You had to have been there that fateful morning of December 7, 1941 listening to the clipped words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the radio, to understand the reaction of the American people to the announcement that the Japanese had attacked our naval fleet at Pearl Harbor and practically destroyed all of it. We were well aware of the storm clouds of war that were gathering on the horizon and were apprehensive of what consequences might follow; but, we were not emotionally prepared for this stunning news. We sat there, listening in almost incomprehensible disbelief!
How could this be happening? Surely this was another Orson Welles "War of the Planets" hoax! But, no - it was true. While we were going about our business on a quiet day of the Lord, disaster struck and struck hard.
How could we have been so unprepared? Where were our early disaster warnings? Our country had been sending "Bundles to Britain in a feeble attempt to assuage their burden. Meanwhile, the industries of our great nation were hard at work producing military assistance. But, on that lazy Sunday morning we were caught asleep at the switch and we paid an enormous price.
Seniors who lived through those horrible times like to say that it was a "different" time in our history. And, it was! Betty Caccavale of Brevard talks about that period in our history and says: "The country was instantaneously united in a common purpose. There was a spirit that prevailed that will probably never be duplicated. We all pulled together, without complaint; and there was a nationwide burst of patriotism the likes of which we will probably never witness again."
The populace was immediately united in the fight, bore any restrictions or shortages without complaint, and was fiercely loyal to the government. Almost unanimously, people rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to help in any way they could. If they were privy to any government secrets, they kept their lips sealed and did not divulge any details that were relevant to the war effort, not even to their close friends and relatives. Signs were posted all over reminding us that "Loose Lips Sink Ships!"
During such an unexpected crisis, there is usually a numbing reaction that brings inaction. But, not in Betty case. The very next morning, bright and early at 8:00 A.M., Betty Hyatt was standing at the door of the Navy's recruitment center in Spartanburg, S.C. to enlist in the newly created WAVES organization.
The WAVES organization was so new that the staff at the Navy recruitment center in Spartanburg, S.C. had not even heard of it and were nonplussed at her request to enlist in that service, as legislation had just been passed for women to serve in the WAVES. (Women Accepted Volunteer Emergency Service). However, young Betty was fully aware of it and reacted quickly. When she finally convinced the recruiters that there indeed was a branch where women could enlist in the Navy, the recruiters called in a newspaper reporter to record the event as Elizabeth Hyatt, of Spartanburg, S.C., became the first woman in her state to answer the call to join the WAVES; although she was underage, having been born on January 6, 1923, and needed her father's signature for permission to join.
Betty Hyatt was the oldest of six children and lived through the Great Depression that hit not only the South but the entire United States. Youngsters worked in the cotton fields when the ripe bolls first turned white and children were dismissed from school to help with the harvest. Her family lived through those rough economic times, but Betty maintains that they never felt deprived. They enjoyed the outdoor life, attended nearby public schools and were faithful members of the Methodist Church. Life was full of prayers and bible study and was completely disciplined, but was accepted by the children as normal and enjoyable.
During the early years of the draft of young men, The Selective Service Act established in 1939, the South was suddenly inundated by thousands of young service men. Betty attended the special dances that were held for the soldiers at nearby Camp Croft; and it was there that she met a young infantryman, Philip Caccavale of Brooklyn, New York. Apparently, attractive Betty was a most desirable date but it was difficult to get her to agree to accept. One of Caccavale's friends had bet him $5.00 that he couldn't date Betty, but young Philip persisted and was able to get her to agree to go out with him. That is how the two first met, she from South Carolina and he from New York; although it was quite some time before a full-fledged romance developed.
After Betty joined the WAVES, special quarters and arrangements for this new feminine branch of the Navy were hastily assigned and her branch of the new recruits was sent to a training program at State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
This followed a lot of firsts for Betty; her first train ride, first venture out of the state of South Carolina, and first time away from her family. The newly created WAVES were issued two sets of clothes; uniforms (designed by a famous European fashion designer, no less), a pocket book, shoes, and a hat, according to Betty, and they sent their civilian clothes back home.
They were resented by their male counterparts who did not appreciate their presence one bit, often were insulting, poking fun and ridicule at the women, and made life almost impossible, said Betty Hyatt Caccavale. The men certainly made it obvious that the women were not welcome. The new feminine branch had been touted as serving in the states in office positions to free the male sailors for active duty, and many of the "old salts" were quite antagonistic toward the WAVES.
"We went though the same basic training as the men had been subjected to and served under the same rules, except that we could not serve outside the United States. Being from South Carolina, I found the Iowa climate very cold while drilling and marching outside during the early morning hours. Our noses would drip and since we were not allowed to wipe them moisture would freeze on our upper lips. Early afternoons, we studied about the Navy and its traditions, learned about ships and guns, and were introduced to other completely new fields. In the afternoons, we studied and honed our typing, shorthand, and other secretarial skills," recalled Betty.
One of her experiences, which almost had her dismissed from the service, was the swimming test. Swimming was something that she had never learned to do and she had a deep fear of water. The male instructors were nonplussed when she was unwilling to swim across the pool and were considering having her dismissed from the service for noncompliance with an order. However, after she explained her problem and much consultation went on with her instructors, it was decided that she would be allowed to remain in the naval service even though she could not swim!
She and a small group of volunteers were transferred to Washington, D.C. for special secret service as cryptologists, to decipher Japanese secret codes. It was required that this group of cryptologists be fifth generation Americans to qualify for these positions, They had to swear oaths of secrecy before an altar, were constantly trailed by security, and were admonished not to divulge the nature of their assignments to any person. If questioned, they were to respond that they were working as secretaries to high positioned naval officers.
They worked around the clock, in three eight-hour shifts, and Hyatt found the swing shift difficult as sleep was often interrupted in the barracks with all the coming and going. At first, the work seemed very boring, as they would spend hours studying coded symbols in order to find repeated five letter words. However, after several months of promotions to more important positions, the work became more interesting.
A Japanese ship had been abandoned after it was set afire by the allies. The Japanese crew had orders for to burn all important papers before they abandoned ship. They set the papers ablaze and reported that they had all been successfully destroyed. However, when our forces boarded the remains of the ship they found an extremely important code book only partially burned and were able to retrieve it.
It was so vital to the war effort that an officer, dressed in civilian clothes in order not to be noticed, carried it across the country by train to Washington, D.C. Young Betty was ordered to appear in an office to meet this man. Upon arrival, she found that he was obviously an oriental and thought that the United States had been invaded. She started to put an important document she was carrying in her mouth, in order to eat its contents as she had been instructed. The officer convinced her that he was American and gave her the valuable book. It had only been superficially burned on one edge and was decipherable.
Hyatt and other staff members worked on that book for two days and two nights solidly without sleep, and eventually broke the coded messages. They then had access to all Japanese field messages and shipping orders. But, most important of all, they had the information on every enemy ship in the Pacific, who and what were on it, and its destination, which led to eventually shooting down the plane of Admiral Yammamoto. "The United States made it look like an accident that they had destroyed that plane, as they did not want to divulge that they had broken the Japanese code regarding its position Ten years later, Betty Caccavale received a citation from the President of the United States for her efforts on this project. Hyatt recalls that General MacArthur declared that breaking that code had helped shorten the war by two years.
Meanwhile, while she was stationed in D.C., Betty kept in contact with Phil Caccavale's Brooklyn family and made many trips to their home. Trips to the New York City were exciting and she became acquainted with the family's Catholic Italian style of living and eating. This was all new and interesting to a young Methodist girl from South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Philip Caccavale was serving in the U.S. Infantry in Africa, Italy and France. He was wounded twice, the first one being only a superficial grazing leg wound while in Italy. However, the second one was a very serious wound in France, shattering both of his elbows and peppering his feet with shrapnel. It was serious enough to send him back to the states for rehabilitation and Betty and Phil resumed their friendship which soon blossomed into a full romance.
At that time, the Navy was granting early discharges to service wives who were taking care of wounded service husbands, So, in February of 1945 Betty received an honorable discharge and the two were married in Brooklyn before a justice of the peace. By now, Betty was well integrated into Phil's Italian family and their way of living.
"From Cotton to Cotton" is the way Betty puts it, as she then got a good job on Wall Street, working in the Cotton Mercantile Exchange. Later, Betty and Phil started their own heating oil business in Brooklyn, which they ran successfully for 50 years.
Their obsession with travel started with trips to Florida, Cuba and Mexico, which they thoroughly enjoyed. After that, the travel bug really hit them, and the Caccavales enjoyed many trips to destinations around the world. When they decided it was time to retire from the Gerald Fuel Company which they both ran, they bought a place in Connestee Falls, N.C., bounded on three sides by a lake, which they enjoyed for twenty years. Phil finally had a spot where he could enjoy his beloved fishing and he was one of the six founders of the Connestee Fishing Club which now has over six hundred members!
However, the new owners of the heating fuel oil company in Brooklyn needed help running the business in the winter, so the Caccavales returned to New York each winter to help run the company for many years.
When it was finally time to retire completely, the Caccavales returned to North Carolina. Eventually, they decided to sell their Connestee home and move to Deer Run, just outside of Brevard to a lovely home on King's Creek.
Betty had been very active at the Brevard Methodist Church in N. Y. She worked hard for two years to keep it afloat while the church was getting a new minister, for which she received a special commendation.
The Caccavales are very proud of their two children. Robert and his wife Emma live in Highlands, New Jersey where he is associated with Time Warner. Their daughter, Clara Josephs, and her husband Jerry, live in Santa Ana, California. Clara has been honored four times as Teacher of the Year. The Caccavales have had a long, happy marriage, and even though they had diverse backgrounds they have found the secret to a contented lasting relationship.
