]> Finding Aid for the Mary Ellen West Papers, 1943-1948, 1999 Processed by: Linda Jacobson; machine-readable finding aid created by: Cat S. McDowell University Archives & ManuscriptsThe University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC, USA
2008 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: November 2008. Description is in English. Finding aid was prepared using DACS. Finding Aid for the Mary Ellen West Papers, 1943-1948, 1999 University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro &hdrnguscua; Descriptive Summary The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. University Archives & Manuscripts. West, Mary Ellen Mary Ellen West Papers, 1943-1948, 1999 WV0059 Material in English. 7 boxes For current information on the location of these materials, please consult University Archives & Manuscripts. Mary Ellen West (b. 1922) of Dover, North Carolina, served in the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from 1943 to 1946. The Mary Ellen West Papers primarily date from 1943 to 1948 and contain papers, printed material, photographs, textiles, artifacts, and an oral history interview which document West's military service. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

 Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Mary Ellen West Papers (WV0059), Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

 Acquisitions Information

Gift of Mary Ellen West in October 1998.

 Processing Information

Processed by Linda Jacobson, December 1999

Encoded by Cat S. McDowell, November 2008 and Beth Ann Koelsch, July 2010

 Biographical or Historical Note

Mary Ellen West was born in Dover, North Carolina. She attended Dover High School and graduated in 1939. She was enrolled at Louisburg Junior College for two years before transferring to the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. West graduated in 1943 with a degree in business science and secretarial administration and received her teaching certificate.

West enlisted in the WAVES in 1943 and was sent to Hunter College, New York, for basic training. She was then sent to Indiana University for storekeeper school, where she learned typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping. West was assigned to Whiting Field, Pensacola, Florida, and worked opening an office at a housing project. In 1944 she was sent to Officer’s Candidate School at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She was then assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics in the Publication Division in Washington, D.C., where she worked in publications and procuring. West was discharged in 1946.

After the war West worked temporarily for the Imperial Tobacco Company. She went on to work for a general contractor as a bookkeeper and secretary. In 1968 she began work at the Electrical Equipment Company in Greensboro, North Carolina. West retired from the company in 1985.

 Collection Overview

The Mary Ellen West Papers primarily contain printed materials collected by West while serving in WAVES in WWII. This includes a variety of base newsletters, millitary brochures and booklets, and newspapers from VJ Day. The collection also contains several WAVES uniforms and accessories, in addition to some correspondence, photographs, and personal materials from West's time in the service.

Collection Arrangement

The music has been divided by into the following series: Oral History Papers, Printed Material, and Photographs Textiles and Artifacts

Detailed Description of the Collection Series 1: Oral History, 30 March 1999

West discusses her immediate family, recalling her family’s farming past and her mother and sister’s education; attending the 1939 World Fair in New York; and summers spent earning money as a typist. She also describes her time at the Woman’s College. Topics include Spencer and Mary Foust dormitories; the park; her professors; the difficulties of being a transfer student; and hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

West recalls her decision to become a WAVE in 1943 and discusses basic training at Hunter College, including the train ride to New York, drills, being quartered in apartments, and the uniform fitting. She also mentions her time at Whiting Field in Florida and living in the barracks there. Topics related to Officer Candidate School in Northampton, Massachusetts, include the trip there, her studies, the dorms, social life, and being a veteran in a school of new recruits. War-related topics conclude with discussion of West’s time stationed in Washington, D.C, her living quarters there, attending cocktail parties and VE and VJ Day celebrations.

Post-war discussion focuses on West’s employment with a contracting company. Broader discussion topics include the treatment of women in the service, the Roosevelt family, and the effect her military service had on her life.

 1 Oral History Interview Transcript Series 2: Papers, Printed Material, and Photographs, bulk 1943-1946 1 Correspondence, 1944-1945 Military Papers, 1943-1948, n.d. All Hands, March 1946 Back to Civvies, ca. 1945-1946 Brochures, programs for plays, tourist sites, etc., 1941-1946, n.d. Carrier War, 1945 Financial booklets, 1943, 1945, 1948, n.d. Flying, October 1944 Flyleaf, 1945 Front and Center (uniform grooming booklet), ca. 1941-1945 2 Graduation booklets, 1943 Guide Right: A Handbook for WAVES and SPARS, 1944 The Havelock, 1944-1945 How to Serve Your Country in the WAVES or SPARS, 1942 The Mightiest Army, 1945 Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School letter book, 1943 Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School songbook, ca. 1941-1945 New Testament, 1943 Programs, 1943-1945 Summary of Ranks and Rates of the U.S. Navy, 1943 Survival on Land and Sea, 1944 U.S. Naval Training School (Storekeeper) booklet, 1944 The Voice of the Reserve, 1946 WAVES Newsletter, 1944 WAVES songs, ca. 1940s Miscellaneous, 1943-1946, n.d. Scrapbook pages, ca. 1943-1946 Photographs, 1944-1945 Oversize 1 NEWSLETTERS Conning Tower, newsletter of the U.S. Naval Training School (WR), The Bronx, New York, August - September 1943 Whiting Tower, newsletter of the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Whiting Field, Florida, January 1944 - September 1945 The Key, newsletter of the Naval Training School at Indiana University, 28 September - 23 November 1943 Sounding Off, newsletter of the Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School and Naval Training School at Northampton, Massachusetts, July - September 1944 Gosport, newsletter of the Naval Air Training Bases, Pensacola, Florida, 6 October 1944 - 3 November 1944 The Ford Islander, Pearl Harbor NAS newsletter, 7 April 1945(pages 1 and 2 missing) NEWSPAPERS(all have sections missing) Indiana Daily Student, 9 November 1943 News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), 15 August 1945 News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), 8 September 1945 New York Times, 2 September 1945 Washington Post, 7 August 1945 Washington Post, 15 August 1945 Washington Post, 21 October 1945, History of World War II Section Miscellaneous Clippings, ca. 1944 Drawing Field Liaison, ca. 1943-1945 Textiles and Artifacts, bulk 1943-1946 1 Grey and White Seersucker Dress and Jacket White Summer Uniform (Jacket and Skirt) White Shirts (2 shirts) Black Silk Tie Seersucker Hat Seersucker Overseas Cap Insignia Patches for Uniforms 2 Navy Summer/Fall Skirt Navy Skirt Navy Trousers Navy Uniform Jacket Dark Blue Shirt Black Silk Tie Rain Protector for Hat 3 Navy Wool Coat Hat with White Hat Cover Havelock Rain Hat for Enlisted Women 4 Sewing Kit Pocketbook Buttons Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve--Uniforms Women veterans--United States World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.