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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only all African-American female unit to serve overseas in World War II.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
  • Unit of Service: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
  • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Birmingham, England; Rouen, France; Paris, France; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Technician Five

View full service history

"But when we marched down that Champs-Élysée in our Class A uniforms… to the thunderous applause of those Parisians—it was a sight to behold and I feel it to this day." (25:38)

Technician Fifth Grade Mary Crawford Ragland was inspired by her mother to join the Women’s Army Corps in 1944 when she was seventeen years old. Ragland was assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, who were sent to Europe in February 1945 to process an enormous backlog of undelivered mail. The 6888th exceeded expectations in tackling the backlog that existed in England, and were sent on to Rouen and Paris, France. Ragland survived German bombing raids while in England, passed through French towns that had been reduced to rubble by the fighting, and saw firsthand the horrors of concentration camps. After the war, the 6888th had the opportunity to march victorious down the Champs-Élysée to a rapturous reception from the French people.

About this Item

Title

  • Mary Crawford Ragland Collection

Names

  • Ragland, Mary Crawford
  • Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. (WIMSA)
  • Scott, Kathleen
  • Reborchuk, Margaret

State of Birth

  • GA

Home State

  • DC

Headings

  • -  Ragland, Mary Crawford
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army. Women's Army Corps.

Form

  • VHS

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

    • Service History Note: The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only all African-American female unit to serve overseas in World War II.
    • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
    • Unit of Service: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
    • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Birmingham, England; Rouen, France; Paris, France; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Technician Five
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/11/2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/91851

Cite as

  • Mary Crawford Ragland Collection (AFC/2001/001/91851), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

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

Recording:

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

Photograph:

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

Computer file:

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

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), 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:

Ragland, Mary Crawford, Inc Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Kathleen Scott, and Margaret Reborchuk. Mary Crawford Ragland Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91851/.

APA citation style:

Ragland, M. C., Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, I., Scott, K. & Reborchuk, M. (1945) Mary Crawford Ragland Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91851/.

MLA citation style:

Ragland, Mary Crawford, et al. Mary Crawford Ragland Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91851/>.