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Kingsbury, Patricia Ruth Starr
| Last Name: | Kingsbury |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Patricia Ruth Starr |
| Dates: |
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*1925 (Date of Birth)
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| Biography/History: | Born in Colville, WA to Merle and Ruth Starr, January 1925. One younger sister Mary Merle, who did not join armed forces. Merle was a part time deputy sheriff; Patricia has a photo of him and other law men at an abandoned bootlegger camp. Patricia was interviewed for upcoming KSPS Prohibition documentary. Women had to be age 20 to enlist; Patricia tried earlier when graduated from high school, but had to wait until Jan. 1945. She chose to enlist in the WAVES because the Navy had a flight program. When enlisting, she agreed to join to end of war plus 6 months. Got her orders in Jan. 1945; left in March for NYC via train; arrived in Penn Station and took subway to Hunter College. She applied while in boot camp to be at an air base, as she wanted to learn to fly; instead was assigned Storekeeper Striker. (She did eventually learn to fly.) She loaned us a photo of her in uniform with father Merle c. 1945. Copy and return to her. She donated a photocopy of her portrait in uniform. There were few Washington women in her group except Betty from Wenatchee. After initial training in NYC, she and Betty left NYC toward Seattle, but found themselves at the Pocatello, Idaho ordnance base that re-bored big guns for ships. This base served both marines and sailors. She was in charge of their living quarters, assigning jobs and grocery shopping for their living quarters’ kitchen; main meals were in Marine barracks. She was there for about 7 [?] months until war ended, then was sent to Seattle Pier 91. There, she answered the phone to hear that she was being sent to Farragut Naval Base on Lake Pend Oreille; she was the only one of her group to go there. There were only about 30 women at that base. At first, the WAVES worked in the main area, then she was sent to Commander’s office since they didn’t have any “yeomen” as secretaries. She brought coffee to the commander’s aide, who took it to the Commander. She met some German POWs there. Then she got a license to drive jeep on base. She was sent to another section, where the Chief Petty Officer lectured his men to watch their language since women would be there. That didn’t eliminate the language issue, so she was transferred to the brig, then to the main gate to check drivers’ licenses. She was known as a fine blackjack player during her free time. She extended her enlistment for an extra 6 months because it allowed her to study for another “rate” promotion. When she finished her 1.5 years of service, she was a Storekeeper 3rd class. She also achieved Seaman 1st class, indicated by the bars on the uniform that she donated. She was sent back to Seattle to be discharged. Women had become part of the regular Navy by then, but she didn’t go with her friends to join up. She met Henry T. Kingsbury of Spokane when he was working for Bell Telephone on a job in Colville. He had served in the Marines (she has a framed commendation for his service), then worked for the railroad before joining the telephone company. She was Methodist; he was Catholic. She took instruction and agreed to bring up their children Catholic, so they could be married in the in Catholic church, Nov. 1948 in Kettle Falls. Lived in Colville for a short time; then A Street, Spokane; back to Colville; back to Spokane in 1966 to E. 21 E. 17th where she still lives. Eight children; 6 girls and 2 boys. She served as treasurer of the Spokane chapter of WAVES alumnae, but it has dissolved. She still receives “Whitecaps” newsletter. |
| Related Objects: |
4263.1 (Uniform, Military, World War II "WAVES" Summer Uniform, 1944 - 1945)
4263.1a (Dress, World War II "WAVES" Summer Uniform, Dress, 1944 - 1945)
4263.1b (Jacket, World War II "WAVES" Summer Uniform, Jacket, 1944 - 1945)
4263.1c (Cap, Garrison, World War II "WAVES" Summer Uniform, Hat, 1944 - 1945)
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