Mildred Curtis Scott 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/1180
What's in the full collection?: 11 June 1999 oral history transcript; Copies of Mildred's Military ID and records from the counterintelligence office in 1945 from Seattle Washington; portrait photograph of Mildred in official Women's Army Corps (WAC) uniform 1944-1945; various photographs during Mildred's service, 1943-1945.
Full biography: Mildred C. Scott (1918-2006) of Liberty, North Carolina, served as an MP in the United States Women's Army Corps from February 1943 until February 1946. Mildred Curtis Scott, born 22 August 1918, grew up on a farm in Liberty, North Carolina, and graduated from Liberty High School in 1935. She worked on her family farm until 1937, when she took a job at Gregson Chair Factory. In 1940, Scott went to work on a knitting machine at Liberty Hosiery Factory. In February 1943, Scott enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She completed basic training in Daytona Beach, Florida, and then was assigned to the Military Police (MP). She remained in Daytona until February 1944, when she was transferred to Boston. In April 1945, Scott went to the counterintelligence office at a port of embarkation in Seattle, Washington. She was discharged as a T/5 sergeant in February 1946. Scott briefly returned to the hosiery factory, but soon took advantage of the GI Bill to study at King's Business College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She married Claude Scott in April 1947 and moved to Siler City, North Carolina, where she worked as a substitute postal clerk and had three children. Mildred Scott died on 12 May 2006.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Army -- WAC
Conflict: World War II era (1940-1946)
Subject headings: World War, 1939-1945
United States. Army--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Mildred Curtis Scott; Formal portrait of Mildred Curtis Scott in summer khaki WAC uniform and Hobby hat, 1944.

: Mildred Curtis Scott; Mildred Curtis Scott in WAC olive drab uniform and garrison cap, circa 1945.

: Mildred Curtis Scott; Formal portrait of Mildred Curtis Scott in WAC olive drab uniform and Hobby hat, circa 1944.

: Mildred Curtis Scott; Formal portrait of Mildred Curtis Scott in khaki WAC uniform and garrison cap, 31 July 1944.

: Mildred Curtis Scott and fellow WAC; Mildred Curtis Scott and fellow WAC stand outside in olive drab uniforms and garrison caps, circa 1944.

: Mildred Curtis Scott and friends at NCO Club; Mildred Curtis Scott (center) sits at a table with four WAC friends and a male soldier at the non-commissioned officers club in Boston, 1944. The table is full of empty beer bottles, as according to the back of the photo, Scott "was the only teetotaler at the table."

: Mildred Curtis Scott in MP brassard; Mildred Curtis Scott, pictured wearing her military police (MP) brassard, returns an employee button to the rack at the Boston Port of Embarkation in 1944.

: Mildred Curtis Scott in uniform; WAC Mildred Curtis Scott reaches for a doorknob while standing on a step in her khaki uniform and garrison cap, circa 1944.

: Oral history interview with Mildred Curtis Scott; Primarily documents Mildred Curtis early life in North Carolina and her experiences in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) Military Police (MP) from 1943 to 1946. Scott discusses working on her family's farm and in factories; hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the need for women to take over men's jobs; and dating her future husband Claude Scott. " Topics related to the WAC and World War II include her parents' and male friends' reactions when she joined the WAC; the train ride to Daytona Beach; living in Tent City, the barracks, and hotels; a typical day in basic training; MP training; and her MP duties, including patrolling bars and hotels. Other war-related subjects include her quarters in Boston and Seattle; soldiers' attitudes toward the WACs; social life, including the noncommissioned officers' club, drinking beer, and traveling; disciplining WACs; President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death; seeing General Jonathan Wainwright in a parade; the impact her military service had on her life; and her opinion of women in combat positions. Interview also covers her post-war education and employment, including a civil service postal clerk position.

: WAC honor guard for Massachusetts Governor; Six WACs participate in honor guard for Massachusetts Governor Leverett A. Saltonstall (in suit), as he exits onto the street from underneath an awning, circa 1944. WACs, including Mildred Curtis Scott (third from right) and fellow MP Esther Moffitt (front right) are in dress uniform with Hobby hats.

: WACs dancing with the troops; Overhead photo of soldiers and their dates at a dance, circa 1944. Back of the photo indicates "A dead tired Curtis [far left] 'presses on' for the troops!"

: WACs in Franklin Square House Tea Room; Publicity photo of WACs dining in the tea room at Franklin Square House, the hotel which served as their barracks in Boston, in 1944. Mildred Curtis Scott is seated at the table in the foreground, second from the left.

: WACs in Franklin Square House quarters; Publicity photo of Mildred Curtis Scott (seated third from left) and 7 other WACs in her room at the Franklin Square House in Boston, 1944. Two of the women wear their seersucker uniforms, while the others are in olive drab with no head cover.

: WACs in front of gas chamber sign; Mildred Curtis Scott and two fellow WACs stand in front of sign reading "Gas Chamber and Decontamination Area", circa 1944.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Mildred Curtis Scott Collection

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