Sandy Sedaker was an attractive and sassy fighter squadron commanding officer's wife. Her husband, CDR Thomas Sedaker, commanded the Pacemakers of VF-121, and in 1957 the squadron deployed to the Western Pacific in USS Lexington (CV-16). To help pass the time and as an outlet for their creativity, the officers' wives created their own cruisebook*. The entire group proved to be as attractive and sassy as their leader, and the result was a scrapbook that captured the times.

 

I met the former C.O.’s wife – who now goes by Carmen Woidich thanks to her given name and a second marriage – several years ago at the Smithsonian Uvdar-Hazy Center while signing copies of my books. She was there to see if the museum staff was interested in the cruisebook. They had not given her a definitive answer but I thought it would be of interest to Naval Aviation history, so I arranged to make a photographic copy. 

 

The 80-page book is an amusing time capsule of the lives of Navy wives in the 1950s, and some aspects seem quaint: One of the standard questions in the profile of each wife is, "Has your bridge improved?" In my association with Naval Aviation beginning in 1979, I knew of no squadron bridge clubs. But most of the album proves that many essentials of the Navy spouse's life are timeless. To the question, "What have you enjoyed most about the deployment?" several wives answered, "Not a damned thing." And when asked what they look forward to most about the end of deployment, a common answer was, "censored," or a similar comment. 

 

The wives’ cruisebook is illustrated with a mix of hand-drawn caricatures, magazine cartoons that have been personalized, and photographs. There is a wife in a flightsuit and a wife waving paddles on the LSO platform. Many drawings and photos relate to one of the big events of the deployment, a port call and associated wives visit to Japan. There are photos of wives in kimonos treating an lucky stand-in to a back-rub, manicure, and "geisha dance." The young man isn’t identified. It's all cute and very clever, with a hint of naughty that lets us know some things never change.

 

Ms. Woidich allowed me to photograph the entire book when I visited her at home in McLean, Virginia. She was happy that I provided a copy to the Tailhook Association for their library. In addition to stories about the Pacemaker wives, Carmen had an endless supply of other amusing stories related to Naval Aviation and other topics. For example, she told me about how she suggested Rosarito Beach when her husband and others were thinking of locations for the very first Tailhook Reunion. But that's another story. 

 

Serious historians may be disappointed in the wives’ cruisebook, as it has scant depictions of the sleek FJ-3 Furies their husbands flew – a few simple drawings and a partial view in the background of a photo. An interesting historical note is the endorsement letter by Commander, Carrier Division One, Rear Admiral H. D. Riley, with notes indicating he had read the book. In her profile one wife wondered whether or not to cut her hair; the admiral wrote, "Note to Judy S: I like it cut!" (Riley retired as a vice admiral in 1964.)

 

This is not a volume for serious historians; there are plenty of those. This is one for people who enjoy a blast from the past! 

 

* A cruisebook is like a yearbook from school, created by most ships to commemorate an extended deployment. A good example online is at: https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv61-89/index.html