Below I have listed reference material about the SPARS that might
be useful for all who want to get more information. Many of these sources
I have used for the background information presented on this website. This
list is not meant to be a complete arrangement. I'm still searching for
more and I would be very happy about everyone who can recommend further
interesting material.
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Official Sources
..
 A
Message to You From the Coast Guard SPARS
by Coast Guard SPARS
Washington, D.C. : U.S. Coast Guard : G.P.O., (1943) |
... |
Many different recruiting
brochures were distributed to encourage women to join the WAVES during
WWII.
These official brochures give much information
about purposes of SPARS, requirements for joining, payment etc.
The content of this recruitment brochures
as well as others are represented online here:
Women
Veterans Historical Collection |
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|
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| Facts about SPARS by the United States Coast Guard,Washington:
U.S. Coast Guard (1943) |
|
Official brochure including
many details about the purpose of the SPARS. |
| . |
|
|
Three Years Behind the Mast: The Story of
the United States Coast Guard SPARs by Mary C. Lyne and Arthur Kay.
n.p., n.d. [Washington, DC: U.S. Coast Guard] (1946) |
|
Detailed description
of the history of the SPARS. |
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|
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| The Coast Guard At War. Vol. XXII. Women's
Reserve by the Statistical Division/Historical Section,Public Information
Division, Washington: Public Information Division, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters,
Apr 15 1946. |
|
Statistical Data about
the SPARS |
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| General Training Course for SPARS by the United
States Coast Guard Institute, Groton, CT: U.S. Coast Guard Institute, n.d.
(1943) |
.. |
This brochure inlcudes
the general training course for SPARS. |
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|
|
| Deeds of Valor from the Annals of the United States
Coast Guard. Washington: Coast Guard Headquarters, (1942) |
|
|
.
.
Articles, Magazines, Books
.
 Guide
Right - A Handbook for WAVES and SPARS by Mary Vriginia Harris, Lieutenant,
USNR, Macmillan Company (1944) |
... |
This handbook about
etiquette and customs for WAVES and SPARS contains most interesting information
about uniforms (when they should be worn, how they should be stored and
cleaned, etc.), military usage like salutes and military conduct, how to
recognize ranks and ratings and a list of Naval lingo. |
| . |
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|
 "ALWAYS
READY" The Story of the United States Coast Guard by Kensil Bell, New
York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1943) |
|
The interesting story
of the United States Coast Guard illustrated with official United States
Coast Guard photos. |
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| The Story of the Coast Guard: Men, Wind and Sea by
Riley Brown, Garden City: Blue Ribbon Books (1943) |
|
Detailed history of
the Coast Guard. |
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|
|
 Patty
Lou in the Coast Guard by Basil Miller, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House (1944) |
|
This religiously oriented wartime
story for girls describes the adventures of missionary Patty Lou in the
Coast Guard. |
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|
 Ladies
in Uniform
by Margaret Sprague,
Acwell Press (1943) |
. |
A complete guide to
the women's services in the Armed Forces of the United States (WAC, WAFS,
Waves, Marines Reserve, Spars). Detailed information about their purposes,
recruiting requirements, payment, uniforms etc. with the intention to encourage
more women to become ladies in uniform. |
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|
|
 American
Women in Uniform
by Mary Steel Ross,
Garden City Publishing Co.,Inc. (1943) |
|
Description of several
women's wartime organizations (for example Red Cross, AWHRC, AWVS, AER,
USO, and many more) especially their uniforms and insignia. |
.
Movies
.
 TARS
and SPARS directed by Alfred E. Green, Black & White (1946),
Type: Comedy, Musical |
... |
The movie is based
upon the stage show Tars and Spars and was produced in cooperation with
the United States Coast Guard. Entertaining musical with great songs and
lots of WWII Coast Guard uniforms. |
.
.
History Books
.
 The
Coast Guard & The Women's Reserve in World War II by Robin J. Thompson,
Washington: U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office (1992) |
... |
This booklet gives
an excellent overview of the history of the SPARS illustrated with many
great pcitures. A shortened version from the same author can be found online
under:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/h_wmnres.html |
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|
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| A History of Women in the Coast Guard by John A.
Tilley, Washington: U.S. Coast Guard (1996) |
|
This article about women in the
Coast Guard can be found online under:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/h_womn.html |
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|
 The
Compact History of the United States Coast Guard by Howard V.L. Bloomfield,
New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc.(1966) |
|
The American specialist
in U.S. Coast Guard and military history Howard V.L. Bloomfield describes
the story of the American Coast Guard. |
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|
|
 The
U.S. Coast Guard in World War II by Malcolm F. Willoughby, ,
United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland (1957) |
|
This book gives a comprehensive
and well-informed survey. Especially interesting are the less known information
about non combat activities like port security arrangements and the recounting
of fires, accidents, sabotage, and other threats the service had to deal
with during the war. |
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|
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| The United States Coast Guard, 1790-1915 by Stephen
H. Evans, United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland (1955) |
|
Story of the Coast
Guard before Word War I. The book includes many black and white photographs
and illustrations. |
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|
|
 In
Defense of a Nation - Servicewomen in World War II by Major General
Jeanne M. Holm, USAF
(Ret.), Vandamere Press, ISBN 0-918339-43-X (1998) |
|
This book contains
excellent overviews of several WWII women's organization (like WAVES, SPARS,
WAC, ANC, NNC, WASP, Women Marines) illustrated with nice black and white
photographs. |
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|
 Dressed
for Duty. America's Women in Uniform 1898-1973 (Volume Two) by Jill
Halcomb Smith, R. James Bender Publishing, ISBN 0-912138-85-8 (2004) |
|
The two volumes about
women's organizations of the last century cover all military branches and
especially give interesting details about several mostly forgotten civilian
organizations.
They contain many original photographs and
some color pictures of uniform items.
The chapter about the SPARS is
in Volume 2. |
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|
|
 World
War II Allied Women’s Services by Martin Brayley, Osprey Publishing,
ISBN 1-84176-053-06 (2001) |
. |
Short overview about
allied women's services of WWII (from the USA: WAAC/WAC, WAVES, Marines
Reserve, Spars). In addition to black and white photos it contains colored
drawings of different uniforms. |
..
Memoirs and Novels
.
 Women
of the Sea by Edward R. Snow, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company (1962) |
... |
Thrilling stories of
the women who found their way at sea |
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|
|
 Rum
Runners, U-Boats & Hurricanes: The Complete History of the Coast Guard
Cutters Bedloe and Jackson by Bryan Galecki,Wilmington, NC: Pine Belt
Publishing (2005) |
. |
In the final days of WWII, two
Coast Guard cutters who left port to rescue a torpedoed liberty ship. The
ill-fated mission coincided with the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944,
and catastrophe ensued. Neither ship returned from the mission. This new
book takes a look back at the incident, the history of the two ships, and
the recent discovery of the shipwrecks near Cape Hatteras. Recent survivor
interviews and extensive archival research uncover heretofore unknown aspects
of the disaster. |
.
..
 Free
a Man to Fight! Women Soldiers of Word War II by Mindy Pomper &
RYS Productions (1999) |
. |
Great video that features
rare archival footage interwoven with intimate interviews of women who
served in the military during WWII.
Unfortuntaley, the documentary contains a
few mistakes. More information about these inaccuracies can be found here |
| . |
. |
. |
 Women
At War - from the home front to the front lines by 'V for Victory',
Atlas Video Inc. (1991) |
. |
This documentary
consists mainly of original newsreel stories to detail the vital contributions
made by women during World War II, going from the factories to the battlefields.
Covers WAC, Army Nurses, WAVES, SPARS, Marines, Navy Nurses, Cadet Nurses,
etc. |
.
.
Women
& the
U.
S. COAST GUARD
|
... |
This part of the United States
Coast Guard Home Page offers a link index to several of their pages dedicated
to the history of SPARS including a historical chronology, a historical
bibliography and SPAR uniforms: a historical photograph gallery. |
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|
Women's
History Month
|
|
This homepage overs
several nice articles about the histor of women in the miltary including
a short overview of the history of women in the Coast Guard. |
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|
Women Veterans
Historical Collection
|
. |
The Women Veterans Historical
Collection documents the female experience in the Armed Forces through
letters, papers, photographs, published materials, uniforms, medals and
oral histories. Impressive and most informative website! http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/veterans/index.html |
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[
I. Development ]..[
II. Facts about the SPARS ]..[
III. Uniforms ]..[
IV. Sources ]
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