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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Woman's Army Corps / Chemical Corps
  • Location of Service: Fort McClellan, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; Fort Drum, New York; Fort Worth, Texas; San Diego and Los Alameda, California (Reserve Service)
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/43222

View full service history

"And so, I thought to myself, 'I'm taking this rule down.'" (Audio interview, 30:08)

Graduating from college in 1970, Major Carolyn Dusty Pruitt was drawn to the military because it offered nontraditional job opportunities, and seemed refreshingly free from the sexism she found in other careers. Working in training and recruiting, she helped guide other women to jobs and roles they might not otherwise have considered. Eventually, she left active duty to attend seminary; while in the Individual Ready Reserves, she was profiled in the Los Angeles Times, and the reporter included a comment about her sexuality. Investigated by the Army, she enlisted the help of the ACLU and Lambda Legal, engaging in a multi-year legal battle, and eventually winning a settlement that included reinstatement, a promotion to major, and retirement.

Carolyn Dusty Pruitt Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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[ Interviewer's notes ]

About this Item

Title

  • Carolyn Dusty Pruitt Collection

Names

  • American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
  • Estes, Steve
  • Pruitt, Carolyn Dusty
  • Ballard, Lara

Home State

  • Colorado

Headings

  • -  Pruitt, Carolyn Dusty
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Woman's Army Corps / Chemical Corps
    • Location of Service: Fort McClellan, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; Fort Drum, New York; Fort Worth, Texas; San Diego and Los Alameda, California (Reserve Service)
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1971-1976
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-01-12)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2005-01-12)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/43222

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Steve Estes, Carolyn Dusty Pruitt, and Lara Ballard. Carolyn Dusty Pruitt Collection. 1971. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43222/.

APA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Estes, S., Pruitt, C. D. & Ballard, L. (1971) Carolyn Dusty Pruitt Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43222/.

MLA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, et al. Carolyn Dusty Pruitt Collection. 1971. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43222/>.