Found 3 collections related to Women soldiers -- United States

Dorothee Gore was a lesbian who lived in New York City in the 1930s and became a member of the Women s Army Corp (WAC) during World War II. The collection includes personal letters and notes, scrapbooks, photographs, and memorabilia documenting her personal life and her life in the women's military in World War II. Many of the women she corresponded with during World War II were also in the military, and their letters detail camp life and women's general reactions to the service. Some letters also subtly refer to the investigation of lesbians in the military that took place at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia in 1944. Her time in the military is also documented through photographs, an autograph book, her patches, and her discharge papers. Her papers also include documentation of her personal interest in Hollywood stars such as Greta Garbo, travel ephemera, religious ephemera, cocktail napkins, newspaper clippings, and animal stories. less

Harriet Pickens joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1944 as a member of the Women's Reserves in the U.S. Naval Reserve. She was one of two African American women to be sworn in as an officer, and she was commissioned as a lieutenant following her training, the first to receive this high rank. The Harriet Pickens papers primarily contain documentation regarding her military service as a lieutenant in the WAVES (1944-1946) and her public service work. less

Lawrence D. Reddick served as curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, 1939-1948. An African-American historian, Reddick was interested in the role of the black soldier in U.S. wars and published on this topic. Concerned that the role of black soldiers during World War II would not be portrayed accurately by the government, the mainstream or black press, Reddick initiated a campaign to document the experiences of blacks in the military using their first hand accounts. He placed an ad in newspapers served by the Associated Negro Press, requesting that letters written by black soldiers to their families be sent to the Schomburg Collection. In addition, he conducted interviews with black servicemen and women from 1944 to 1946, and collected memorabilia and other World War II related items. The Lawrence D. Reddick World War II Project Collection, 1943-1953 (bulk 1943-1945) consists of correspondence with black servicemen and women, summaries of interviews Reddick conducted, as well as research files maintained by him. The series Letters and Interviews, 1943-1945 consists of more than a hundred letters that black servicemen and officers, and a few black servicewomen, wrote principally to their families and friends relating the individuals' experiences. The servicemen were stationed in all of the theaters of operation, and some were stateside at various training camps throughout the United States. Of note is a letter Dwight Eisenhower wrote in 1947 in response to a letter from Reddick, stating his opposition to discrimination of American soldiers based upon color or race. Also included in the collection are summaries of interviews Reddick conducted between 1944 and 1946 in Harlem with former servicemen and officers. The interviewees were forthright in their discussions about their experiences with both black and white soldiers and officers, and the people in the countries where they served. There are also summaries of interviews with several black servicewomen and one white serviceman, as well as civilians. Individuals interviewed include William E. Artis (artist), Warren Cuney (writer), Benjamin O. Davis (Air Force General), Ewart Guinier (who later headed the first African-American Studies Department at Harvard University), William H. Hastie (civil rights attorney), Roi Ottley (author and journalist) Leigh Whipper (actor). less