Adams, Rita (Interview transcript and video), 2021

George, Amy M. (Interviewer)

Smither, James (Interviewer)

Rita (Vogler) Adams was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 7th, 1922. She grew up during the Great Depression. She lived in Wheeling until the age of 21. Rita attended high school at a girls’ private school, which she graduated from in 1940. After high school, Rita worked at a telephone company for 2 years. She then enlisted in the Marine Corps on April 14th, 1943 during World War 2. She completed her basic training at Hunter College in New York City, New York. After completing her training, Rita was assigned to work in an office at Marine headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. After 19 months in her position in Arlington, Virginia, she volunteered to be sent to work at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prior to being sent to Honolulu, Rita was sent to train for 6 weeks in San Diego, California, to ensure that she was able to swim well and was physically fit. Her husband, Robert Adams, was in the Army, and she first met him while they were both stationed in Hawaii. Rita was honorably discharged from the military in 1945 after World War 2 ended, at which point she was a sergeant. Rita and Robert were married on November 27th, 1945. After leaving the service in 1945, Rita eventually attended 2 years of business college in Detroit, Michigan. She then completed training at Schoolcraft College to become an occupational therapy assistant. Rita later attended Madonna College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in social science. She worked as a substitute teacher in schools in Livonia, Michigan, towards the end of her career. Rita currently lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Note: This video has images of photos and documents embedded it that help to illustrate different parts of her story. The images are from her personal collection.

2021-06

In Copyright

Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.

Veterans History Project (U.S.)

AdamsR2357V

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