generation, clearly had strong, and quite fond, memories of her time in the service.



Marjorie Grantham's uniform in the HRNM gallery.
Note that the tie is carefully tied in a square, rather than granny knot.

After World War II, Mrs. Grantham continued to serve her country in the civil service.  She retired from the Norfolk Naval Supply Center in 1980.  She was active in the American Legion until her death in 2007.  Mainbocher went on to redesign uniforms for the Girl Scouts of America (1948), Red Cross (1948), and the Women Marines (1952). In 1960, he received the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Citation for his wartime contributions. Though designer Shannon Rodgers altered the Navy women’s uniform in 1972, Mainbocher’s design could still be seen in the fitted jacket and skirt of the dress blues.

For more information on Yeoman (F) uniforms, see HRNM historian Gordon Calhoun’s post on this topic.

1853 View of Gosport With the New and Old Navy on Display



(click to enlarge)

This is an 1853 engraving in the museum's collection of the Gosport Shipyard that appeared in the Boston-based Gleason's Pictorial Room Companion. In contrast to the 1820 print shown in the previous blog post, this illustration shows the Yard for what it was: an active industrial site and military base. The ships in the illustration are interesting mix of old and new ships and is good representation of how the U.S. Navy was slowly changing and modernizing its fleet. On the far right is the White Elephant that was the 120-gun ship-of-the-line USS Pennsylvania. To her left is second generation 44-gun frigate USS Columbia. Her sister ship USS Savannah can be seen on the far left. Also on the far left is the remains of the historic first generation 44-gun frigate USS United States. At this point in her career, the old frigate, best known for her War of 1812 operations, was being allowed to have a quiet retirement.

Mixed among these grand sail ships of war are three steam warships, USS Powhatan, Princeton, and Allegheny. While each of these ships had a coal-fired boiler, they were very different ships. Each of them had a different form of propulsion. We often assume that widely used technology must have been obvious choice when the inventor first created his invention. But that is often not the case and was especially true when it came to figuring out what type of propulsion should go on U.S. Naval warships. Powhatan represented the first and oldest concept for steam propulsion: the paddle wheel. When Robert Fulton commissioned the first steam ship, he used this technology and the Navy adopted it for its first steam warships such as USS Mississippi and Missouri. But paddle wheels present a serious problem for warships in that they are large and above the water line, thus making the ship an easy target to immobilize.

So, the Navy went looking for a propulsion system that operated below the water line. It received two other options: Princeton with a "screw propeller" designed by the Swedish inventor John Ericsson, and Allegheny that came equipped with a horizontally mounted paddle wheels that were placed below the water line. This radical idea came from U.S. Navy lieutenant William Hunter. After building a small prototype vessel named Germ, the Navy provided the funding to try the experiment on a larger scale with Allegheny. In the end, the Navy went with Ericsson's idea after discovering it was twice as energy efficient as Hunter's design.

1820 View of Norfolk and the Gosport Navy Yard

This print is entitled Norfolk, As Seen from Gosport, VA.  It is currently in storage, but hope to get it out on public display soon.  Originally painted by English artist Joshua Shaw and engraved by John Hill in 1820, M. Carey & Son of Philadelphia published the print in 1834.  The print presents a view of Norfolk and the Gosport Shipyard from the Elizabeth River, looking north.  On the building ways is a warship that is believed to be the ship-of-the-line Delaware.  Shaw and Hill produced the work as part of a book entitled Pictuesque Views of American Scenery.  This publication contained about twenty different landscape scenes from different places in the United States.  See the entire book here at the New York Public Library's website.

As Shaw's and Hill's goal was to show off the natural beauty of his subjects, Norfolk, As Seen from Gosport, VA produced a much softer view of the Gosport Shipyard, which even in 1820 was a major military instillation, than most illustrations of the yard.  The result is a depiction of Gosport not as a center of industrial activity, but more of a pleasant, peaceful vacation spot.  This interpretation was in line with a school of artistic thinking, that both men subscribed too, that called for detail and emphases on nature.

Joshua Shaw was more or less a self-taught artist.  Born into poverty, he worked as a mail carrier as a teenager to make ends meet.  On the side, he took art commissions such as a painting of the Ten Commandants for the local church.  Another artist took him on as a student.  But Shaw upstaged his master in talent and the teacher kicked him out of his house.   Forced to return to steady work again, this time in construction, he soon landed enough wealthy clients in London to be a full time artist.

Shaw also had talent as an inventor.  After immigrating to America, he invented and patented the world's first fulminated mercury percussion cap for rifled muskets.  The invention made discharging a firearm's blackpowder much easier and efficient.  Most of the world's armies, including the United States, adopted his invention for their rifles.  He also invented new firing locks for cannons, which the British Army adopted. 

His artistic partner, John Hill was a skilled artist in his own right.  Shortly after moving to America from England as a boy, his father taught him the engraving trade. He worked closely with many of the country's best known artists and print shops for over sixty years.  He also produced several original pieces of art work, specializing in landscape scenes.