Documents Virginia "Ginny" Gilbert Mattson's early life; her service with the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from 1944 to 1946; and her involvement in WAVES National beginning in the late 1980s. Mattson recalls her decision to enlist in the WAVES, her family's proud reaction, and her concern about sending a man into combat. She describes her daily life and social activities at both Hunter College and in Cedar Falls, Iowa, during her basic and yeoman training. Mattson also reflects on her work in personnel at the Naval Supply Depot in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where she updated the records of men being transferred to the South Pacific. Mattson briefly reflects on her adjustment to civilian life after World War II and her return to her pre-war job. She also discusses her involvement with the WAVES National veterans' organization starting in the late 1980s.