JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For most grandkids, the bond between them and their grandmother is special and like no other.
For James Ogletree, she was more than just a grandmother.
“She was an angel, and everyone who met her agreed. The world is a little bit darker a place without her here, and I miss her dearly,” Ogletree said emotionally as he stood at her grave at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
Lois Day wasn’t just a wife, mother and grandmother, she was also a trailblazer for women in the military.
She was part of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, better known as the WAVES.
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Seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Naval Reserve started a new unit to support the war effort.
These women served as nurses, storekeepers, clerks and administrators to photographers, mechanics, air traffic control operators and instructors.
When Day and her sister enlisted into the Navy, they were stationed worlds apart, her sister was sent to San Diego, California and Day to Jacksonville.
“She only served about 18 months before the WAVES were deactivated, and then she went on to be a Navy wife. Her favorite story was going to bootcamp in Brooklyn,” Ogletree said. “After graduating, they went to the Statue of Liberty to celebrate. She signed her name at the very top of the statue, and she was worried for months that she would get caught.”
She didn’t, but she did receive her orders in 1944 and reported to NAS Jacksonville, then known as one of the largest naval air stations in the world.
When asked about what stories she would tell about her 18 months with the WAVES, he said much wasn’t known.
“She helped a lot with the bombers when she was a Rosie the Riveter in Missouri, before she joined the war. I think she went back to working on airplanes. But grandpa was aviation-based, so my only guess is she went back to working on aircraft.”
Day had many accomplishments in her life, while being a WAVE was so dear to her, being in Brooklyn led her to the love of her life.
Ogletree’s family is rich in military history and every day he goes to see his heroes, his grandparents, aunt and uncle at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
“It goes back 250 years. They’ve served, ever since day one. Absolutely proud of it. Every generation has served, every single one, and my family came over here on the Mayflower. My 24th great grandfather is John Alden. He’s one of the main men on the Mayflower. So it’s part of my family’s been here since day one.”
While they all fought to protect the county and he’s proud of over 20 generations of military service, Ogletree said his grandmother was the heart of the family.
“She’s a glue that held this family together, just so many different stories of just getting picked up from school and just, she was awesome. I miss her a lot,” Ogletree said.
