Oral History Archive
National Society of The Colonial Dames of America

Long before oral history programs began to dot the national landscape at colleges, universities, archives, and historical centers, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) embarked on a mission to collect the memories of Dames who had served in defense of our nation.  As 1st Lt Willye (White) Brockway, a World War II Woman Marine, noted in her 1986 interview, “It was a really proud feeling to get a job and be able to say that I was a veteran.  Actually, we were all veterans.  We all gave a part of our lives to living a life that was quite different from what we would have lived.”

The NSCDA had the collective vision and foresight in 1985 to begin documenting their own members’ history of service in and with the US Armed Forces.  The initiative began when the Patriotic Service Committee of the Ohio Society of the NSCDA gathered to honor the service of women veterans.  Mrs. Vaughen E. Montgomery, Ohio Society Patriotic Service Chairman and National Consultant to the Military, inspired members across a strong network of 44 state NSCDA chapters, to document, tape, and transcribe the memories, experiences, and history of their members in all war efforts.

In so doing, they recorded the memories of a World War I battlefield Army nurse and a World War I Yeoman (F); and they captured the voice of retired Navy CAPT Mildred (McAfee) Horton, first director of the Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES). And, they preserved the history of some 70 NSCDA members who served in America’s defense. Not only did they gather stories of their own individual wartime contributions, but they also preserved important facets of early 20th century American history.  In the recorded interviews, members recalled historic events like the 1918 influenza epidemic, woman suffrage, technological advances, and economic survival during the Great Depression, as well as more vivid memories like precisely where they were the day the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor.  Finally, in the proud spirit and legacy of the NSCDA, these recordings testify to the Dames’ longstanding bonds of shared heritage, patriotic service and citizenship.  In 1988, WWII Navy LTJG Louise (Woodruff) Scott pointed out, “World War II was not the first war which required women to replace men to some extent on the home front.  We were at less risk of danger and at a more technologically advanced level, than, for example, one of my Revolutionary War grandmothers who went out and gathered in the cattle under gunfire.”

In Oct. of 1994, retired Air Force Brig Gen Wilma L. Vaught, president of the Women’s Memorial Foundation, formally accepted this remarkable collection on behalf of the Foundation.  Over the years, the tapes and transcripts were processed, conserved and made available to researchers and scholars.  Last year, this exceptional treasure of analog cassettes underwent the process of digital renovation and restoration.  In addition to audio digitization, the contents of each individual file–including photographs, military documents, and newspaper clippings–were also scanned and placed on compact discs.  This initiative was made possible through the generosity of WWII Public Health Service LT Josephine (Clapp) Osbun.

	LTJG Evelyn Louise (Williams) Bailey. Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), World War II.

In 1986, LTJG Evelyn Louise (Williams) Bailey, a WWII WAVE, noted, “Keeping these records is the greatest thing. … The history is so marvelous. … One hundred years from now, when people are studying the military history of the US to have records of the women who did participate would be very interesting. … To be among the first ones was an exciting thing.” 

Little did Bailey know, it would not take one hundred years for this material to be useful. Her story and those of her Dame sisters have become part of the Memorial Foundation’s growing oral history collection; moreover, these stories have contributed to the greater body of knowledge about military women’s history.
                                                                                                                                   

The following excerpts are from the NSCDA Oral History Collection housed at the Women’s Memorial Foundation:

	LTJG Louise D. (Woodruff) Scott, Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), 1944-46.

“The WAVES were only an auxiliary to the Navy.  The commanding officer of my hospital was a man and all the doctors were men.  Civilian hospitals were similarly managed at the time.  We were only a small stepping-stone toward equal employment opportunities for women.  Many of our daughters have gained recognition at higher levels of responsibility and [have] done so during peacetime.  I hope future generations can do as well.”

Interview: Louise D. (Woodruff) Scott, interviewed by Maurice Feld, 30 September 1988, tape and transcript deposited at the Women’s Memorial Foundation, Arlington, VA.                                          
                                                                                                                                   

	Anne Irwin (Ferguson) Boy, Aug. 2, 1994. Boy worked for the ARC Clubmobile in the ETO from 1943-45.

“Though we had a good time, there were times [of] tearing.  It was hard, we would see things we did not want to see.  German bodies stacked up like cordwood, dead cows in the field with their feet in the air and bloating.  And, then when we were in France, we had a terrible experience.  Some little children found a grenade in the hedgerows and blew themselves apart and we were right there and that was hard to take.  On a more positive note,  I can remember meeting Irving Berlin and hearing Bob Hope and Bing Crosby entertaining. … Just before the Army crossed the Rhine, we were near Cologne, Germany, and went to a concert with Lily Pons singing and we could hear the accompaniment of the shells around us.  She kept right on singing.”

Interview: Anne Irwin (Ferguson) Boy, interviewed by Evelyn Akin, 2 August 1994, tape and transcript deposited at the Women’s Memorial Foundation, Arlington, VA.

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