Veterans Learn how Dayton Shapes the World!
On Wednesday October 30th, Operation Veteran and Caregiver Support gathered an amazing group of veterans for a carry-in supper and a presentation on the impact on the world of inventions from right here in Dayton. The table was arranged on a Savory to Sweet scale, with the ham on one side and a homemade Chocolate Mayo cake on the other, both prepared by our Director of Development. As our veteran families began arriving, they was lots of lively debate about where to place each dish, from baked mac and cheese to angel cloud fluff. By the time everyone had arrived, we had over 2 dozen delicious dishes, all begging to be tasted. After a blessing, the food line was opened! We ran both sides of the table, to ensure that everyone was able to get through quickly.
After everyone had filled their plates, the volume in the room increased, with laughter and conversation filling the air. Several friends reconnected and recipes were shared. People drifted from table to table, jumping into conversations and sharing jokes. After everyone had eaten their fill, getting seconds (or thirds!), our Director Valerie presented some announcements of upcoming events for the veterans in the crowd. After allowing some veterans to share some events they knew about coming up, she introduced our speaker for the evening, Mr. Jim Charters from the Dayton Historical Society.
Mr. Charters went through a very impressive list of local inventers, innovators, and patriots. From the Wright Brothers to the hidden heroes of WW2 to the Cheez-It, Dayton has certainly made it’s mark on the world! Our veterans were most intrigued by the 600 WAVES who were stationed by the Navy in Oakwood in the 1940s. While they weren’t aware of the full scope of their role in the war, given the sensitivity of their work, but they they spent the war building BOMBE machines that were used to decode the Germans Enigma Machine, technology that was created in Dayton and shaped the outcome of the war. Each member of the Women Approved for Volunteer Emergency Service were unaware of what the woman working on their right or left was working on, to maintain the necessary secrecy of such a vital technology. For the people living in Dayton near the NCR campus in Sugar Creek, the true nature of their work was even more obscured. If asked by Dayton townspeople what they were working on, they were told to say they were learning how to use special accounting machines. Jim shared an anecdote from one of the women at an event years after the war, when their impact on our victory was revealed. “The people of Dayton must’ve thought we were idiots! Who takes 2 years to learn to accounting?”
All of our veterans had a wonderful evening, and we were honored to learn that this speaking engagement was Jim’s last official function. After many years of service with the Dayton Historical Society, we sincerely hope he is enjoying retirement!