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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAVES (Navy Women's Reserve)
  • Unit of Service: Naval Intelligence/ Cryptographer
  • Location of Service: Washington, DC
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade

View full service history

"Even before Pearl Harbor, the Navy knew they needed more cryptographers." (Audio Interview, 0:50)

In her senior year at Bryn Mawr College, Ann Ellicott was approached in confidence about work for the government. This was before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but Washington was already recruiting bright young women to work as code breakers. Ellicott moved to Washington after graduating, sharing an apartment with three other women. Their work could be tedious, but the results could also be exhilarating, as when their ability to decode a message about Japanese air traffic led to the U.S. shooting down a plane carrying a high-ranking enemy admiral. Life in the capital could also be exhilarating; wearing a uniform, she notes, was an easy way to meet and make friends.

Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection

Names

  • Madeira, Ann Ellicott
  • Madeira, Ann
  • Mary Lou Mellinger
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

State of Birth

  • MD

Home State

  • MD

Headings

  • -  Madeira, Ann Ellicott
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. WAVES (Navy Women's Reserve).

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: WAVES (Navy Women's Reserve)
    • Unit of Service: Naval Intelligence/ Cryptographer
    • Location of Service: Washington, DC
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 03/06/2006)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Self-interview (collected 7/21/2003)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/7/2007)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 12/28/2011)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/7563

Cite as

  • Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection (AFC/2001/001/7563), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

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:

Madeira, Ann Ellicott, Ann Madeira, Mary Lou Mellinger, and National Court Reporters Association. Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07563/.

APA citation style:

Madeira, A. E., Madeira, A., Mary Lou Mellinger & National Court Reporters Association. (1943) Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07563/.

MLA citation style:

Madeira, Ann Ellicott, et al. Ann Ellicott Madeira Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07563/>.