Margaret Marian Smith Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Only a part of this collection has been digitized.
Where can I find more information?: https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/1109
What's in the full collection?: February 1999 oral history transcript; a spruce green enlisted bell crown hat with white cord and gold enlisted USMC hat device; and a circa 1945 summer enlisted spruce green and white seersucker short sleeve uniform jacket and skirt.
Full biography: Margaret Marion Smith (1925-2018) of Anderson, South Carolina, worked in the War Department from 1943 to 1945, and then served as an aide to General Alexander Archer Vandegriftt, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, as a member of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve from 1945 to 1946. Smith later worked for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) from 1963 to 1994 as an assistant to the chancellor. Margaret Marian Smith was born in Anderson, South Carolina, in 1925. She graduated from Lebanon High School in 1941 and entered Anderson College, where she received an associate's degree in business. Following completion of the business program, she took the Civil Service Exam and was assigned to the Department of Civilian Retirement Records of the War Department in Washington, D.C., in June 1943. She was later transferred to the Decorations and Awards Branch of the War Department, where she worked for General Emmett Adams in the Pentagon. Smith enlisted in the Marines Corps Women's Reserve on 13 February 1945. She attended boot camp at Camp Lejuene in North Carolina, and then was sent back to Washington D.C., where she became aide to General Alexander Archer Vandegriftt, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. On 19 June 1946, Smith was discharged from the Marine Corps, but continued in her same position as a civilian through 1947. She returned to Anderson and worked as and aide to the superintendent of La France Industries textile plant until after her marriage to Mays Smith. The Smiths lived in several North Carolina cities before settling permanently in Greensboro, where Margaret Smith began work at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 1963. She was hired as a part-time aide to Chancellor Otis Singletary, but became a full-time employee in 1965. She continued to serve in the chancellor's office when Singletary's successor, James Ferguson, was appointed in 1967. Smith moved to Wallace, North Carolina, in 1970, but returned to work for Ferguson in 1972. She then served as an administrative assistant in the office of the dean of the School of Business. Following the appointment of Chancellor William Moran in 1979, she returned to the chancellor's office to become his aide. Smith retired from UNCG around 1994 and continued to live in Greensboro. Smith died on died 25 August 2018.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Schools and Colleges
Branch of service: Marines -- USMC Womens Reserve
Conflict: World War II era (1940-1946)
Subject headings: World War, 1939-1945
United States. Marine Corps--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Oral history interview with Margaret Marian Smith; Primarily documents Margaret Marion Smith's service with the War Department and Marine Corps Women's Reserve from 1943 to 1947 and work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) from 1963 through circa 1994. Smith primarily discusses her experiences as an aide in the Pentagon from 1943 to 1947. She recalls her assignment to the U.S. War Department and her duties with its Department of Civilian Retirement Records. She then describes basic training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, especially the drilling, marching, weather, classes, clothing, and the death of Franklin Roosevelt while she was stationed there. " Smith describes her work at the Pentagon in detail, including her impressions of Marine Commandant Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegriftt, her duties for him, Pentagon security and its Map Room, and life in the Marine barracks at Henderson Hall. Of particular interest are Smith's many run-ins with famous people; this includes meeting Eleanor and Elliot Roosevelt at the White House as an errand, having dinner at the home of famous socialite and owner of the Hope diamond Evalyn Walsh McLean, and bobsledding with actor Jimmy Stewart in Pennsylvania while he was on leave. Smith also recalls attending the 1945 New York City Easter Parade and the VE and V-J Day celebrations in Washington, DC. Other significant war-related topics include the Marine uniform and post-war fashion, Smith's experience as a model for uniforms and recruiting posters, attitudes toward women in the military, and the experiences of her husband, Mays Smith, as a POW in Germany during WWII. " Smith also discusses her experiences working at UNCG from 1963 through the early 1990s. She compares her impressions of chancellors Otis Singletary, James Ferguson, and William Moran and her work with the Office of the Chancellor and the School of Business. Other notable topics include protests and social unrest during the 1960s, a facilities shortage,"adopting" UNCG students, and lingering attitudes towards the college going coed in 1963.

: Portrait of Margaret Marian Smith; Formal portrait of Margaret Marian Smith in Marine Corps Women's Reserve summer service (green and white seersucker) uniform, 1945-1946.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Margaret Marian Smith Collection

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