Rosamund Naylor was born in April 1922 in Massachusetts. Her family lived in her grandfather’s house. Her father worked on the railroad and her mother was a piano teacher. There were very few automobiles. She had three sisters and one brother. They used to climb trees and go on hikes. They had a second-hand car. Her grandfather was born in 1836 in Maine. Her grandfather was a Yankee in the Civil War. He died when she was seven years old. She walked to school. Naylor would babysit other children. In high school, she would do house cleaning and babysitting. All around them, fathers committed suicide and families moved away. Some of the large houses were abandoned [Annotator's Note: during the Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s]. She wanted to be a teacher or a nurse. She went to school for occupational therapy in Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. The next year she went to Boston University. The war came and her mother told her she should get a job. She went to get a job and they sent her to school to be an aviation machinist’s mate.

Rosamund Naylor was at home listening to the radio when she heard the speech about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Day of Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, 8 December 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Her father served in World War One [Annotator's Note: World War 1, a global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918]. They lived in a very patriotic area. She wanted to join the Marine Corps. She was working at a factory when she went to the recruiting office. She passed the mental and physical examinations. She enlisted in February, and in March was sent to basic training. Her parents approved. They took a train to New York. The WAVES [Annotator's Note: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; United States Naval Women's Reserve] were on one side of the street and they were on the other side. They would sing songs back and forth to each other. She got her uniform and was in the Easter parade on Fifth Avenue. The uniform was wool. They had swimming lessons. They had to walk everywhere. They could not leave unless they were accompanied by someone. Boot camp lasted three weeks. The ladies came from different backgrounds and they could talk. Next, they went to Millington, Tennessee Aviation Technical Center. They were the first girls there. She was there to become an aviation machinist’s mate. She had to learn about electronics, machinery, and tools. She had to go to night school because of an illness.

Rosamund Naylor remembers 13 girls who graduated from the school. They went on the train together. They were proud to be Marines. She joined the choir. They were broadcasted on the radio. She was at Cherry Point, North Carolina. She went up through the ranks all the way to staff sergeant. She worked in engine overhaul. They had to help carry supplies. She was a platoon leader. They had to march across the railroad tracks. They did what they were told to do. She marched in the Easter parade [Annotator’s Note: on Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York]. Her mother and sister came to watch. She recruited women and assigned them to different vacancies. She met her husband in Cherry Point. She wore her summer uniform for her wedding. At El Toro [Annotator’s Note: El Toro, California], she was a clerk and ordered the parts for the airplanes. She was discharged shortly after because the war was over. She did not want to stay in because she wanted a family. Her husband was discharged when he was still in the Marshall Islands. They wrote letters to each other.

Rosamund Naylor wanted to stay home after her service. She went back to school under the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts, and unemployment]. The state of Massachusetts gave them 20 dollars a week. She went back to school to get her degree in education. She had two daughters. Her husband belonged to the gun club and she was in the Historical Society. When she got her degree, she substituted and worked in special education. They joined the Appalachian Mountain Club. They went hiking and climbed the hills. Then they went to Europe and climbed mountains there. She took care of her parents. When working on the salvage depot, an airplane blew up on base. They had to clean up the pieces. There were human remains left on the metal. The smell was terrible. She sang in the choir. In Memphis [Annotator’s Note: Memphis, Tennessee], they had to hang their clothes up to dry. Patriotism caused her to join. She had a great-grandfather who served in the American Revolution, Colonel John Waldron. She is proud she went to serve. It was the beginning of a wonderful life. Her brother and three sisters were also in the Marine Corps. Her brother was on Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal, codenamed Operation Watchtower; 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Women always helped with the wars. Students should learn about their history. Her husband was called back for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. They had to move to Florida for a while. Her husband was a supply man. He was called for one year. It was a proud time for women.