Daisy May Pratt Erd | |
|---|---|
 Daisy Pratt Erd, from a 1918 publication. | |
| Born | 1882 Canada |
| Died | 1925 (aged 42–43) |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy Reserve |
| Rank | Yeoman (F) |
| Spouse(s) | Louis Erd |
| Other work | musician |
Daisy May Pratt Erd USNR (1882-1925) was a Canadian-born American songwriter and composer, and a naval Yeoman (F) in Boston, Massachusetts during World War I. After the war, she advocated for the recognition of women veterans.
Daisy May Pratt was born in Canada [1] and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where she taught music. [2]
Erd was a young mother of two and a piano teacher, when she enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve in 1917. [3] Soon she was the chief yeoman in charge of all the enlisted women working in the Boston Navy Yard. She opened a lunch room for the naval yard's employees, and created the Hingham Naval Training Station Band, for the recreation of recruits with musical skills. [4] Compositions by Erd included "We'll Carry The Star Spangled Banner Thru The Trenches", "Uncle Sam's Ships" (a tribute to the USS Melville), [5] "Welcome Home", and "The Rear Admiral Wood One-Step" (written in honor of Spencer S. Wood). [1] She donated thousands of dollars in profits from these songs to the Naval Reserve Fund and the Naval Relief Society. [6] She was awarded a gold medal in 1918 by William R. Rush, commandant of the naval yard, "for merit, war service". [7]
After her active service, she helped to found the first women's post of the American Legion, in Boston, and was elected as commander of the post. [8] She successfully persuaded the American Legion's national executive committee in Washington D. C. to maintain the unique post's charter and Charlestown location, against some local opposition. [9] She advocated for a state bonus of $100 for women in Massachusetts who served in the Navy, and began a union to improve the women veterans' job prospects. "We did a man's job, and why shouldn't we be treated like the men are treated in the matter of bonuses?" she asked. [10] As a show of appreciation, the women of her American Legion post bought her ringside seats to a boxing match in Boston in 1921, assuring a reporter that "she will be tickled foolish when we tell her that she is going to the fight." [11]
Daisy May Pratt married Louis Erd, a barber. They had two daughters, Norma and Georgia. Georgia also served in the military, rising to the rank of Major in the Army.
Daisy Pratt Erd died in 1925, from tuberculosis that she contracted during her naval service. [1]
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Ernest Grady Shore was an American professional baseball pitcher. Shore played in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants of the National League in 1912, and in the American League for the Boston Red Sox from 1914 to 1917, and the New York Yankees from 1919 to 1920.
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Loretta Perfectus Walsh was the first American woman to officially serve in the United States Armed Forces in a non-nursing capacity. She joined the United States Naval Reserve on March 17, 1917, and subsequently became the first female petty officer in the Naval Reserve when she was sworn in as Chief Yeoman on March 21, 1917.
Yeoman (F) was an enlisted rate for women in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War I. The first Yeoman (F) was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. At the time, the women were popularly referred to as "yeomanettes" or even "yeowomen", although the official designation was Yeoman (F).
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USS Aloha (SP-317) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
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USS Vitesse (SP-1192) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Liberty III (SP-1229), sometimes written Liberty # 3, and also referred to during her naval career as Liberty and as Pilot Boat Liberty, No. 3, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Liberty was a pilot boat from 1896-1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat D. J. Lawlor. After World War I, the Liberty returned to pilot service until 1934 when she was purchased as a yacht.
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We'll Carry The Star Spangled Banner Thru The Trenches is a World War I song written by Daisy May Pratt Erd. The song was first published in 1917 by Lang & Mendelsohn in Boston MA. The sheet music cover depicts soldiers advancing over barbed wire with a flag waving.
