Happy 100th Irma!!
Ima Black began her service with the Navy with the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service when it was established in 1942.
During her time in service, she met her future husband, Delbert D. Black at a basketball game.
Black was a Master Chief Gunner for the Navy and went on to serve for 30 years, rising to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.
In 2015, Irma got to begin the fabrication process of the USS Delbert D. Black, a guided-missile destroyer named after her husband. In 2020, the ship was officially commissioned in Port Canaveral.
On her 100th birthday, an executive officer of the USS Delbert D. Black asked what the Navy could do for her.
Her first request was to take a submarine ride, which unfortunately is not for civilians. Later she told him that she would love to take a ride in a Navy Helicopter.
Her request came true. Ima got to climb on board a Navy helicopter to take a ride from the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville on July 20th.