The scrapbook contains correspondence; ephemera; photographs; newsletters; official military communications and records; and clippings primarily related to Thavenet's service in the WAAC and WAC; primarily with the Army Air Forces from 1943 to 1945. The correspondence is from Thavenet to her family descrbing her experiences in the service. There are also letters to Thavenet from family and friends from home and fellow WACs; as well as post-war correspondence up to 1950. Included are clippings from the Rhode Island newspaper The Westerly Sun of Thavenet's letters to the editor about her experiences stationed in Italy; as well as clippings about the WAC and other military topics. There are also WAC song sheets, bulletins; programs for plays and religious services,; including four copies from 1945 of The Coronet, the newsletter for the WACs serving with the 15th Army Air Force. The scrapbook also includes souvenirs from her sightseeing travels around the southeastern United States in 1943 and Europe in 1945, including Rome, Venice, Capri, Pompeii, Pisa, Florence, Czechoslovakia, Palestine, and Switzerland.
Molly Thavenet (1905-1991) of Rhode Island was stationed in Italy while serving in the Women's Auxilary Army Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Molly Thavenet was raised in Providence, Rhode Island, and worked as a secretary at Narragansett Electric Company in Waverly, Rhode Island, before enlisting in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). Thavenet reported for basic training on 4 June 1943 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and then was assigned to the 162nd WAC Headquarters Company, 4th WAC Transportation Company at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia." In November 1943, Thavenet was transferred to Naples, Italy, as a stenographer to the Adjutant General Personnel Section of the Production Base Support (AGPBS). In April 1944, Thavenet was transferred to the 6720 WAC Headquarters Platoon with the 15th Army Air Force in Bari, Italy, where she worked with the reassignments of combat crews." After returning to the United States in October 1945, Thavenet was discharged from the Women's Army Corps with the rank of sergeant, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island.
