By Deborah Larsen
Welcome to our new feature: Meet Our Honor Roll
This series of posts will introduce readers to some of the people listed on Rochester’s World War II Honor Roll & Monument, which RAHS has been restoring and will unveil in a community-wide ceremony later this year. For now, we will highlight the stories of the people behind the WWII Honor Roll names in a series of profiles posted here, on Instagram, and on our website.
If you have a family member listed on the WWII Honor Roll and would like to share their story, please fill out our online form here: https://forms.gle/HQk9jrRvseZ6aiHh7. We’ll share their story in an upcoming post and on our website!
****
Mary Lou Case Cypher
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day today, we are proud to bring you our first WWII Honor Roll profile for Mary Lou Case Cypher.
Mary Lou Case Cypher was born in Rochester on February 7, 1924, the daughter of Mason and Leah Howell Case. She attended Rochester High School and graduated with the class of 1941. Mary Lou joined the United States Naval Women’s Reserve (USNWR), also known as WAVES, in 1944, and was stationed in Washington, D.C.
Mary Lou served as a yeoman (administrative assistant) in the office of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King. Also serving at Naval headquarters at the time was Admiral Richard Byrd—a Medal of Honor recipient who claimed to be the first person to reach both the North and South poles by air. Byrd was also known to be a very private and somewhat reclusive person in the Naval operations building.
One day Admiral King directed Mary Lou to take a message to Admiral Byrd at his office and report back. When she returned, she reported to King that the message had bee
n delivered. King asked, “So, did you meet him?” “Yes,” Mary Lou replied. Admiral King responded (kiddingly), “Well then, did you get me a penguin feather?”
Following the war, Mary Lou married Dale E. Cypher, himself a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army. The Cyphers operated Case’s Hardware in downtown Rochester until 1968. Mary Lou Cypher died in 1993 and was buried in Mount Avon Cemetery.
Photo: Courtesy of Steve Cypher