]> Finding Aid for the Betty Magnusson Letters, 1943-1945 Processed by: Beth Carmichael; machine-readable finding aid created by: Beth Carmichael University Archives & ManuscriptsThe University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC, USA
2007 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: February 2006. Description is in English. Finding aid was prepared using DACS. Finding Aid for the Betty Magnusson Letters, 1943-1945 University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro &hdrnguscua; Descriptive Summary The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. University Archives & Manuscripts. Magnusson, Betty Betty Magnusson Letters, 1943-1945 WV0341 Material in English. 24 items For current information on the location of these materials, please consult University Archives & Manuscripts. Betty Magnusson of Duluth, Minnesota, served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Letters from Magnusson to a friend at home in Duluth, Minnesota, chiefly document Magnusson's service with the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in Iowa, Virginia, and France. Frequent topics include WAC uniforms; WAC facilities and buildings; social activities and entertainment, including dances, movies, holiday parties, and snowball fights; and dating and weddings in the military. Letters from Newport News detail Magnusson's perspective on the South and southerners and the reaction of male soldiers and civilians to the WACs. Detailed letters from Paris document Magnusson's overall impressions of the city and specific sights; vivid descriptions of VE Day parades and celebrations; and her conflicting desires to remain in the service and to return to civilian life. 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], Betty Magnusson Letters (WV0341), Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

 Acquisitions Information

Purchased in 2006.

 Processing Information

Processed by Beth Carmichael, February 2006

Encoded by Beth Carmichael, February 2006

 Biographical Note

Betty Magnusson of Duluth, Minnesota, served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. She attended basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, in 1943 and was then stationed at Newport News, Virginia, from April 1943 to at least January 1944. Magnusson served in Paris, France, from September 1944 to June 1945 as secretary to a general with the 29th Traffic Regulating Group.

 Collection Overview

Letters from Magnusson to a friend at home in Duluth, Minnesota, chiefly document Magnusson's service with the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in Iowa, Virginia, and France. Frequent topics include WAC uniforms; WAC facilities and buildings; social activities and entertainment, including dances, movies, holiday parties, and snowball fights; and dating and weddings in the military. Letters from Newport News detail Magnusson's perspective on the South and southerners and the reaction of male soldiers and civilians to the WACs. Detailed letters from Paris document Magnusson's overall impressions of the city and specific sights; vivid descriptions of VE Day parades and celebrations; and her conflicting desires to remain in the service and to return to civilian life.

Collection Arrangement

Collection is arranged chronologically.

 Detailed Description of the Collection Letters, 1943-1945

Letters from Magnusson to a friend at home in Duluth, Minnesota, chiefly document Magnusson's service with the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in Iowa, Virginia, and France. Letters from Fort Des Moines describe WAC uniforms; drills, including a gas mask drill; WAC facilities and buildings; and social activities at the fort and in Des Moines. Letters from Newport News detail Magnusson's perspective on the South and southerners; the reaction of male soldiers and civilians to the WACs; entertainment, including dances, movies, holiday parties, and snowball fights; and dating and weddings in the military.

Detailed letters from Paris, document Magnusson's overall impressions of the city and specific sights; Red Cross and army facilities; leisure activities, including Christmas celebrations, Parisian nightclubs, military weddings, music, and service clubs; overseas uniforms and patches; and war news. Magnusson also provides vivid descriptions of VE Day parades and celebrations and explains her conflicting desires to remain in the service and to return to civilian life.

Also included is a 1943 letter from a male soldier stationed at Camp Peary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

 1 1943: March-April 2 1943: August-December 3 1944 4 1945: January-June Online Catalog Headings

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

Basic training (Military education) Iowa--Description and travel--20th century. Leisure. Magnusson, Betty. Minnesota. Paris (France)--Description and travel--20th century. Sectionalism (United States). Soldiers--Minnesota--Correspondence. Southern States. United States. Army--Military life. United States. Army. Women's Army Corps--History. V-E Day, 1945 Virginia--Description and travel--20th century. Women veterans--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.