Women Veterans General Textiles and Artifacts Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: WV 0001

Staff Only

Women Veterans General Textile Collection, Digital Materials

Scope and Contents

The Women Veterans Historical Collection was created in 1997 to document the female experience in the armed forces. Textiles and artifacts purchased by University Archives and Manuscripts on a continuing basis supplement and complement the individual veterans collections in the Women Veterans Historical Collection. This collection includes full uniforms, individual uniform items, hats, shoes, and other artifacts from the Women's Army Corps, Women's Air Force, WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), Coast Guard Women's Reserve, Women Marines, Army Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, American Red Cross, Cadet Nurse Corps, and other regular military branches from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Dates

circa 1940-1999

Creator

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (Corporate Entity)

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

The special collections and university archives division within the library was initially created in 1972. Upon its founding, the collection consisted primarily of the papers of the three first presidents/chancellors of the school. Today, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives has ten primary curatorial areas: rare books; cello music; manuscripts; children's literature collections; university archives; women's literature collections; photographs, prints, and poster collections; book art and book bindings; artifacts and textiles collections; and the women veterans historical project.

Extent

70.50 Linear Feet (26 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

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

Additional Description

Abstract

Textiles and artifacts purchased by University Archives and Manuscripts on a continuing basis supplement and complement the individual veterans collections in the Women Veterans Historical Project. This collection includes full uniforms, individual uniform items, hats, shoes, and other artifacts from the Women's Army Corps, Women's Air force, WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service-Navy), Coast Guard SPARS, Women Marines, Army Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, American Red Cross, Cadet Nurse Corps, and other regular military and service branches.

Arrangement Note

Collection is organized into the following series: Textiles, Footwear, and Artifacts.

Method of Acquisition

Donated by veterans and alumni of the Woman's College (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1992 and transferred to University Archives by the Alumni Association in 1997. Additional materials donated by veterans or purchased by University Archives beginning in 1998 and continuing through the present time.

Collection Historical Note

The Women Veterans Historical Project documents the female experience in the United States armed forces through letters, papers, photographs, published materials, uniforms, medals and oral histories.

In 1992, during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) several veterans sent uniforms and other memorabilia to the Alumni Association. Those items were transferred to the University Archives in 1997 and form the nucleus of the Women Veterans Historical Project. Since that time, items have been donated from other WAVES, United States Navy veterans, WAACs (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps), WACS (Women's Army Corps), and United States Army veterans, SPARS (Coast Guard Women's Reserve, WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), Women's Air Force and Army Air Force veterans, Women Marines, Army nurses, Navy nurses, Army dietitians and physical therapists, members of the American Red Cross, and civilians in service. Additional textiles and artifacts have been purchased by University Archives to supplement those donated by individual veterans. The bulk of the collection focuses on World War II, but it also contains materials from more recent veterans.

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.