Matilda and Bernice Blaustein

Matilda Blaustine and her daughter, Bernice, both served in WAAC during World War II.

Prior to the War, Matilda Blaustine was appointed to the position of district deputy of New York in the Masonic Order, the highest position a Jewish woman had achieved in that organization. She was inducted as a staff sergeant into the first contingent of the WAAC in 1942 and took basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. She served as a radar spotter for U.S. Naval Intelligence in the First Fighter Command in New York until her discharge in 1945.

Following the War, Matilda tirelessly raised funds for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society working for the release of refugee family units from the Displacement Camps and subsequent resettlement.

Bernice Blaustein joined the WAAC in 1943 and received basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas. She also served until 1945.

Sources: Courtesy of the Jewish Women's Archives and Jewish War Veterans