Bettylu Dennis was born in April 1923 in Aurora, Indiana. Beginning in fifth grade, the family moved around several times as her father was a naval inspector at various aircraft manufacturing facilities. She is the eldest of three daughters. She took tap dance, ballet, and voice lessons as a child. She remembered her first performance was singing and dancing to “Yankee Doodle Dandy”. As she grew up, she tried out for different shows and performances. When she was older, she sang in the French Quarter [Annotator’s Note: French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana]. She loved New Orleans and had a desire to live in the city. The Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] did not have a great effect on her childhood because her father had a secure job. She does remember bringing food to her neighbors and her mother bought clothes for her neighbors’ children. Her father did not talk much about the hostile uprisings in Europe and Asia. However, she had a cousin that was in the Air Corps that hinted to her father, right before Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], that America would be going to war. Dennis was on a date with a boy and overheard on the car radio about the attack. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Dennis wondered what war would mean for the country.

Prior to the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Bettylu Dennis had registered for college. Her boyfriend, Stu, enlisted in the Navy and proposed to her when he returned from basic training. At the time, she promised him she would not enlist, but did so anyway six months later. She wanted to join the service because many of her friends were joining. Wanting to join the US Army Air Corps but refused by her father, Dennis joined the U.S. Navy WAVES [Annotator's Note: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; United States Naval Women's Reserve] in 1942. Her mother was furious with her for joining the service. She attended basic training at Hunter College in New York. When training was complete, she was sent to storekeeper school in Bloomington, Indiana. The training was cut short, and she was assigned to a Navy recruiting show out of Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois]. She spent the remainder of the war touring with this group and singing at various Army and Navy bases across the United States. She repeatedly reflects on the impact the shows had on the soldiers and sailors who saw them. She recalled her time in the WAVES as a wonderful experience filled with mostly happy memories. She had contracted strep throat while she was staying at Louis Bromfield’s [Annotator’s Note: Louis Bromfield was an American writer and conservationist] home in Lexington, Kentucky. She also had a chance to meet Frank Sinatra [Annotator’s Note: Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor, and one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s to 1960s] and big band leaders. When the Navy ended its recruiting efforts near the end of the war, Dennis was sent to a Naval rehabilitation hospital in Bainbridge, Maryland. She was married to Stu while here before she was discharged in 1946. She does not think women in the service was necessary and war is not something the world needs. She recalled celebrating with people out in the streets when the war was declared over.

Bettylu Dennis served in the WAVES [Annotator's Note: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; United States Naval Women's Reserve] during World War 2 and was assigned to a Navy recruiting show out of Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois]. She enjoyed what she was doing because she felt she was bringing respite to the wounded servicemen. She was discharged from the service in 1946. Dennis’ most memorable experience of World War 2 was meeting lots of people she would not have met if she did not join the WAVES. She does not know why she served. World War 2 changed her life because it offered her many opportunities. She believes that God has a plan for everyone. She is thankful to have served and is happy to be in a Navy home that can take care of her. She thinks America should not get involved in another war. Dennis believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because there is not enough explanation why America was in World War 2. She believes some young generations are holocaust deniers and the country’s military is not well-equipped today.