Helen Boileau Hester 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.
What's in the full collection?: 6 December 1999 oral history transcript; original mess hall pass, circa 1945; copies of Military paperwork 1943, 1945; United States Marine Corps song booklet, circa 1940's; portrait photograph of Helen and husband in uniform; forest green service hat; herringbone garrison cap; forest green jacket ; spruce green garrison cap; green cloth bag cover; buffalo hide purse.
Full biography: Helen Boileau Hester (1923-2009), of Spokane, Washington, served in the Marine Corps Women's Reserves from June 1943 until December 1945. Helen Boileau Hester (1923-2009)was born in Spokane, Washington, and graduated from Marycliff High School in 1941. She held a variety of jobs before joining the Women Marines in June 1943. Her basic training was at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and then she was assigned to the post exchange at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. In March 1945, Helen Hester married Ras Hester. He shipped out to the Pacific Theater in April, and she was transferred to El Toro, California, in May. Hester was discharged from the service in December 1945. Hester continued in the same job as a civilian until her husband returned in the spring of 1946. They moved to Burlington, North Carolina, where she worked for a telephone company. The couple had eight children, one of whom joined the military. Hester died in November 2009.
Topics: Women's History
Military
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

: Marine Corps Women's Reserve forest green hat; Marine Corps Women's Reserve forest green bell-crown hat with Marine Corps anchor and globe emblem in the center, red cord with tassels attached by embossed buttons, and tapered back. Worn with forest green winter uniform. This hat worn by Helen Boileau Hester from 1943 to 1946.

: Marine Corps Women's Reserve forest green uniform; Marine Corps Women's Reserve forest green winter uniform, 1943. Blouse has two welted bodice pockets, two side pockets without flaps, three bronzed buttons embossed with the Marine Corps emblem, shoulder straps, and Marine Corps lapel insignia. Worn with six-gore skirt, khaki shirtwaist, and khaki tie. This uniform worn by Helen Boileau Hester from 1943 to 1946.

: Marine Corps Women's Reserve spruce green garrison cap; Marine Corps Women's Reserve spruce green garrison cap with white piping and globe and anchor insignia on the left front flap. Authorized later in the war, probably 1944. This hat worn by Helen Boileau Hester.

: Marine Corps Women`s Reserve herringbone garrison cap; Marine Corps Women's Reserve twill herringbone garrison cap with globe and anchor insignia on left front flap. Worn with green work uniform. This hat worn by Helen Boileau Hester from 1943 to 1946.

: Oral history interview with Helen Boileau Hester; Primarily documents Boileau Hester's service in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve at Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point during World War II and her life after leaving the Women Marines. Hester describes learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor; her parents' reactions when she joined the Women Marines; train and bus travel; culture shock upon arriving in North Carolina; segregation in the Marines; working in the post exchange; treatment of Women Marines by male Marines; ages and previous careers of Women Marines; friendships; accidentally walking into men's barracks; meeting and dating Ras Hester at Cherry Point; patriotism; President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; and celebrating V-J Day in Santa Ana, California. " Hester also discusses contracting polio while pregnant in 1948; the advantages of her military service, including greater independence and willpower; her opinion of women in combat; women's liberation; and the difficulty of keeping in touch with her military friends.

: Portrait of Helen and Ras Hester; Portrait of Helen Boileau Hester and Ras Hester, both in U.S. Marines uniforms, taken in 1945.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Helen Boileau Hester Collection

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