MF144 Women in the Military

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  Evelyn McPhee, interviewed by Jaime Ferris

  Evelyn Marie Ames McPhee

  Evelyn McPhee, interviewed by Jaime Ferris, November 28, 2000, Bangor, Maine. McPhee talks about her childhood in Bangor, Maine; her decision to enlist in the Navy; her family’s reaction; her education; her reasons for enlisting in the Waves (Navy) in 1941; serving stateside during World War II; boot camp at Hunters College in New York; her tour of New York; Milledgeville State Teacher’s College in Georgia; transferring to Atlanta, Georgia; her duties as a storekeeper; typing orders; Tyrone Power; Kate Smith; her opinions about segregation and integration; Southern attitudes towards Northern Yankees and African-Americans; the prejudice she endured as a Northerner; her husband’s return from the South Pacific where he served as a medic; settling in Harrisburg, Mississippi; reasons why youth today should enlist. Text: 12 pp. transcript. Time: 23 minutes.

  Listen:

  mfc_na3219_c2322_01

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  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, Part 1

  Frances M. Auclair

  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, November 29, 2001. Auclair talks about running away to join the army after hearing stories about other’s experiences in it; her parents’ experiences in the Army, followed by Auclair joining the Navy; basic training followed by her first military job; being a hospital corpsman for the Navy; inequalities between gender in the 1970s; a typical day in the military as a woman; her time working in a hospital in MA; her opinion on jobs and work policies; community support for military personal; how leisure time was spent in the hospital and how it is spent now; funny memories from in the military; worst part of working for the military; relationship between men and women in the military; treatment of women in the military in the 70s compared to now; having a medical role in the military versus being in combat. Text: 38 pp. transcript. Time: 03:05:18. Photographs: p14516-p14521.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3245_c2355_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3245_c2356_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3245_c2357_01
  Part 4: mfc_na3245_c2357_02

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  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, Part 2

  Frances M. Auclair

  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, November 29, 2001. Auclair talks about running away to join the army after hearing stories about other’s experiences in it; her parents’ experiences in the Army, followed by Auclair joining the Navy; basic training followed by her first military job; being a hospital corpsman for the Navy; inequalities between gender in the 1970s; a typical day in the military as a woman; her time working in a hospital in MA; her opinion on jobs and work policies; community support for military personal; how leisure time was spent in the hospital and how it is spent now; funny memories from in the military; worst part of working for the military; relationship between men and women in the military; treatment of women in the military in the 70s compared to now; having a medical role in the military versus being in combat. Text: 38 pp. transcript. Time: 03:05:18. Photographs: p14516-p14521.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3245_c2355_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3245_c2356_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3245_c2357_01
  Part 4: mfc_na3245_c2357_02

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  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, Part 3

  Frances M. Auclair

  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, November 29, 2001. Auclair talks about running away to join the army after hearing stories about other’s experiences in it; her parents’ experiences in the Army, followed by Auclair joining the Navy; basic training followed by her first military job; being a hospital corpsman for the Navy; inequalities between gender in the 1970s; a typical day in the military as a woman; her time working in a hospital in MA; her opinion on jobs and work policies; community support for military personal; how leisure time was spent in the hospital and how it is spent now; funny memories from in the military; worst part of working for the military; relationship between men and women in the military; treatment of women in the military in the 70s compared to now; having a medical role in the military versus being in combat. Text: 38 pp. transcript. Time: 03:05:18. Photographs: p14516-p14521.

  Listen:

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3245_c2355_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3245_c2356_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3245_c2357_01
  Part 4: mfc_na3245_c2357_02

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  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, Part 4

  Frances M. Auclair

  Colonel Frances Auclair, interviewed by Kim Sealy and Sarah Lawler, November 29, 2001. Auclair talks about running away to join the army after hearing stories about other’s experiences in it; her parents’ experiences in the Army, followed by Auclair joining the Navy; basic training followed by her first military job; being a hospital corpsman for the Navy; inequalities between gender in the 1970s; a typical day in the military as a woman; her time working in a hospital in MA; her opinion on jobs and work policies; community support for military personal; how leisure time was spent in the hospital and how it is spent now; funny memories from in the military; worst part of working for the military; relationship between men and women in the military; treatment of women in the military in the 70s compared to now; having a medical role in the military versus being in combat. Text: 38 pp. transcript. Time: 03:05:18. Photographs: p14516-p14521.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3245_c2355_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3245_c2356_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3245_c2357_01
  Part 4: mfc_na3245_c2357_02

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  Barbara B. Collier, interviewed by Elizabeth LaPierre, Part 1

  Barbara Adalyn Balch Collier

  Barbara B. Collier, interviewed by Elizabeth LaPierre, December 9, 2000, in Collier’s home in Kennebunk, Maine. Collier, 83 at the time of interview, talks about serving as a 2nd class storekeeper in the Naval Air Unit of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve, during World War II; serving at the Opa-locka Naval Air Force Base near Miami, Florida. Text: 24 pp. partial transcript. Time: 01:34:44.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3216_c2319_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3216_c2319_02

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  Barbara B. Collier, interviewed by Elizabeth LaPierre, Part 2

  Barbara Adalyn Balch Collier

  Barbara B. Collier, interviewed by Elizabeth LaPierre, December 9, 2000, in Collier’s home in Kennebunk, Maine. Collier, 83 at the time of interview, talks about serving as a 2nd class storekeeper in the Naval Air Unit of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve, during World War II; serving at the Opa-locka Naval Air Force Base near Miami, Florida. Text: 24 pp. partial transcript. Time: 01:34:44.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3216_c2319_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3216_c2319_02

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  Barbara Beal, interviewed by Laura Wheaton, Part 1

  Barbara Beal

  Barbara Beal, interviewed by Laura Wheaton, November 14, 2001, in her home in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal talks about joining the Army Nurses Corps in 1970; being stationed in Hawaii; being sent to Vietnam where she served until 1972; her rank of Lieutenant. Text: 15 pp. transcript. Time: 01:06:45.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3203_c2304_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3203_c2304_02

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  Barbara Beal, interviewed by Laura Wheaton, Part 2

  Barbara Beal

  Barbara Beal, interviewed by Laura Wheaton, November 14, 2001, in her home in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal talks about joining the Army Nurses Corps in 1970; being stationed in Hawaii; being sent to Vietnam where she served until 1972; her rank of Lieutenant. Text: 15 pp. transcript. Time: 01:06:45.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3203_c2304_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3203_c2304_02

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  Sara Bilodeau, interviewed by Phyllis von Herrlich, Part 1

  Sara Bilodeau

  Sara Bilodeau, interviewed by Phyllis von Herrlich, November 10, 2001. Bilodeau talks about going into service in 1986; marrying a man from Maine; being on active duty in 1992; United States Air Force; “slick sleeve” airman basic; family in military; a building designated for all women in 1986; the 60 other women in basic with her; open bay; guide on; law enforcement; selecting 1 woman a month; becoming a dog handler; training at Lackland Air Force base; 15 weeks of training; being the only female in her group of 6; going to Guam; PRP certification; walking the “red line”; “red dogs”- Belgian Malinois dogs; switching dogs; working in Air Force base in South Caroline; defending during desert storm; marrying in Guam; being in the army 6 years; starting full time in guard in 93; thinking everyone should serve two years at least. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Time: 01:15:19. Photograph: p14563.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3223_c2327_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3223_c2327_02

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  Sara Bilodeau, interviewed by Phyllis von Herrlich, Part 2

  Sara Bilodeau

  Sara Bilodeau, interviewed by Phyllis von Herrlich, November 10, 2001. Bilodeau talks about going into service in 1986; marrying a man from Maine; being on active duty in 1992; United States Air Force; “slick sleeve” airman basic; family in military; a building designated for all women in 1986; the 60 other women in basic with her; open bay; guide on; law enforcement; selecting 1 woman a month; becoming a dog handler; training at Lackland Air Force base; 15 weeks of training; being the only female in her group of 6; going to Guam; PRP certification; walking the “red line”; “red dogs”- Belgian Malinois dogs; switching dogs; working in Air Force base in South Caroline; defending during desert storm; marrying in Guam; being in the army 6 years; starting full time in guard in 93; thinking everyone should serve two years at least. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Time: 01:15:19. Photograph: p14563.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3223_c2327_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3223_c2327_02

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  Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker, Part 1

  Sharon Blair

  Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker, December 4, 2001, at her home in Augusta, Maine. Blair talks about her aspirations of becoming a legal secretary; attending Thomas College; reasons for joining the Marine Corps in 1965; struggles of boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina; treatment of women in boot camp; the developed bond between members of Marine Corps, and those of the military; life at the base at Cherry Point in North Carolina; working at the Cherry Point base while fellow Marines were deployed to Vietnam; segregation; lessons of the Marine Corps, and its impact on her life; being the first women veteran to work in a male dominated section of the VA; information about WIMSA. Text: 33 pp. transcript, 3 pp. journal. Time: 1 hour 13 minutes.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3224_c2328_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3224_c2328_02

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  Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker, Part 2

  Sharon Blair

  Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker, December 4, 2001, at her home in Augusta, Maine. Blair talks about her aspirations of becoming a legal secretary; attending Thomas College; reasons for joining the Marine Corps in 1965; struggles of boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina; treatment of women in boot camp; the developed bond between members of Marine Corps, and those of the military; life at the base at Cherry Point in North Carolina; working at the Cherry Point base while fellow Marines were deployed to Vietnam; segregation; lessons of the Marine Corps, and its impact on her life; being the first women veteran to work in a male dominated section of the VA; information about WIMSA. Text: 33 pp. transcript, 3 pp. journal. Time: 1 hour 13 minutes.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3224_c2328_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3224_c2328_02

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  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, Part 1

  Ursula A. Bobst Pritham

  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, November 5, 2001. Pritham, who was born in New York City in 1955, talks about her background (Swiss); serving in the Army Nurse Core; serving stateside, in Germany, and in Korea; initial training; Vietnam; Gulf War; husband; typical day; toll on family; public support; funny moments; husband’s experiences in the military; his views of the military; travel; male/female relationships in the military; relationships among the women; harassment; her thoughts about the military. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Time: 01:30:05.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3238_c2345_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3238_c2346_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3238_c2346_02

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  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, Part 2

  Ursula A. Bobst Pritham

  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, November 5, 2001. Pritham, who was born in New York City in 1955, talks about her background (Swiss); serving in the Army Nurse Core; serving stateside, in Germany, and in Korea; initial training; Vietnam; Gulf War; husband; typical day; toll on family; public support; funny moments; husband’s experiences in the military; his views of the military; travel; male/female relationships in the military; relationships among the women; harassment; her thoughts about the military. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Time: 01:30:05.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3238_c2345_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3238_c2346_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3238_c2346_02

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  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, Part 3

  Ursula A. Bobst Pritham

  Ursula Pritham, interviewed by Hillary Jackson, November 5, 2001. Pritham, who was born in New York City in 1955, talks about her background (Swiss); serving in the Army Nurse Core; serving stateside, in Germany, and in Korea; initial training; Vietnam; Gulf War; husband; typical day; toll on family; public support; funny moments; husband’s experiences in the military; his views of the military; travel; male/female relationships in the military; relationships among the women; harassment; her thoughts about the military. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Time: 01:30:05.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3238_c2345_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3238_c2346_01
  Part 3: mfc_na3238_c2346_02

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  Ruth O’Neil, interviewed by Jamie A. Ferris, Part 1

  Ruth Wardwell Brown O'Neil

  Ruth O’Neil, interviewed by Jamie A. Ferris, a student in WS201, November 27, 2000, Old Town, Maine. O’Neil talks about joining the Army in 1953; serving as a field medic; completing her basic training at Fort McClellen in Alabama. For the class’s Women and War project. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Time: 01:23:38.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3220_c2323_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3220_c2323_02

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  Ruth O’Neil, interviewed by Jamie A. Ferris, Part 2

  Ruth Wardwell Brown O'Neil

  Ruth O’Neil, interviewed by Jamie A. Ferris, a student in WS201, November 27, 2000, Old Town, Maine. O’Neil talks about joining the Army in 1953; serving as a field medic; completing her basic training at Fort McClellen in Alabama. For the class’s Women and War project. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Time: 01:23:38.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3220_c2323_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3220_c2323_02

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  Helen Burns, interviewed by Lacey Stone and Ellen Geraghty

  Helen Mae Burns

  Helen Mae (Saurman) Burns, interviewed by Lacey Stone and Ellen Geraghty, November 9, 2000, Bangor, Maine. Helen talks about joining the Army Nurses Corps in May of 1945; serving in Camp Lee, VA, Frederick, MD, Phoenixville, PA, San Francisco, CA and Yokohama, Japan. Text: 12 pp. transcript. Time: 00:34:36. Photographs: p14533, p14534.

  Listen:

  mfc_na3202_c2303_01

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  Elizabeth “Beth” Carlson, interviewed by Melissa St. Peter, Part 1

  Elizabeth Carlson

  Elizabeth “Beth” Carlson, interviewed by Melissa St. Peter, November 3, 2001, at Ms. Carlson’s home in Bangor, Maine. Carlson talks about Elizabeth's birthplace; her parents; reasons for joining the military; basic training; her assignment as a weather equipment specialist; her service from 1977 to 1981 in the Air Force; her assignment to funeral detail; marriage and becoming a parent in the service; stationed in Chanute, Illinois; her views on women in combat; her views on the draft; what she did after she left the military; her family's reactions to her enlistment; her opinions of politics and the military. Also, 2-page journal of interview with Carlson. Text: 25 pp. partial transcript, 2 pp. interview journal. Time: 57 minutes. Photographs: p14539, p14540.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3209_c2311_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3209_c2311_02

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  Elizabeth “Beth” Carlson, interviewed by Melissa St. Peter, Part 2

  Elizabeth Carlson

  Elizabeth “Beth” Carlson, interviewed by Melissa St. Peter, November 3, 2001, at Ms. Carlson’s home in Bangor, Maine. Carlson talks about Elizabeth's birthplace; her parents; reasons for joining the military; basic training; her assignment as a weather equipment specialist; her service from 1977 to 1981 in the Air Force; her assignment to funeral detail; marriage and becoming a parent in the service; stationed in Chanute, Illinois; her views on women in combat; her views on the draft; what she did after she left the military; her family's reactions to her enlistment; her opinions of politics and the military. Also, 2-page journal of interview with Carlson. Text: 25 pp. partial transcript, 2 pp. interview journal. Time: 57 minutes. Photographs: p14539, p14540.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3209_c2311_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3209_c2311_02

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  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, Part 1

  Judy-Ann Carroll

  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
  Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

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  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, Part 2

  Judy-Ann Carroll

  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
  Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

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  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, Part 3

  Judy-Ann Carroll

  Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
  Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
  Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

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  Mary Jane Miller, interviewed by Elizabeth Bunten

  Mary Jane Chase Miller

  Mary Jane Miller, interviewed by Elizabeth Bunten, May 9, 2003. Miller, age 80, talks about her family; enlisting in the Navy (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II; her family and friends’ reaction to her enlistment; her basic training experience; the relationship between male officers and female enlisted; her not going overseas during the war; whether she would do it all again; changes in opportunities for women in the military; leaving the Navy after the war; delivering a top secret message; and working under women officers. Text: 8 pp. transcript. Recording: No recording.