Shirley Ann Thacker Lewis (b. 1938) of Greensboro, North Carolina, served in the United States Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from 1961 to 1965.
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
Most of this collection has been digitized. Some items have not beed digitized due to copyright or other logistical issues.
29 February 2008 oral history transcript; Official Navy paperwork.
Shirley Ann Thacker Lewis (b. 1938) of Greensboro, North Carolina, served in the United States Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from 1961 to 1965, followed by a career as a school counselor. S. Ann Thacker Lewis was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on 15 October 1938. She graduated from high school at Curry School in 1957 and then attended Women's College of the University of North Carolina (now UNCG), earning a degree in physical education. Lewis joined a WAVES recruit program while in college. After graduating, she completed Officer Candidate School at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. She was chosen to be a legal officer and attended Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island, and was then assigned to Long Beach, California. In addition to defense counsel and prosecutorial duties there, she also worked as a separations officer, public information officer, communications watch officer, and in registered publications. In 1963, Lewis received orders to Wahiawa, Hawaii, where she served as a legal officer and trainer. She met her husband, Chuck Lewis, on a beach in Hawaii, and resigned her commission in January 1965 due to pregnancy. Lewis later earned a masters' degree in counseling and worked for thirty years as a school counselor.
Women's History Military Schools and Colleges
Navy -- WAVES
Vietnam Era (1964-1974)
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States. Navy--Women
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries