Dorthy Picotte - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

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World War 2

Click on Veteran's photo to see their service story. These Warriors served during the World War 2.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last an hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some still photographers for in the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question. Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2024 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
US NAVY YN2 World War 2 Dorothy R. Picotte (Gottlieb) was born on May 28, 1921, and grew up in El Sereno, California. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles. She was attending a business college when she decided to join the war effort and volunteered to enlist in the Navy WAVES. Her father had served in the Navy during WW1. On July 30, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Public Law 689, establishing the US Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Dorothy was one of more than 100,000 women who served in the WAVES during World War 2, most of whom were discharged in 1946. On Oct 14, 1944, Able Seaman Dorothy attended the U.S. Naval Training Center (WR) at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York, where she trained with hundreds of WAVES at basic training. Dorothy remembers being assigned as the platoon leader, leading her company down 5th Avenue on a parade calling cadence for President Franklin D Roosevelt. She attended her Navy A school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where she became a Navy Yeoman at Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College(OAMC). Yeomen (YN) are the Navy’s front office, handling all matters clerical and administrative for ships and personnel. She reported to her first permanent duty station at NavalAdvance Base Personnel Depot, San Bruno, CA, south of San Fransisco. She was then assigned to work at the Naval Station on Treasure Island. The island became a major training and education center, with 4.5 million personnel shipped overseas. This was a busy place for a Yeomen. She shared stories about working with the flight control boards at the air station tower and working with the pilot's schedules in and out of the airfield. Yeoman Second Class Dorothy R. Picotte (Gottlieb) was Honorably Discharged from the WAVES on May 3, 1946, at the end of World War 2. Dorothy was awarded the Honorable Service Lapel Pin, aka the “Ruptured Duck”, her US Navy Honorable Discharge Emblem, and the Discharge Pin. Dorothy married James A. Picotte, a US Marine who served at Guadalcanal. They met at the dance hall on Catalina Island while she lived there. They were married and had four beautiful children.
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Dorthy Picotte - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
US NAVY YN2 World War 2 Dorothy R. Picotte (Gottlieb) was born on May 28, 1921, and grew up in El Sereno, California. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles. She was attending a business college when she decided to join the war effort and volunteered to enlist in the Navy WAVES. Her father had served in the Navy during WW1. On July 30, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Public Law 689, establishing the US Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Dorothy was one of more than 100,000 women who served in the WAVES during World War 2, most of whom were discharged in 1946. On Oct 14, 1944, Able Seaman Dorothy attended the U.S. Naval Training Center (WR) at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York, where she trained with hundreds of WAVES at basic training. Dorothy remembers being assigned as the platoon leader, leading her company down 5th Avenue on a parade calling cadence for President Franklin D Roosevelt. She attended her Navy A school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where she became a Navy Yeoman at Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College(OAMC). Yeomen (YN) are the Navy’s front office, handling all matters clerical and administrative for ships and personnel. She reported to her first permanent duty station at NavalAdvance Base Personnel Depot, San Bruno, CA, south of San Fransisco. She was then assigned to work at the Naval Station on Treasure Island. The island became a major training and education center, with 4.5 million personnel shipped overseas. This was a busy place for a Yeomen. She shared stories about working with the flight control boards at the air station tower and working with the pilot's schedules in and out of the airfield. Yeoman Second Class Dorothy R. Picotte (Gottlieb) was Honorably Discharged from the WAVES on May 3, 1946, at the end of World War 2. Dorothy was awarded the Honorable Service Lapel Pin, aka the “Ruptured Duck”, her US Navy Honorable Discharge Emblem, and the Discharge Pin. Dorothy married James A. Picotte, a US Marine who served at Guadalcanal. They met at the dance hall on Catalina Island while she lived there. They were married and had four beautiful children.