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Miller, June_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4

June Miller was interviewed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Saipan on June 12. Mrs. Miller served in the U.S. Navy (WAVES) and was assigned duty at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C. during the war. Mrs. Miller was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and lived in Winona until she joined the service when she was 20 years old. She first heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor when she was still in high school. She joined the WAVES in 1944 and had been motivated to join simply because she “just wanted to go.” Her basic training took place at Hunter College in New York and lasted for 4 months. She described living in the women’s barracks which was in an apartment building that was renovated to accommodate 12 service women. She talked about marching, drills, exercises, and tests. She was working on her Yeoman’s badge but only served for 18 months and did not earn the Yeoman’s badge because she was discharged at the end of the war. During the war, June was assigned at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C. in the Office of Records. Her duties were basically to keep records updated on Naval personnel. She stated that if a submarine or ship had been bombed or sank her responsibility was to follow through and find out what people had been on that particular ship or submarine, and see that their families were notified. She was also responsible for retrieving records for Navy officers. She truly enjoyed working in Washington and really felt she was doing something important although she described it as mostly repetitious and routine work. June described the atmosphere in Washington when President Roosevelt died and gave a brief description of the sights and the many people who attended his funeral. When the end of the war was announced, June describes Washington, D.C. as being “crazy.” She and many other people walked the streets, shouting and rejoicing. She described it as “unbelievable.” After the war June went to art school in Chicago for interior design and met her husband. They married, had two children and began an interior design business together which, at the time of this interview, they were still operating. She has four grandchildren. As for her advice for youth of today regarding World War II, her response was to say she would hope her grandchildren would never have to make such a choice, but if they were called to serve that they would consider it their duty to do so. June stated at the end of the interview that war affects people their entire life and that she still becomes emotional when she thinks about friends she has lost, or of parents who lost their children in the war.

U.S. National Park Service, War in the Pacific National Historical Park

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War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Code: WAPA

Guam , Guam
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam , Guam
Latitude: 13.3905000686646, Longitude: 144.654006958008

ICMS (Interior Collection Managment System) : WAPA-00246
NPS Museum Number Catalog : WAPA 4170

War in the Pacific Oral Histories

2025/03/07

T. Stell Newman Visitor Center, Collections room, Safe and Shelf SLF D-01

Public Can View

Rose Manibusan, Jennifer Craig

Organization: American Memorial Park
Role: Chief Interpretation
Address: Micro Beach Road, Garapan, Mp 96950
Email: wapa_interpretation@nps.gov

Saturday, April 5, 2025 12:04:24 AM

Saturday, April 5, 2025 12:04:24 AM

Miller, June_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4

mp4

311.2 MB

Historic

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