Aviation Metalsmith 3^rd Class, US Navy, Leota Lorayne Lines Harbert

Born: August 2, 1923, Merced, California 
Died: July 17, 2011, Albuquerque, New Mexico 

In August of 1944, Leota Lorayne Lines Harbert joined the US Navy as one of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).¹ While undergoing basic training, the WAVES were given a test to determine what jobs they showed an aptitude for.² Lines Harbert must have expressed a preference or shown an ability for metalwork and was likely sent to the premier school for training aviation metalsmiths in Norman, Oklahoma.^3,4 The job she was studying was vital to the war effort as “aviation metalsmiths performed daily inspections on aircraft, airframes, and components, maintaining optimum performance for naval aviators.”⁵

When Aviation Metalsmith 3^rd Class Lines completed her training, she would have been sent to a naval airbase – possibly San Diego, California, or Corpus Christi, Texas, but where she went is unclear. One thing that is certain, she served her country well and she never forgot that a determined woman, properly trained, could do anything she wanted to do.

At some point, she met a young navy seaman who was training to be a machinist’s mate – the two jobs were often trained at the same facility – and they married in November of 1944.⁶ Aviation Metalsmith Lines Harbert was discharged in August of 1945, since her daughter was born in April 1946. All women were discharged from military service once their pregnancy was confirmed as it was deemed unsuitable for a woman with dependent children to serve in the military.⁷ However, Aviation Metalsmith Lines Harbert would continue serving her country as a military wife.

In Merced, California, on August 2, 1923, Walter and Carol Lines welcomed their only child, Leota Lorayne. By 1940, the couple was living apart, and Lines Harbert was living with her mother in San Francisco.⁸ Lines Harbert modeled when she was in high school.⁹ She was also involved in the war effort before her graduation fundraising for the Red Cross.^10,11 After graduation from high school, Lines Harbert attended junior college before joining the WAVES.¹²

While an aviation metalsmith, Lines Harbert met Seaman 1^st Class, Gerald Harbert, Jr. Harbert had joined the Navy in the spring of 1941, and arrived at his station in Honolulu on the eve of Pearl Harbor.^13,14 At some point between the spring of 1942 and the end of 1944 he was stateside, training for advancement to machinist’s mate.¹⁵ The couple married in Seaman Harbert’s hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, in November of 1944.¹⁶ The happy pair welcomed their first child, a daughter, in April of 1946.¹⁷

After the war, Lines Harbert spent 1949 – 1951 in Guam with her husband and daughter while he still served in the Navy.^18,19 By 1953, the Harbert family was in Texas, but by 1957 they resided in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and had expanded their family to four children, two boys and two girls.^20,21 While in Albuquerque, Lines Harbert made sure her oldest daughter completed college, as she had been unable to do because of joining the war effort.²² Lines Harbert’s husband retired from the Navy in 1970, and by 1972, she was involved with tennis as an assistant coach at Manzano High School; this was to be one of the most memorable times of her life.^23,24

At that time, there was no official high school tennis team for girls in New Mexico, in fact, only swimming and gymnastics with some volleyball and basketball were even open to girls for competition.²⁵ But her younger daughter excelled at the game, likely due to her mother’s training since Lines Harbert played tennis well enough to be a coach for the boys’ tennis team in a period when this would not have been the most popular choice for an assistant coach. Knowing, from her Navy experience, that women could do anything they trained for and were determined to do, she allowed her daughter to play for the boys’ tennis team against a boy, something that was against the rules.²⁶ Since this was considered inappropriate, it was challenged immediately and Lines Harbert found herself on the frontlines in a war of words to provide equal competition for girls’ high school athletics in New Mexico. Being as determined as ever, she remained a vocal champion of girls’ athletics, eventually filing a suit with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union for girls’ varsity sports.²⁷

After the death of her beloved husband in 1984, Leota Lorayne Lines Harbert continued to do what she enjoyed most; gardening, sewing, playing tennis, talking about her family and animals, and enjoying chocolate until her death on July 23, 2011.²⁸

Images & Documents

Notes:

1. The dates of service for Aviation Metalsmith Lines were provided by her daughter, Carol Babington. Thank you so much for the exact dates!
2. “Specialty Training.” Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II. Copyright 2023. Retrieved: 1 August 2023. para. 2, Placement Tests.
3. “20,000 WAVES in Naval Aviation.” The Bull Horn. Norman, Oklahoma. 17 June 1943. p. 11.
4. “NATTC Metalsmith’s School Touted as One of the Nation’s Best.” The Bull Horn. Norman, Oklahoma. 15 July 1943. p. 2.
5. “Aviation Metalsmiths.” Naval History and Heritage Command. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023. para. 1.
6. “Harbert/Lines marriage 1944.” Nueces County Clerk’s Office; Corpus Christi, Texas; Nueces County, Texas, Marriage Records.
7. “Congratulations.” Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. 4 April 1946. sec B p. 9. Enlistment was for the duration of the war, plus six months, however, pregnant women, married or single, were discharged. This was true not only of WAVES but also in the WAC and both the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. No woman serving in the military could have dependent children under 18. This would not be changed until 1976. Please see: Martin’s “It’s Your War, Too: Women in World War II.” From the National World War II Museum at: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/its-your-war-too-women-world-war-ii and the text of the Congressional Bill from 1976 that changed this situation at Congress.Gov: https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/5447/text
8. “Lines.” Year: 1940; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: m-t0627-00314; Page: 64A; Enumeration District: 38-422.
9. “Carole King Dresses Glorify the High School Girl.” Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. 8 September 1939. sec. D page 14.
10. “Girls Club Dance to Aid Red Cross.” Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. 8 November 1940. p. 1.
11. “Phyllis Gibbs Give Party.” Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. 1 May 1941. sec. C page 22.
12. “Harbert, Lorayne.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 23 July 2011. sec. C page 3.
13. “Nine Valleyites Join Navy.” Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. 3 May 1941. p. 2.
14. “Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls: Report of Changes 30 Nov 1941.” Fold 3 by Ancestry: Navy Muster Rolls.
15. “Disembarkation of Passengers: USS Wright AV-1 US Navy.” Fold 3 by Ancestry: Navy Muster Rolls. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Seaman Harbert was onboard the USS Wright and disembarked at a classified location. The next report of him, when his daughter was born in 1946, lists him as a chief machinist’s mate. That means he was in the States long enough to train as a machinist’s mate and be promoted to chief between those two dates.
16. “Harbert/Lines marriage 1944.” Nueces County Clerk’s Office; Corpus Christi, Texas; Nueces County, Texas, Marriage Records.
17. “Congratulations.” Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. 4 April 1946. sec B p. 9.
18. “Harbert, Leota leaving Honolulu, HI.” National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Departing From Honolulu, Hawaii, Compiled 06/1900 – 11/1954; NAI Number: A3510; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: RG 85.
19. “Harbert, Leota arrival in San Francisco, CA.” The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At San Francisco, California; NAI Number: 4498993; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85.
20. “Harbert, Stephen Douglas birth.” Ancestry.com. Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1999. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.

21 & 23. “Harbert, Gerald.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 14 October 1984. sec G page 12.

22. “Harbert/Babington Engagement.” Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2 June 1968. Sec. B p. 3.
23. “Harbert, Lorayne.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 23 July 2011. sec. C page 3
24. “Tennis Tournament for School Girls Planned Here.” Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 5 April 1972. sec. C p. 4
25. “Girl, 16, Plays Boys’ Tennis.” Carlsbad Current-Argus. Carlsbad, New Mexico. 23 February 1972. p. 7. Lines Harbert is listed as an assistant coach, and it must be for the boys’ team.
26. “Sports Picture for Girls Comes Into Focus.” Albuquerque Journal: Woman’s World. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 27 May 1973. Sec. B pp. 1-2. See also D6, D17, D26 & D27.
27. “Harbert, Lorayne.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 23 July 2011. sec. C page 3

Compiled by: A. D. McLean, MA, MLIS. Central New Mexico Community College, retired 2022.

Featured Image:

“Leota Lorayne Lines Harbert in uniform.” Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87997227/leota-lorayne-harbert: accessed 11 July 2023), memorial page for Leota Lorayne Lines Harbert (2 Aug 1923–17 Jul 2011), Find a Grave Memorial ID 87997227, citing Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA; Maintained by truchasnm (contributor 47143330).