Title: Ray Family Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1938-1999

Creator:

• Ray Family

Call Number: WVM Mss 1312

Quantity: 0.4 linear ft. (1 archives box and 2 oversized folders) of papers, 0.4 linear ft. (1 archives box and 1 oversized folders) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs pertaining to Rose Ray and her husband Fred Ray, Milwaukee, Wisconsin residents who both served in the Army during World War II. The collection has been organized into materials pertaining to each person. The majority of manuscripts and photographs document Rose's service. Rose (maiden name Jrolf) enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1943 and received training at Daytona Beach, Florida. After training, Rose was first transferred to Nebraska and then quickly promoted to Mess Sergeant at Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri (present day Whiteman Air Force Base). While at Sedalia, Rose successfully organized a feuding kitchen staff into a working unit. Manuscripts include service records, certificates, a diary, postcards, ephemeral military items, and W.A.C. memorabilia. Also included are interesting items documenting her time at Sedalia, which include menus from kitchen staff parties, a humorous list of rules for the mess hall, recipes for Christmas cookies, and a poem written by a soldier about the kitchen staff. Photographs include those from training at Daytona Beach, images of the Sedalia kitchen staff and parties, and posing with friends and relatives. There are also images of Rose posing in uniform and also photographs from her military wedding to Fred Ray. Also included are images sent to Rose by fellow soldiers who were training at other bases. Fred Ray, originally from Covington, Virginia, enlisted in the Army in 1939. He was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps and stationed at Albrook Army Airfield in the Panama Canal Zone. Fred was transferred to Sedalia in 1944, where he met Rose. Manuscripts include service records, certificates, identification cards, a newspaper clipping from Sedalia about the bowling team, and menus from holiday meals while in Panama. Photographs include a large collection of recreational activities from his time in Panama. Images show soldiers relaxing, swimming, and also kayaking and canoeing. The photograph collection also includes images of various unidentified soldiers and sailors who were apparently friends with Fred. One interesting image shows two soldiers sitting in the cockpit of a downed German plane.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01312

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Rose F. Ray (Jrolf) was born on July 20, 1918 in Racine, Wisconsin. Her family eventually moved to the Milwaukee area sometime before World War II. In 1943, Rose enlisted with the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (under the last name Grolf) and was sent for training in Daytona Beach, Florida. She was trained in food preparation and served as an acting mess sergeant during her training.

After completing basic training, Rose was sent to Alliance Army Airfield (Nebraska) to work in the kitchen. After being stationed at Alliance for about three months, Rose was transferred to Sedalia Army Air Field (Missouri) to serve as mess sergeant. The kitchen staff at Sedalia had been feuding and Rose was transferred to try and bring order. Rose organized a reward program with her staff in order to keep the peace after a fight broke out during her first night there. The tactic worked and the kitchen staff would hold special dinners and gatherings as their reward for working together.

While Rose was stationed at Sedalia, she met her future husband, Fred Ray. They married on February 2, 1945, while still serving in the military. The couple moved to Milwaukee after being discharged. Rose became active in veterans organizations and joined the Women's Army Corps Veterans Association. The couple had one daughter, Virginia. Rose moved to Janesville, Wisconsin after Fred passed away in 1999.

Fred Ray was born on October 4, 1918 in Covington, Virginia. He enlisted with the Army in 1939 and was placed in the Quartermasters Corps. He was stationed at Albrook Army Airfield in the Panama Canal Zone soon after his enlistment and remained there for most of World War II. Fred was transferred back to the United States in 1944 and stationed at Sedalia Army Air Field as the tech sergeant in charge of food supplies. While stationed there, he met Rose Jrolf. They married in 1945 and were both discharged later that year. The couple settled in Milwaukee where Fred worked for both the railroad and Allis Chalmers.

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.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Rose Ray, Janesville, WI, 2008. Accession Number: Mss 2008.231.

Processing Information

Processed by Andrew J. Baraniak in 2009

	Series: Rose Ray
Ov   27 Folder   13	Articles, 1944, 1980
	Subseries: Certificates	⇧
Box   1 Folder   1	Marriage, 1945
Box   1 Folder   2	W.A.C. service, 1944
Box   1 Folder   3	Diary, 1945
	Subseries: Ephemeral	⇧
Box   1 Folder   4	Chemical Warfare Pocket Card, 1942
Box   1 Folder   5	Identification cards, 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Prayers, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Savings Bond Stamp Booklet, 1954
Box   1 Folder   8	Women's Army Corps Veterans Association booklet, undated
	Subseries: Military Papers	⇧
Box   1 Folder   9	Service Records, 1943-1950
Box   1 Folder   10	Special Orders, 1944
Box   1 Folder   11	Prayers, undated
Box   1 Folder   12	Savings Bond Stamp Booklet, 1954
Box   1 Folder   13	Women's Army Corps Veterans Association booklet, undated
	Subseries: Postcards	⇧
Box   1 Folder   14	To Frita and Frank Jrolf, 1942-1943
Box   1 Folder   15	To Rose Jrolf (Ray), 1938-1944
	Subseries: Sedalia Army Air Field	⇧
Box   1 Folder   16	Christmas Cookie Recipes, circa 1945
Box   1 Folder   17	Menus, circa 1945
Box   1 Folder   18	Mess Hall Rules, circa 1945
Box   1 Folder   19	Poem, 1944
Box   1 Folder   20	Sedalia yearbook (photocopies), circa 1945
	Series: Fred Ray	⇧
Box   1 Folder   21	Certificates, 1945, 1999
Box   1 Folder   22	Identification Cards, 1945
Box   1 Folder   23	Menus, 1940-1943
	Subseries: Military Papers	⇧
Box   1 Folder   24	Service Records, 1939-1957
Box   1 Folder   25	Special Orders, 1944-1945
Ov   27 Folder   12	Napkins, circa 1941
	Series: Photographs	⇧
	Subseries: Army Bases
	Albrook
Box   2 Folder   1	Group Photograph, Quartermaster Corps [1] circa 1942
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Recreation [20] , circa 1942
Box   2 Folder   4	Scenery [2] , circa 1942
Box   2 Folder   5	Soldiers [17] , circa 1942
	Daytona Beach
Box   2 Folder   6	Group Photographs [2] , circa 1943
Box   2 Folder   7	Inspection [6] , circa 1943
Box   2 Folder   8	Rose Jrolf [13] , circa 1943
Box   2 Folder   9	Scenery [2] , circa 1943
Box   2 Folder   10	W.A.C. soldiers [8] , 1943
	Nebraska
Box   2 Folder   11	Barracks [1] , circa 1944
	Sedalia
Box   2 Folder   12	Fred Ray, Bowling [1] circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   13	Group Photographs [11] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   14	Kitchen Staff [3] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   15	Reward Dinner [2] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   16	Reward Picnic [16] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   17	Soldiers [7] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   18	Snowfall [9] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   19	Thanksgiving Dinner [9] , 1944
Box   2 Folder   20	W.A.C. Group Photograph [1] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   21	Postcards, circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   22-23	Rose Ray (Jrolf) [17] , 1943-1945
Box   2 Folder   24	Posing with Family and Friends [9] , 1943-1945
Box   2 Folder   25	Wedding [4] , 1945
PhOv   27 Folder   6	Scrapbook Page [1] , circa 1945
Box   2 Folder   26	Soldiers and Sailors [14] , 1943
Box   2 Folder   27	At Camp Davis, N.C. [3] 1942
Box   2 Folder   28	Church Service [2] , circa 1945
Box   2 Folder   29	Downed German Airplane [1] , circa 1945
Box   2 Folder   30	Fortress Gun [1] , circa 1945