By Nicholas Tamas-Orlandea
During World War II, the United States Armed Forces were trying to enlist countless individuals including two college graduates and sisters, Mary Florence O’Shea and Mary Jane O’Shea.
While there is not much documentation on Mary Jane, some information on Mary Florence has been found.
Mary Florence O’Shea was born on Sept. 8th, 1920. She graduated from Rosary College, now known as Dominican University, in 1941.
She also attended University of Chicago Teachers’ College and Loyola University from the same year to 1943.
She taught chemistry at Marshall High School and mathematics at Wendell Phillips High School.
Mary Florence and Mary Jane then enlisted in the naval WAVES program (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She served as a navigation instructor and assistant communications officer until 1946.
The O’Shea sisters were the first women to ever serve on military flight crews.
From 1952 to 1954, Mary Florence earned a Fulbright Grant to teach in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and was given the name ‘Daw Myint Swe’ by those from the institution.
While working in Southeast Asia, she traveled to many other countries including Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand.
After returning to the United States in April 1954, Mary Florence worked at Phillip High School and then at Hyde Park High School. She was assigned principal from Phillip Murray School and Luke O’Toole Elementary from 1964 until 1985.
She announced her retirement from Chicago Public Schools on Dec. 20th, 1985. During her retirement, Mary Florence continued for travel until the early 2000s.
She passed away on Feb. 20th, 2010, at the age of 89.
Special thanks to Steven Szegedi, archivist and special collections librarian, for providing this information.
