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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: Civilian served in the Processing Center, Daily Stat Reports, and Work Distribution Chart.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
  • Location of Service: Asheville, North Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"When I first wrote my father that I was going to join the newly formed Women's Army Corps, he wrote back, 'It will be all scum.' I knew it would not be scum and went anyway. Later on he was proud of my decision." Memoir Addendum, page 1

Molly Gill didn't set out to be a crusader when she enlisted in December 1942 in the Women's Army Corps (WAC). A small-town girl bored with life at a state teacher's college, Gill was a self-professed patriot looking for a little adventure in her life. Though she only served stateside, she encountered her share of enemies: officers and soldiers whose reactions to women serving in the military ranged from skeptical to hostile.

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Enlistment Record ]
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[ Honorable Discharge Papers [10/24/44] ]
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Memoirs: "WAC" ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Memoir Addendum ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Veterans History Project Addendum ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Postcard of the Ridgewood Hotel, Daytona Beach, Florida ]

About this Item

Title

  • Mary Sheldon Gill Collection

Names

  • Gill, Mary Sheldon
  • Gill, Mary

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Gill, Mary Sheldon
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  Army hospital -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army. Women's Army Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: Civilian served in the Processing Center, Daily Stat Reports, and Work Distribution Chart.
    • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
    • Location of Service: Asheville, North Carolina
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1944
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [31 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943 - 1969)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 06/03/2002)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- Postcard (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1476

Cite as

  • Mary Sheldon Gill Collection (AFC/2001/001/1476), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • 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/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:

Gill, Mary Sheldon, and Mary Gill. Mary Sheldon Gill Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01476/.

APA citation style:

Gill, M. S. & Gill, M. (1942) Mary Sheldon Gill Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01476/.

MLA citation style:

Gill, Mary Sheldon, and Mary Gill. Mary Sheldon Gill Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01476/>.