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[Portrait of Willie Mae Williams, circa 1944]

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[Portrait of Willie Mae Williams, circa 1944]

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Title	[Portrait of Willie Mae Williams, circa 1944]
Date	1944
Date approximate?	yes
Subject headings	World War, 1939-1945 United States--Armed Forces--African Americans United States. Army--Women
Era	World War II era (1940-1946)
Service branch	Army--WAAC Army--WAC
Item description	Portrait of WAC Willie Mae Williams in off-duty dress, circa 1944.
Veteran's name	Williams, Willie Mae Mattier
Veteran's biography	Willie Mae (Mattier) Williams (b. 1912) of Archer, Florida, served in the WAAC (Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps) and the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) from 1943 to 1945, then worked in a Cleveland, Ohio, post office for 23 years . Willie Mae Williams was born in Archer, Florida, on October 23, 1912, and raised in Tampa. There she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1933. Three years later she enrolled in Edward Waters College, but left due to illness. Williams moved to Washington, D.C., where she performed domestic work until rumors of war motivated her to return to Tampa . Williams enlisted in the WAAC in late 1942, and in April of 1943 was sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, for basic training. In September, they were sent to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, where she completed cooks’ and bakers’ school. Williams was then transferred to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, in December 1943. There she worked as a hospital cook until December 1945, when the camp closed and she was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for discharge . After her service, Williams used the GI Bill to attend photographers’ school in New York, X-ray technician training, and business school. Williams eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she worked in the local post office as a distribution clerk for 23 years, retiring in 1972. She returned to Tampa and began work with the local Girls Clubs. She helped organize a branch of the American Legion in Tampa and has been the commander of two American Legion posts.
Type	image
Original format	photographs
Image type	Formal portrait
Original publisher	[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Contributing institution	Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
Source collection	WV0202 Willie Mae Williams Papers
Rights statement	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional rights information	IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the rights holder noted above for permission to reuse.
Object ID	WV0202.6.001
Digital publisher	The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304 -- http://library.uncg.edu/
OCLC number	900811868

[Portrait of Willie Mae Williams, circa 1944]

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