Their Story
Marjorie “Ruth” (Deloach) Heuer was born in Villa Grove, Illinois, on February 4, 1925.[1] After graduating high school, Ruth served in the U.S. Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) during and after World War II, as a Hospital Apprentice First-Class (HA1).[2]
Throughout World War II women contributed to the war effort in various fields. Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), a female-only unit of the U.S. Navy was one such field. The numerous contributions of the women of the WAVES proved to be a vital asset to winning the war. Congress was slow to recognize the need for women in the Navy, but President Roosevelt realized that servicewomen would be a wartime plus and signed the WAVES Corps into law on July 30, 1942.[3]
WAVES and U.S. Navy Sailors with the rank of HA1 are considered in the apprentice phase of their career and are learning their core skills.[4] They are usually either in some kind of training status or on their initial assignment. The training includes the basic phase where recruits are immersed in military culture and values. Hospital Apprentice duties also include medical- and health-related functions.[5]
Upon completion of her service in the U.S. Navy, Ruth attended Augustana College and the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Moline and became a registered nurse in 1950. The next year, on December 23, 1951,[6] Ruth married Lyle C. Heuer, who also served in the Army during the Korean War.[7] Ruth retired from nursing in 1970. They had two sons and farmed outside Walcott in Scott County, Iowa, until Lyle’s retirement in 1992.[8]
Ruth passed away on December 30, 2008, at the age of 82, survived by two sons and two grandchildren. Lyle preceded her in death in 2003. She was interred in burial at the National Cemetery at Rock Island Arsenal on May 6, 2009.
Lyle Calvin Heuer (1928-2003) – Find a Grave Memorial
[1] Marjorie Ruth Deloach Heuer (1925-2008) – Find a Grave Memorial
[2] Heuer, Marjorie Ruth in U.S. Veterans’ Gravesites, ca.1775-2019 – Fold3
[5] CARRIER . Naval Ranks | PBS
[6] 26 Dec 1951, 20 – The Rock Island Argus at Newspapers.com