Romay Catherine Johnson Davis was born in October 1919 in King George County, Virginia. It was wonderful growing up there. They lived on a very small property and had everything anyone could want. They kept several animals and led a very entertaining life. Her father worked for the government, and her mother was a housekeeper in Dahlgren, Virginia where they tested sheet metal and guns. Her father was a rigger there. Her mother also taught and was a musician, a very accomplished woman. She had grown up in Williamsburg, Virginia. Davis had two older and three younger brothers, all of whom served in the military, and all came home. They grew up in a well-to-do black neighborhood where many people had farms. They had a very small farm, her grandfather and uncle had much larger farms. Money was tight and opportunities were short. There was no high school for Davis to go to. She heard about the Stock Market Crash [Annotator's Note: Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, September to October 1929]. They were financially affected, but they had farm and animals for food, so they had everything they needed, and had more than a lot of other people had. The people in the community shared with one another. Davis' second oldest brother was the first to go into the service, before the war. Davis was the second. She has wonderful childhood memories. She and her youngest brother went off to college. Two of her brothers became airline mechanics. The whole family was very accomplished. Davis moved to New Jersey when she was 13 to go to junior high school and high school and lived with her grandmother. She had to redo seventh grade because the country school was not like the city school.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis attended college in New York. She and all of her five brothers served in the military. Tom was in the USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Incorporated], Augustus, or "Gus", was the first in the military, Preston served in the Navy, Purcell was a Marine, and Stansbury, or "Spud", the youngest, was also in the Marines. When her youngest brother left, she did not want to be the only one left at home with her parents, so she joined the WACs [Annotator's Note: Women's Army Corps; women's branch of the United States Army, 1942 to 1978]. Her parents gave her permission to join. She had a good time. She felt separated from the rest of the nation in a way, because of segregation. When Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], they were all surprised but prepared themselves, and wanted to take part in getting the war over with. She was frightened. Her brother, Gus, was already in the Pacific when the war started. Later, Preston, one of her younger brothers, went into the Navy, but never went overseas. Her father was also involved in the war effort, working delivering ship metal to shipyards. Women did not think about being part of the war until much later in the war. The 6888th Battalion [Annotator's Note: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion] was created, despite prejudice that women were not capable. She learned about it from newspapers and radio. Davis wanted to be in the Air Force. She was under a lot of pressure being around so many girls, as she had only grown up with boys.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis did not know there was anything different than segregation. She had everything she needed: schooling, and good teachers. She did not know any differently, unless somebody was hurt. When one of her brothers was in college, he traveled south on a bus for a football game, and people went after him, wanting to fight him. He was among the first group that she knew of that had problems with race, though she did hear older people in her community talking about injustice and racial hate. They [Annotator's Note: white people and Black people] had separate schools but learned the same things. Davis decided to join the WACs [Annotator's Note: Women's Army Corps; women's branch of the United States Army, 1942 to 1978] and met the physical requirements. She learned to behave and fight back if she had to. She was working in Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.] in a hospital as her first job and then went to the Treasury Department [Annotator's Note: United States Department of the Treasury]. She was inducted and her life as a WAC began, although she had wanted to be in the Air Force. She was a Private in the WAAC [Annotator's Note: Women's Army Auxiliary Corps], as it was called before WAC. Their uniforms were suits, without badges on the sleeves. People were proud of them, even if not everyone was cooperative. The unit grew to a few thousand. They learned to march just like the men. She was assigned to the motor pool which suited her well as she liked being outside and did not want to be at a desk. All of the women had started working when they were young, so they were used to the rigor. In the motor pool, Davis drove trucks, jeeps, and weapons carriers. She named her truck Cassandra. She also drove staff cars for driving officers, her main job. She once got in trouble for getting into an argument. Some of the women would tease her because she was different. She liked to be alone.

Men thought the women in uniform were silly and could not do anything, but they would assist the women if needed. Romay Catherine Johnson Davis [Annotator's Note: a Private in the Women's Army Corps (WAC)] enjoyed her time in the military. It was a great lesson in personal and societal training. She heard about the Six Triple Eight [Annotator's Note: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion]. In basic training in Iowa, they were told they were preparing to go overseas, Davis was excited about it. She had already traveled a lot. They arrived in Scotland. England was chilly and ugly, but France was different. Traveling on the water was the most exciting thing she had ever experienced. It was scary for most of the women, but Davis was never scared of anything, having grown up with boys. She was very impressed by the ocean and its power, nothing to do with man. She fell in love with it. They went over on the Ile de France [Annotator's Note: SS Ile de France], a torpedo once neared them but did not hit. Many of the women were scared and seasick, but Davis just enjoyed it.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis [Annotator's Note: a Private in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC)] did not know much about the mail at first, but there was a large backlog that soldiers had not received for months. They [Annotator's Note: her unit] worked just as hard as the men behind the guns. They were all dedicated and behaved capably. Davis was still driving [Annotator's Note: she had previously served in a motor pool stateside] people around and learning to drive in other cities. She was trained by Lieutenant Jordan [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant Annie Beatrice Knight Jordan], and glad to be in the motor pool because she was not an indoor desk type. In England, she learned how to drive on the wrong side of the road. She was afraid when driving in the mountains but took it in stride. The 6888th got their job down in a third of the time that was expected for them to do it. Davis only worked with the mail when she was not driving. She lost a PFC [Annotator's Note: Private 1st Class] stripe for getting into an argument with the other women. An officer told her to shut up and she did not. They were first stationed in England and did not like it; it was too cold, and damp and she was sick with influenza [Annotator's Note: common viral infection that can be deadly]. She met a local child who taught her how to draw. She would have dinner with his family. She was well received in England, and never experienced any racism. Any problems she had were personal, as she was fussy and liked her things a certain way.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis [Annotator's Note: a Private in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) stationed in Birmingham, England] went to France. In England, she saw where soldiers' bodies had been stacked in crates, it was morbid. She does not remember anything beautiful about England, she was sick much of the time she was there. They arrived in Le Havre, France, and it was exciting. She felt more at home in France and found the French people nicer than in England. She enjoyed seeing old buildings and learning about the arts. When she visited Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France], it felt as though she had been there before. People were very friendly and open. She met people that she continued to correspond with for years afterwards. She took a vacation to Switzerland from France and saw the mountains and snowstorms which she had read about before. She learned to drink wine in France, which they had to drink instead of water. She went to a fashion school in the evenings, learning how to work with fabric and drape. When she returned to the States, she attended Traphagen School of Fashion in New York [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York]. She had to fight her way through because they did not want her. She designed children's clothes for 30 years. She continued drawing after the war [Annotator's Note: a child Davis befriended in England had taught her how to draw. She describes this in Segment 5, "6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in England" of this interview series]. She studied Taekwondo [Annotator's Note: a form of martial arts], starting at age 74 and continued for ten years, earning a black belt.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis [Annotator's Note: a Private in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) stationed in Birmingham, England and Rouen, France] returned to the United States. She stopped in New York to visit an aunt, leaving all of her belongings and trinkets she collected overseas in a trunk in the car, which ended up being stolen. She had loved seeing the buildings in France, but the deterioration in the countryside in France was ugly. She was a driver [Annotator's Note: in the motor pool] and would see the destruction caused by bombing. They did not have much interaction with the male soldiers. During basic training, she was allowed to keep a dog and a cat. VE-Day was exciting [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. They drank and danced. After the war, she continued to correspond with some women in the 6888th and people she met in Switzerland. She felt an emptiness when the WAC was disbanded, but she went to Traphagen School of Fashion in New York [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York], even though she was not wanted because she was black. It did not hurt her as she expected it. She often wondered why people were prejudiced when nothing had ever been done to them. Davis once got into a fight in Washington, D.C. when she went into a bathroom and a woman from Texas poured water on her. She never understood why people could be so hateful just for being a different color. She was disgusted and angry at racism. She does not understand it. She has been treated beautifully her whole life but knows that many people have been badly hurt by it.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis finished schooling in New York [Annotator's Note: at Traphagen School of Fashion in New York, New York] and had no trouble getting a job afterwards. She learned in France how to drape fabric into a figure and learned how to draw. Her World War 2 experience was wonderful. She grew from the experience and would do it over again. She learned about herself and her temperament. She admires the people who fought for the Civil Rights Movement [Annotator's Note: the name for the struggle for social justice, mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the US]. She wishes progress would be made more quickly. She feels ashamed that she is not doing more to fix the situation. Things have changed, but we still have a long way to go, she wises the government would do more. Serving in the military broadened her understanding of racism, though she cannot figure out the reason for it. We are all very much alike, whether we like it or not.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis feels that her contribution to World War 2 was not enough and that she should have worked harder. She is amazed at the recognition the Six Triple Eight [Annotator's Note: nickname for the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion that she was assigned to] is getting now [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview]. She does not feel that she has done anything extraordinary. Women have come a long way and will be the leaders of the world from now on, which is how it ought to be. Men tend to look more at getting than giving. She is amazed to have played a role in opening doors for women's progress but did not do half of what her mother did. She hustled and showed her children the difference between right and wrong. She did not change anything just by being in the service, she just happened to be there when she was needed. She has accomplished a lot, but not enough.

Romay Catherine Johnson Davis sees people as weaker today than they used to be. People should learn about the war. All of her five brothers served in the military and made it home, though one of them was sick from Agent Orange [Annotator's Note: an herbicide mixture used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War]. She was given medicine by a doctor years ago which crippled her. Davis is now 102 years old. The attitude of the world has changed in all her years. People act too quickly without thinking nowadays. It is hard for her to believe that she came from where she did, as a country girl, and to be in the limelight today. She wonders what the benefit is besides learning.