The Ray Family collection is divided into three series: Rose Ray, Fred Ray, and Photographs.
Rose Ray (1938-1980) document Rose Ray's service with the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and Women's Army Corps. Most of the manuscripts relate to her time serving as the mess sergeant at Sedalia Army Air Base. The diary contains no personal entries other than names and addresses of friend. It also contains several short messages from friends written just prior to her discharge. The postcards were mainly written to Rose from friends who were also in the military but stationed elsewhere. The newspaper articles include one about Rose and four other kitchen crew members at Sedalia that was printed in the local base paper called The Troop Carrier. There is also an article about the history of the W.A.C. dated from 1980. Items relating to her marriage to Fred Ray were organized with this series.
Fred Ray (1939-1999) document the service of Fred Ray in the Quartermaster Corps. The majority manuscripts in this series are service records and special orders, mostly documenting his time stationed in Panama. Service records also include a few items about veteran's benefits. Included with the certificates is a copy of his death certificate from 1999. The newspaper article shows a photograph of Ray posing with fellow soldiers while bowling. The original image is included in the Photographs series of the collection. There are also two oversized napkins from holiday dinners that Fred had while stationed in Panama.
Photographs (1942-1945) include images from the service of both Rose and Fred Ray. The images pertaining to Rose provide a good account of her service from training in Daytona to being stationed in Sedalia. Images from Daytona include Rose posing with fellow W.A.C. soldiers, undergoing an inspection, and touring sites in Florida. Images from Sedalia include images taken during the various reward dinners thrown for the kitchen staff, a series of photographs taken of Rose and fellow soldiers playing in the snow, and various images of women soldiers relaxing around the base. Most of these images were taken by Rose. However some are published images, most notably being the series of images taken from the 1944 Sedalia Thanksgiving dinner. Images pertaining to the service of Fred show soldiers relaxing and enjoying recreational activities while he was stationed at Albrook in Panama. A series of images show various soldiers and sailors who, according to the family, were friends of Fred. However, none of the images are labeled to provide context.
