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Azalia Oliver at time of interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Oakland, California; Des Moines, Iowa
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/74491

View full service history

"We could make something work out of nothing, and if we hadn't been able to do that we would have been very unhappy." (Video interview, 18:21)

Private First Class Azalia Irene Oliver joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps out of frustration at the discriminatory hiring practices she encountered in the civilian world. She was trained as an administrative clerk but also served as a musician with Special Services, as a librarian, and even took on nursing duties at the Fort Riley hospital. She encountered a great deal of adversity in the military -- African American WACs were discriminated against in duty assignments, and frequently treated with disrespect. Oliver reflects in her interview on how even German prisoners of war at Fort Riley were granted better living and working conditions. Nevertheless, Oliver drew positives from her experiences - she took pride in her and her comrades' resilience, and was grateful for the wide variety of people she had the opportunity to meet in the WAC.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Azalia Irene Oliver Collection

Names

  • VA Medical Center
  • Miller, Harold L.
  • Oliver, Azalia Irene
  • Coley, Gwendolyn D.

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Oliver, Azalia Irene
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Oakland, California; Des Moines, Iowa
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2010; 2010)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/74491

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Va Medical Center, Harold L Miller, Azalia Irene Oliver, and Gwendolyn D Coley. Azalia Irene Oliver Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.74491/.

APA citation style:

Va Medical Center, Miller, H. L., Oliver, A. I. & Coley, G. D. (1943) Azalia Irene Oliver Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.74491/.

MLA citation style:

Va Medical Center, et al. Azalia Irene Oliver Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.74491/>.