 On July 30th, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt amended and signed Public Law 689, which had established the women's reserve, unofficially known as WAVES, earlier in 1938. During World War II, 90,000 female officers and enlisted reservists were stationed at U.S. shore commands, as well as overseas. WAVES served as air traffic controllers, artists, cryptologists, hospital corpsmen, linguists, and weather specialists. Through the direct contributions of over 350,000 women who served during World War II, military and congressional leaders were convinced that women should be allowed to serve not only during times of war, but also during times of peace. In July 1948, the Women's Armed Service Act allowed for the first women to be sworn in for regular active duty. The WAVES were later disestablished in 1972. Today, women in the Navy continue the WAVES legacy through their service throughout the fleet.