Primarily documents Maxine Newcom Pierce's background; her twenty-year career in the WAVES; and the impact of her military service on the rest of her life. Pierce briefly discusses growing up in Southern Illinois in the 1930s, including her family and their musical talent; and working in personnel at the Illinois Ordnance Plant in the early 1940s. She primarily describes her twenty-year career in the navy, beginning with her decision to join the navy in 1943; the influence of her friends; and her parents' reaction to her enlistment. Pierce also talks briefly about her basic training at Hunter College in late 1943, including the food and her living arrangements. " Pierce recalls most of her assignments, particularly her service in Philadelphia at the Navy Recruiting Station during World War II. Topics include her clerical work; her public relations work and meeting Arthur Treacher; work schedule and social life, especially dancing and songs she danced to; making recruiting speeches at high schools and colleges; seeing President and Eleanor Roosevelt in an open-car parade; and singing in an all-navy musical. " Pierce describes her other duty stations in Philadelphia immediately following the war, and her decision to make the navy a career following a temporary active duty training assignment in Charleston, South Carolina. Other topics include working in the recruiting office in Charleston; completing a recruiting training course in Norfolk, Virginia; enjoying her tour as a recruiter in Illinois; and meeting several WAVES officers, including Captain Louise Wilde, Captain Winifred Quick, and Captain Viola B. Sanders, while stationed in Pensacola. She also discusses her work as chief yeoman to Capt. Quick while she director of women in the navy in the late 1950s. " Other topics include: how women in the navy contributed to the war effort during World War II; changes in the navy during her career; the impact being in the navy had on her life; working for a retired U.S. Air Force major in the Office of Research Development and Administration at Southern Illinois University; and her travels.