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Martha Putney in uniform

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps)
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/12523

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"Right in front of Post Headquarters, segregation began for me in the Army." (Video interview, 20:58)

By the time she entered the Women's Army Corps, Martha Putney already had an extensive resume: she had graduated from Howard University on a full scholarship, and earned a Master's degree in Modern European History. As she relates in her oral history interview, joining the Army was pragmatic, rather than political. While entering the military provided new opportunities, it also brought her face-to-face with more narrow points of view, as she confronted the realities of serving under segregation. As a female African American officer, she endured disrespect from her white colleagues, male and female, as well as harassment from civilians she encountered while traveling and at various duty stations. It was, as she relates, "a very lonely life." After the war, using the GI Bill, she earned a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Martha Putney Collection

Names

  • Scott, Kathleen M.
  • Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. (WIMSA)
  • Putney, Martha
  • Reborchuk, Margaret

Home State

  • Washington (D.C.)

Headings

  • -  Putney, Martha
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps).

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

    • Branch of Service: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps)
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2008-10-24; 2008-10-24)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-04-01)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/12523

Cite as

  • Martha Putney Collection (AFC/2001/001/12523), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

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:

Scott, Kathleen M, Inc Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Martha Putney, and Margaret Reborchuk. Martha Putney Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12523/.

APA citation style:

Scott, K. M., Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, I., Putney, M. & Reborchuk, M. (1943) Martha Putney Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12523/.

MLA citation style:

Scott, Kathleen M, et al. Martha Putney Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12523/>.