Video: Oldest Massachusetts Veteran Honored
 

Video: Oldest Massachusetts Veteran Honored<O:p</O:p

Irene Davey, 104, is recognized at a ceremony at her South Attleboro home. <O:p</O:p
· By Jonathan Friedman <O:p</O:p
The weather was rainy and miserable Wednesday morning, but it was all sunshine and happiness below a tent behind the home of South Attleboro resident Irene Davey. The National Guard as well as local, state, national and veterans officials recognized the 104-year-old woman for her service.
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Davey, who is the oldest veteran in Massachusetts, received an honorary promotion to sergeant major in the U.S. Army. She also collected several gifts at the event organized by state Rep. George Ross, including a key to the city from Mayor Kevin Dumas.
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"In all my lifetime, the only thing I wanted to do was make my family proud of me," Davey said. "Today ... I think I've made it."
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Davey joined the U.S. Army in March 1943 on the same day as her husband Harold. She served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Devens until 1945.<O:p</O:p

Go here (posted below) to read more about Davey's story.<O:p</O:p
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Bay State's Oldest Woman Vet Shares War Stories <O:p</O:p

· Happy Veterans Day, Irene! November 7, 2010
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· By Melissa Riley
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Photos (3) <O:p></O:p>

It will be a very happy Veteran's Day for Attleboro resident, Irene Martin Davey.<O:p</O:p

Davey is Massachusetts' oldest woman veteran at 102. She is a self-described "flag waver" who joined the U.S. Army in March of 1943 and served until November 1945. She was part of a force of about 351,000 women who served in World War II and has become one of 21.9 million veterans in the United States today.
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"'Release a man to help your man' was a common motto of the time," Davey said from her Brown Street home. "What it meant was if a woman could take a man's job, that man was released to join the armed forces. That made the armed forces stronger, helping your man who was in the armed forces be that much safer."
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Davey was part of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Devens. She was assigned to motor transport where she did everything that the men did. She trained other women in driving rugged trucks and taking care of vehicle maintenance. She made deliveries and took the sick and injured soldiers home in ambulances.
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"A few of the ladies went overseas but if you had a husband who was stationed here and my husband was stationed in North Carolina, I could choose to stay in the states, which I did," Davey said.
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The job gave Davey a chance to travel from Fort Devens to Camp Campbell, TN, then to Cincinnati and finally Dayton where she worked in recruitment and earned the rank of staff sergeant.
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"I was proud," she recalls. "I could not help but be proud of what I had done."
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After her service in World War II, Davey stayed involved becoming a warden at the election polls in Attleboro.
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Of all the presidents, Davey loved John F. Kennedy the best. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president during that time and Davey said he was a beacon of strength for all Americans. <O:p></O:p>
"He had polio which proves you don't have to be perfect to make a difference in this world," she said.
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Veteran's Day is a special time for Davey who is touched when she sees WW II veterans still marching in the annual parades.
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"My heart goes out to them," she says. "There's nothing I like hearing more than someone thanking a veteran for their service."

Davey remembers the last day of the war with a huge grin. "I was alone walking down the street in Dayton," she said. "A young soldier came running up to me, gave me a great big kiss. He said the war was over and then laughed and said that he had never in his life kissed a sergeant before!"
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"He ran off shouting that the war was over, while someone else was shooting a rifle in the air in celebration," she said. "I continued walking to the first church I came upon, went in and said, 'It's over! It's over! Thank God, it's over!'"
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Davey is an exceptionally patriotic lady who stays involved with local, state and even national politics. She says, "Our country needs a lot of fixing. There's a great split these days between the Democrats and the Republicans. They forget that we are all Americans. They have to learn that America comes first!"
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Davey attributes her longevity, she will be 103 years of age in January, to having common sense, a good sense of humor and staying active. "I just gave up my driver's license a few years ago when I was ninety-nine (because) I didn't want to be paying the insurance anymore."
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Davey said she lives day-to-day never thinking about dying and stays active by cleaning, cooking and going out in the yard.
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"The day you sit down . . .well, that's when you end up doing nothing."
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While serving in the army, Davey wrote several poems and set them to music. She still carries a tune as she sings her poem about her job with the Motor Corps:
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We can drive them through the ditches<O:p</O:p
We can drive them o'er the plains<O:p</O:p
We can drive them through the valleys<O:p</O:p
And o'er the rough terrain.<O:p</O:p
We will drive them in the sunshine<O:p</O:p
And through the pounding rain<O:p</O:p
We of the Motor Corps.<O:p</O:p
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We will always keep them rolling<O:p</O:p
You can bet we'll keep them rolling<O:p</O:p
We will always keep them rolling
We of the Motor Corps.<O:p</O:p
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We can drive the mighty trucks<O:p</O:p
And we can drive the little jeep<O:p</O:p
Drive them through all sorts of peril<O:p</O:p
And you'll never hear a peep<O:p</O:p
Drive them through the desert sand<O:p</O:p
While we're lending you a hand<O:p</O:p
We of the Motor Corps.<O:p</O:p
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We can drive the car of mercy<O:p</O:p
For the wounded and the sick<O:p</O:p
Drive the staff car too<O:p</O:p
And get you there double quick<O:p</O:p
We can drive the weapons carrier<O:p</O:p
For the arms that your boys need<O:p</O:p
We of the Motor Corps.<O:p</O:p
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Do not think that we are tough, boys<O:p</O:p
Cause we look a little rough<O:p</O:p
We can prove that we are ladies<O:p</O:p
At the same time do our stuff<O:p</O:p
We will drive them through strange lands<O:p</O:p
Just to offer you a hand<O:p</O:p
We of the Motor Corps.<O:p</O:p

http://attleboro.patch.com/articles/...es-war-stories<O:p></O:p>

Well done, Ms Davey! Salute