Name: Alice Black

                         Branch of Service: U.S. Army Air Forces

                         Unit: 4000th AAF BU

                         Rank: Corporal

                         Dates of Service: 8/24/1944-02/1946

                         Theater of Service: American

                         Alice Black's Oral History

Alice Black was born February 23, 1924, in Albion, Noble County; she was the daughter of Harry Black and Bertha E. (Belt) Black of Albion.  On August 24, 1944, Alice joined the WACs and went to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, for 8 weeks of processing and training.  Alice was then stationed with the WACs at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.  In the Spring of 1945, Alice met David Clark Glass, her future husband, who was stationed at Wright Field with the U.S. Army Air Force.  David was discharged from the AAF in July 1945 and returned to his Virginia poultry farm just 3 miles east of Scottsville, VA.  Alice and David married Alice in January 1946, and Alice had to wait a month before she was discharged from the WACs.  In February 1946, Alice moved to David's farm where Alice was still living in the Summer of 2006 when she interviewed with Scottsville Museum for our WWII oral history program.  Alice and David Glass were the parents of three children: Constance Louise Glass (1949), Clayton Brent Glass (1954), and a third child born in September 1947.  David passed away on November 25, 1982, at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, and is buried at Scottsville Cemetery.

When the WAC recruiter came to Albion, Indiana, Alice Black was working as a secretary in the Albion Production Credit Associ- ation, which lent money to farmers.  She was immediately interested, but her employer, who was doubtlessly swayed by negative propaganda about the new Women's Army Corps, thought it would be her "ruination" (translation: she would take up smoking and drinking).  Her brother was already serving in Italy in the military, and her parents were supportive.  So in August 1944, Alice signed up and was sent to Fort Des Moines in Iowa for eight weeks of training.

From Des Moines, Alice was sent on an all-night train to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.  She would have liked to have learned more about airplanes there, but because she passed the test for secretaries, Alice wound up working as a secretary to a major in the WACs.  Her father thought she would be freeing up a man to go on active duty overseas, but, as she says, "It didn't always work out that way."

In an interview at Scottsville Museum in 2006, Alice described life in the barracks, going to dances, and making friends with other young women from around the country.  She had a friend named Beverly White, and when they went to pick up their mail, they were asked, "Are you Black or White?"  They could not seem to tell those two apart.  Alice also met her future husband, David Glass, at Wright, and they were married in January 1946.  "My husband always thought that he would have found me somewhere," Alice said, "but I think we both had to be in the service at the same place and the same time."

The new Mrs. Glass left the army in February 1946 and came home to Scottsville with her husband.  She worked on the family farm, just as she had growing up in Indiana.  She also joined the Baptist Church and was duly "immersed."  Methodists, Alice said, were "sprinkled," but Baptists were "immersed."  She remained a dedicated member of the Scottsville Baptist Church for the rest of her life, playing the piano, and teaching Sunday School.  Alice and David had three children.  After the children were in school, Alice got a job in Charlottesville working for the Miller and Rhoads Department Store, driving to town with three other women from Scottsville.  After David had a stroke in 1982, she quit her job to take care of him.  He died later that same year.  Alice died on January 4, 2021, one of the last of Scottsville's "Greatest Generation."

Alice Black Glass, 96, of Scottsville, died on Monday, January 4, 2021, at home.

She was born February 23, 1924, in Albion, Indiana, a daughter of the late Harry and Bertha Eugenia (Belt) Black.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, David Clark Glass in 1982, two grandsons, Jeffrey Howard Haislip and John Mitchell Glass; two sisters, Elizabeth and Marian Black; and two brothers, John A. and H. Davis Black.

Graduating from Albion High School in 1942, Alice worked for Albion Production Credit before entering the Air Force of the Women's Army Corps in 1944, serving until 1946 when she married David and moved to Virginia.  For many years, she was an active member of Scottsville Baptist Church where she served as a Beginner Class teacher and was a pianist for over 60 years.  Alice retired from Miller and Rhoads in Charlottesville and was a 70-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Scottsville and Fork Union Chapters, as well as a member of the VFW Post 8169 Auxiliary.

Survivors include two sons, Steward D. Glass of Louisa and Clayton B. Glass of Scottsville; a daughter, Connie G. Haislip (Howard) of Scottsville; five grandchildren, Travis C. Haislip, Michael S. Glass, Michelle G. Brubeck, Bethany H. Hamner, and Garlin B. Glass; 19 great-grandchildren; two great-great- grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.

As per Alice's wishes, there will be no public viewing, however those desiring may pay their respects at Thacker Brothers Funeral Home from 12:00 until 5:00 PM on Thursday, January 7, 2021.

Graveside services at Scottsville Cemetery will be private and a memorial service held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Scottsville Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 100, Scottsville, VA 24590.

The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Joe Montoya and the staff of the Veterans Administration Clinic in Charlottesville for their care and support.