The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Montana military veterans oral history project

Repository: Montana Historical Society

Collection Description (CRHP): See especially the following interviews:

OH 1278: GENEVIEVE S. ADAIR INTERVIEW
1 tape(s), Transcript 29 pages (50 minutes)
Genevieve Squires Adair (b. 1911) discusses her family and growing up in Plainview, Nebraska; relocating to Butte, Montana in 1916; attending the Normal College in Dillon; her enlistment in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) in 1943; officers training; work classifying female recruits at Fort Des Moines WAAC training center; transfer to Fort Meade, MD; black military personnel; pay scale; nursing; life after military service. Interviewed by Rosetta Kamlowsky, July 29, 1992, Helena, MT.

OH 1279: ELDORA MCBRIDE INTERVIEW
1 tape(s), Transcript 26 pages (1 hour)
Eldora McBride (b. 1923) discusses her childhood; attending Northern Montana College, Havre, Montana; medical secretary training; enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1944; military training in Hunter College, New York; racial discrimination; women and promotions in the military; uniforms; living conditions; transfer to Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and later to naval facility at Corvallis, Oregon; war; transferring to Naval Air Base in Seattle, Washington; GI bill educational benefits; and life after military service. Interviewed by Rosetta Kamlowsky, May 28, 1992, Helena, MT.

Collection Description (Extant): From World War I through the Persian Gulf War, Montana has ranked in the highest percentile nationally in the number of its citizens serving as military personnel. These numbers include nearly 5,000 women since 1940 and as well as a substantial number of Montanan tribal members. Montana played a significant role in American military strategies during the Cold War, due to the presence of Malmstrom Air Force Base and its numerous missile silos. This project was started in 1993 to record the experiences of those who served in the military forces and the families and communities who were impacted by the service.

This project consists of 109 interviews recording the experiences of Montana's veterans, with discussions of families, precombat training, service on the home front and overseas, returning to civilian life, career military life, and feelings about military conflicts.

Access Copy Note: Restrictions, if applicable, are indicated within specific oral history descriptions.

Date(s): 1993-2002

Digital Status: No

Extent: 109 interviews

Finding Aid URL: http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv03095

Language: English

Interviewees: Genevieve Squires Adair, Eldora McBride

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

African American veterans
African Americans--Montana
Montana--Race relations
Race discrimination
United States--Armed Forces--African Americans
United States. Army. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

Genres:

Interviews
Sound recordings
Transcripts