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Virginia Russell Reavis Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0183

Content Description

The collection includes an oral history transcript, 17 September 2000; various military paperwork, 1944-1945; various photographs of Reavis during her Army Air Force service, 1943; an article published from the Tideland News, Swansboro, NC, 2000; an Army Air Evacuation Nurse Wings metal uniform pin located in Artifact box.

Dates

  • 1943-2000

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Virginia Russell Reavis (b. 1920) of Onslow County, North Carolina, was an air evacuation nurse in the United States Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945.

Virginia Russell Reavis was born in Onslow County, North Carolina, on October 6, 1920. She graduated from high school in Swansboro, North Carolina, then spent a year at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina. In 1939, she enrolled in nurses' training at Thompson Memorial Hospital in Lumberton, North Carolina, and graduated three years later.

In October 1942, Reavis enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the 65th General Hospital based out of Duke University. The unit was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to work wards in the base hospital, but in the summer of 1943 Reavis joined an air evacuation unit. She completed six months of training at Bowman Field, Kentucky, with the 810th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron, which was sent to England in December of 1943. Reavis flew on transatlantic missions until D-Day, when the squadron began primarily evacuating patients from France back to England.

Later, her unit was pulled back to Preswick, Scotland, and recommenced transatlantic runs. In August 1945, Reavis returned to the United States and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. She was discharged from the army shortly afterwards. Reavis continued her nursing career for several years following the war, working in Jacksonville, N.C.; as a private duty nurse in Wilmington, N.C.; and in California.

In 1947 she married Clay Reavis, a pilot whom she had met while in service. She and her husband lived in California where they raised four children. After their children were grown, Reavis took refresher courses in nursing and used the education to work with the developmentally disabled. The couple later resettled in North Carolina.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (4 folders, metal located in Artifact box 1)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Condition Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Virginia Russell Reavis Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2023 January
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246