DACS

]> Finding Aid for the Virgilia Williams Papers, 1942 - 1945 Processed by: Jennifer Motszko; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jennifer Motszko University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro 2009 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: June, 2009; Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS Finding Aid for the Virgilia Williams Papers, 1942 - 1945 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Descriptive Summary Virgilia "Jill" Williams (1914-2003) of Grandview, Iowa, served in the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) as a pharmacist's mate third class at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and an instructor of pharmacist's mates at the U.S. Naval Training School in the Bronx, New York, during World War II. The collection contains correspondence, military papers, photographs, postcards, publications, and a scrapbook kept by Williams. Virgilia Williams Papers, 1942 - 1945 WV0345 Williams, Virgilia (1914-2003) 0.4 Linear Feet, 1 Box University of North Carolina at Greensboro. University Archives and Manuscripts. English Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

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], Virgilia Williams Papers (WV0345), University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Priscilla Webster-Williams in March 2006.

Processing Information

Processed by Jennifer Motszko, June 2009.

Encoded by Jennifer Motszko, June 2009.

Biographical Note

Virgilia "Jill" Williams was born 16 October 1914, in Grandview, Iowa, the third child of Harold and Leila (Lieberknecht) Williams. She graduated with honors from Mount Vernon High School, and in 1936 received a bachelor of arts in history and education from Cornell College in Mount Vernon. She later earned certifications from Augustana College and Northwestern University and became a teacher of the deaf and hearing impaired.

Williams joined the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in May 1944 and was sent to the U.S. Naval Training School at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York. She attended hospital corps school at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and was then assigned to the hospital at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, where she served as a pharmacist's mate. In August 1945 she was transferred back to the Bronx, where she worked as an instructor of pharmacist's mates.

When Williams was honorably discharged from the Navy in December 1945, she returned to the Midwest where she taught elementary school for over forty years. Upon her death in 2003, she donated her body to the University of Iowa Medical School for scientific research.

Collection Overview

The collection contains correspondence, military papers, photographs, postcards, publications, and a scrapbook kept by Virgilia. The correspondence between Williams and her sisters and also with her WAVES friends documents her time in the military and her experiences being a woman in the U.S. Navy. The photographs contain not only images of Williams, but photographs of fellow WAVES as well. The largest portion of the collection consists of military publications.

Collection Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material then chronologically within each type.

Detailed Description of the Collection 1 Correspondence, 1944-1945, undated Miscellaneous Material Military Papers, 1944-1945 Patches Photographs and Postcards Publications, A Boot's Eye-view, circa 1944 Publications, Camp LeJeune Marines, 1944 Publications, Enlist in the Waves, Serve in the Hospital Corps, 1943 Publications, Guide Right, 1944 Publications, Marching to Victory songbook, circa 1945 Publications, Miscellaneous Publications, Navy Service: A Short History of the United States Naval Training School, Bronx, New York, undated Publications, Navy Training Courses: Pharmacist's Mate 2c, 1942 Publications, The New Testament Publications, Schools and Rates for Navy Women, 1944 Publications, The Story of You in Navy Blue, circa 1945 Publications, Waves Hospital Corps School, 1944 Scrapbook, 1945 WAVES song lyrics, circa 1945 Online Catalog Headings

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

Williams, Virgilia United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve. Women verterans--United States World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.