Phyllis Peirce World War II Collection
Scope and Contents
The Phyllis Peirce Worled War II collection documents the military career of Phyllis Peirce who served in World War II in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) from 1942 to 1945. Within the collection are handwritten letters Phyllis wrote to her family about her experiences, a line a day diary that covers 1943 and some of 1944, commemorative stamps, her discharge papers, and an obituary. There are loose photographs depicting family members and military friends and two scrapbooks with photographs Phyllis took or were sent to her depicting her military experience in Florida, Oklahoma, and in the Southwest Pacific. There is also a transcript of an oral history conducted by the National Security Administration (NSA) in 1983 with Peirce and two other WAC vets.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1920s-2000
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Ohio University Libraries.
Conditions Governing Use
Ohio University retains all property rights to the collection. Ohio University retains all copyrights unless retained by other correspondents, or other artists.
Biographical Note
Phyllis Peirce (1917-1999) was born to Florence D. Fletcher and Joseph M. Peirce on April 21, 1917 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1936. She was a WWII vet who served as a cryptanalysis technician with the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) working in the Pacific Theater of Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. She began her army career in November 1942 by joining the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). She trained to be a truck driver in Florida, then was assigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then was accepted for overseas assignment and went to the Pentagon to study key punch operating. She left for the Pacific in late September 1944 and returned to the states in the summer of 1945. After the war she returned to Fitchburg and worked in the public school system.
Extent
1 Cubic Feet (2 legal manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Phyllis Peirce World War II Collection documents Peirce’s military career as a WAC in World War II who trained in Florida and Oklahoma and then served in the Pacific Theater. Contents include scrapbooks, photographs, handwritten letters, discharge papers, newspaper clippings, programs and ephemera, a line a day diary, and an oral history transcript.
Custodial History
The Ohio University Archives received the collection from Sigrid Kuriger in 2022.
Description Note
Original, legacy collection inventories may contain inaccuracies or be incomplete. Collection descriptions may change or be updated as they are verified. Please contact Mahn Center staff if you note any errors or discrepancies.
- Author
- Greta Suiter
- Date
- 2022 July
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections Repository