Elizabeth Nona Ann Ray (May 31, 1913 – December 7, 2011) was a career officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, most notably serving as director of

Women in the Air Force (WAF) Women in the Air Force (WAF) was a program which served to bring women into limited roles in the United States Air Force. WAF was formed in 1948 when Harry S. Truman, President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing wo ...

from 1961 to 1965.

Biography

Ray was born in 1913 in

Winnsboro, Texas Winnsboro is a city in Franklin County, Texas, Franklin and Wood County, Texas, Wood counties in northeastern Texas, United States, north of Tyler, Texas, Tyler. The population was 3,434 at the 2010 census, down from 3,584 at the 2000 census. Sett ...

, and was raised primarily in Oklahoma. She moved frequently around the state due to her father's job in the newspaper business. She graduated from high school in Mangum, Oklahoma and attended

Oklahoma College for Women The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) is a public liberal arts college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college in Oklahoma with a strictly liberal arts–focused curriculum and is a member of the Council of Public ...

for a year. In 1934 she earned a journalism degree from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. After graduation, Ray worked for a newspaper in Anadarko, Oklahoma. She was later recruited by the War Department, where she served in the Public Relations Bureau. In 1942, Ray joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later the Women's Army Corps) and completed Officer Training School at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. She had brief assignments at the training center at Daytona Beach and at the WAAC Headquarters in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

before being transferred overseas in June 1943. Ray was stationed at the headquarters of

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

in Algiers, Algeria. In January 1944, she was appointed commander of a WAC intelligence squadron at 15th Air Force Headquarters in Bari, Italy. She returned to the U.S. in late 1945 and was assigned to the inactive reserve. On May 10, 1949, Ray was reactivated in the

and sent to

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

, New York, where she commanded female troops then worked in personnel and public relations. In 1950, she also attended Armed Forces Informational School at

Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military base. The first structures were built in 1757, during the French and In ...

. From 1953 to 1955, Ray served as deputy director of WAF. From 1955 to 1958, Ray was assigned to

DACOWITS The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) is one of the oldest Department of Defense (DoD) federal advisory committees and was established in 1951 by then-Secretary of Defense (SecDef) George C. Marshall. The committee is ...

as executive secretary for the advisory committee. She then became chief of the promotion and augmentation/selection records branch of

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

, Nebraska. In September 1961, Ray was appointed director of WAF and served in this capacity until her retirement in 1965.Resume, Elizabeth Ann Ray Papers, the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project, The University of North Carolina at Greensbor

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References

External links

Elizabeth Ann Ray Papers at the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Elizabeth Ann 1913 births 2011 deaths American women in World War II Women in the United States Air Force People from Mangum, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni People from Winnsboro, Texas 20th-century American people