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Helen Louise Cowgill Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0475

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence from Helen to her family, one newspaper clipping, and one letter from her brother William. The letters that Cowgill wrote to her family detail her life in the Army, her service in various hospitals around the country, and the places where she was stationed.

Dates

  • 1945-1948
  • Other: Date acquired: 12/20/2009

Creator

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 Note

Helen Louise "Weezie" Cowgill was born on 1 May 1919, in West Point, New York, the second child of Army Major Allen P. Cowgill and Helen Mary (Schwind) Cowgill.

Cowgill joined the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WAC) on 27 February 1945 and was sent to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, for basic training. Afterward, she was stationed with the 39th WAC Hospital Company at the base hospital at Camp Pickett, Virginia, and then the 96th WAC Hospital Company at the Woodrow Wilson General Hospital in Staunton, Virginia.

Early in 1946, she was stationed at the Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, before being transferred with the WAC Medical Detail to the Regional Hospital in Fort Meade, Maryland. Other locations she served at the 1946 were the 109th WAC Detail to Camp Stoneman, California, and Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. On 16 October 1946, Cowgill arrived at Fort Clayton, Canal Zone, near the Panama Canal in Central America. In 1947, she was promoted to Sergeant and finished her Army career at Fort Clayton in 1948. After her death on 16 March 2008, Cowgill was buried at the West Point Cemetary in New York.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (1 Folder)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

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

Abstract

Helen Louise Cowgill (1919-2008) of Syracuse, New York, was a segeant in the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1945 until 1948.

This collection contains correspondence 1945-1948 by Helen Cowgill, one newspaper clipping, and a letter from Cowgill's brother William.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged chronologically by date of creation.

Source of Acquisition

eBay

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 Julie Garling.

Title
Helen Louise Cowgill Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Julie Garling
Date
08/27/2015
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