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by Jennifer Biser *
W# ^palking out onto the top deck of
Д4 Ш
* his aircraft carrier on a warm
morning in summer 1945,
W Ensign Billy Bragaw breathed
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deeply the salty air of the
Pacific Ocean. Closing his eyes, for a moment
he felt as if he were back among the salt
marshes of his Southport home. Returning to
reality, Bragaw stood back as a small
fighter plane landed and taxied
along a deck full of fighter
planes in Admiral William
Halsey's fleet. The plane
was a Hellcat Fighter
like the one Bragaw
had flown on his last
mission. Bragaw rec¬
ognized his squadron
leader crawling out
from the plane.
Pointing to the
plaque just forward
of the cockpit, the
squadron leader said,
"I thought we'd let
you fly this one, since
it's from the ladies of
North Carolina."
Bragaw read the inscrip¬
tion on the small, shiny
plaque: "This aircraft
was bought through
an equal amount in
war bonds purchased
by the Junior Woman's Club of Whiteville,
North Carolina." As part of the nationwide
Sixth War Loan Drive, the Whiteville Junior
Woman's Club had sold $99,345.55 in war
bonds, an amount that more than covered the
cost of production of the Hellcat Fighter.
A smile crept over Bragaw's face as his mind
drifted again, this time to Whiteville. Last time
he had been home, he had driven there to
attend a dance. Now, with only minutes to
spare before his next mission, Bragaw ran back
NORTH CAROLINA
CLUBWOMAN
to his bunk and quickly scribbled out a letter to
his friend W. B. Keziah in Southport, telling
him about the plane. He wrote, "The next time
you are over in Whiteville and should see any
of these worthy ladies of the Junior Woman's
Club, I wish that you would express to them
my personal thanks. Tell them that this plane,
which they bought, is the last word in carrier
fighters."
Bragaw knew that women at
home were working hard
for the war, but it had
never affected him so per¬
sonally. He had not
thought to pay much
attention to the
plaques affixed to
numerous ships,
bombers, and planes.
If he had, he might
have seen that in
raising money for the
war by selling war
bonds, the women of
the General Federation
of Women's Clubs of
North Carolina (GFWC-
NC) had added nearly fifty
bombers and fighters to
the navy's fleet, as well as
Members of the General Federation of Women's Clubs of North Carolina made funded
аП аППУ
major home front contributions, including creative war bond sales campaigns. hospital ship, the
Image courtesy of the General Federation of Women's Chibs of North Carolina.
Larkspur. By support¬
ing and equipping the
United States military, North Carolina club
women played a role in winning World War 11.
During the war years, women contributed to
morale and to the Allied cause in a number of
ways. Many served in the military's auxiliary
units for women, such as the Navy WAVES
(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency
Service). Actresses in Hollywood and female
musicians volunteered and took their shows on
the road, entertaining troops. When the draft
hit professional baseball by taking the most
’jenuifer Ihser graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel I till in 2007 with
а
R.A. in history.
She won the 200b North Carolina Museum of History student essay contest for her honors thesis on the CFWC-
NC during World War II. Currently, lliser is volunteering with the Christian Ai'i'iihiehian Project in eastern
Kent
пеку.
She flans to pursue a master
0/
arts in teaching and teach high school social studies.
30
Til jl I, Spring 2008
