Lt. Ada Lou Duacsek
Reflections on this veteran's military serviceSubmitted by Diane Duacsek
During WWII, Lou was a Rosie, running a gyroscope calibration section for aircraft when the rest of her aeronautics department (all men) were drafted. After the war, although she was the first woman engineering graduate from San José State University, she could not find employment since all the men had returned from the war, so she wound up in the third class of active-duty WAVES where she would receive equal pay for equal work. One of her first duties was to recall the reserve air squadrons for active duty in Korea. During her time at BUPERS she served as a Congressional liaison and marched in several parades. Lou was among the first female students at the Naval Postgraduate School and majored in aerology, learning to forecast for amphibious landings and flight control towers. While attending she met and married another Naval officer. They were the first married couple to graduate from the PG School.
As is typical for the military, they were first sent to different duty stations. Lou went to Moffett Field, then was transferred to North Island which was luckily near where her husband was stationed. She separated from the Navy shortly before having her first child since, at that time, mothers were not allowed to stay in the service. She was fiercely proud of her Naval service and the many opportunities it brought. She enjoyed continuing her service as a career Naval wife including living in Saigon in 1965 before being evacuated with her 3 children. She felt strongly that “because you’re a woman” was never an acceptable reason for why she or any other woman wasn’t allowed to do something. Lou was excited to see the progress made by women in the military and NASA. She was thrilled when women became military pilots, a life-long dream of hers since she could fly before she could drive. Lou’s middle daughter and grandchildren live in Lakewood. |
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