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Marjorie S. Thompson Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0337

Content Description

The collection includes an oral history transcript completed by the Texas Woman's University Library, 4 June 1994; a photograph of Thompson during her WASP service, circa 1944.

Dates

  • 1944, 1994

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Marjorie Sanford Thompson (1915-2008) of Peoria, Illinois, served as a pilot in the WASPs during WWII. Marjorie Sanford Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois, on 18 February 1915. She attended Peoria High School and graduated from Bradley University in 1937. Thompson learned to fly through the Civilian Pilot Training Program while teaching biology and aeronautics at Woodruff High School in Peoria.

Thompson joined the WASPs in 1943. She was stationed at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, for basic and advanced flight training. She was transferred briefly to Love Field in Dallas before being sent to Dodge City, Kansas, where she was part of the first group of women to be trained and rated for B-26 bombers. In January 1944, Thompson was sent to Harlingen, Texas, where she towed aerial targets for gunners. During her time there she met and married her husband in August 1944.

Thompson was discharged when the WASPs disbanded in December 1944. Following her discharge, she took a job analyzing aircraft accidents in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She and her husband moved to Houston in 1950 where she remained active in the Junior League and other volunteer activities. Thompson died in May 2008.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (2 folders )

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Condition Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Marjorie S. Thompson Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2023 February
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246