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Every Veteran Is a Story: Margaret Williams
Margaret Williams, a Cambria, Wisconsin native, earned an education degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1932 and was working as a high school teacher in Green Bay when the United States entered World War II. In the summer of 1943, she volunteered for the U.S. Navy as part of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES. Williams received training at Great Lakes, Illinois and Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, graduating in December 1943. She first served at the U.S. Naval Frontier Base in Boston, Massachusetts before transferring to Headquarters, Ninth Naval District in Lake Bluff, Illinois. There, her duties included assisting with the V-12 Navy College Training Program that sought to produce a greater number of navy officers during war. She also served as a war bond officer. Williams’ hard work and aptitude saw her rise in rank from ensign to lieutenant. She was honorably discharged in July 1946 but chose to remain active in the naval reserve into the 1950s. Following her service, she returned to teaching in Green Bay, eventually moving to Madison and joining the faculty at East High School. She taught speech and drama and served as the director of countless plays and other performances. Williams had such an impact on her students and fellow teachers that after she retired in 1975, Madison East renamed their auditorium as the Margaret Williams Theater. In 2001, less than a year after she passed away, a family friend donated her navy materials to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. The papers focus on her training, providing a good look at what WAVES learned to prepare for their service during World War II. The photographs track Williams throughout her service from ensign to officer, showing her and fellow WAVES serving stateside. Her uniform pieces help the museum document the U.S. Navy service of women.
