As a little girl growing up in the early 1960s in a suburb of Pittsburgh, it was not always easy to find role models. But I was lucky. In my childhood, I knew smart, strong women who had accomplished much, one of whom invented the world's first computer compiler (编译器).
Recently, though, I learned about a role model who was right under my nose—my own mother.
Growing up, I knew she had worked as a secretary before I was born. I knew that she had joined the WAVES—the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service branch of the U.S. Naval Reserve (海军预备队)—during World War Ⅱ. And I knew she'd worked in an office that was involved with codes (编码). But when she talked about it—rare, because she had been sworn to secrecy—she described her duties as ordinary, routine. I never questioned it. After all, the woman I knew was a reserved suburban mom.
Not long ago, a chance conversation with a colleague led me to the book, Code Girls. It tells the story of the WAVES, who decrypted (解码) and encrypted secret messages during the war. They worked around the clock, knowing that the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers—their brothers, husbands, fathers—were on the line.
Inspired, I began a journey to explore the mystery of my mother's service that continues to this day. I got some of her working records about her unit, OP19. In two years, she was promoted three times. She was no secretary, and her duties were hardly ordinary.
My mother always encouraged my interest in science and insisted to my father that I go to college. “You're going to grow up to be another Madame Curie,” she told me. She was always pointing at other women. She did not see herself as someone to model on. Neither did I. Now I see her differently.
