Nina Johnson Wiglesworth Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Most of this collection has been digitized. Some items have not beed digitized due to copyright or other logistical issues.
What's in the full collection?: 8 December 1999 oral history transcript; personal letter, 1944; photographs of Nina at Camp Lejeune and in Washington D.C. in uniform, 1943-1944.
Full biography: Nina Johnson Wiglesworth (1923-2019), of Raleigh, North Carolina, served in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve from October 1943 to 1945. Nina Johnson Wiglesworth was born in Reidsville, North Carolina, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from Hugh Morson High School in 1941 and then worked as a civil servant for the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., until joining the Women Marines in October 1943. Wiglesworth completed basic training was at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where she also attended Quartermaster School. After training, she stayed at Camp Lejeune in the shipping and receiving department. Nina Wiglesworth married Ernest Wiglesworth in November 1945. They had six children, two of whom served in the military. They lived in Texas and Virginia until Ernest left the Marines and then settled in North Carolina after two years on a farm in Kentucky.
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

: Four Women Marines with boss; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth (bottom right) poses on stairs with three female co-workers and their male boss, all in different Marine uniforms.

: Laundry room at Camp Lejeune; The laundry room of the Women Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

: Nina Johnson Wiglesworth in front of her parent's home; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth poses by the porch of her parent's home wearing the Marines white summer dress uniform, circa 1944.

: Nina Johnson Wiglesworth in work uniform; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth poses at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in her olive-drab work overalls and a garrison cap.

: Nina Johnson Wiglesworth with supervisor; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth, in Marine Corps Women's Reserve winter service uniform, poses with one of her supervisors at Camp Lejeune, circa 1944.

: Oral history interview with Nina Wiglesworth; Primarily documents Nina Johnson Wiglesworth's background; service with the Marine Corps Women's Reserve from 1943 to 1945; and her life after World War II. Wiglesworth discusses her parents' musical talents; the draft; leaving home after high school; living in Washington; and her desire to help the war effort. " Topics related to the Women Marines and World War II include the slogan "Free a Man to Fight" her parents' reactions when she joined the Marines; meeting Ernest Wiglesworth on the train to Camp Lejeune; her husband's experiences in the Marines; serving as platoon leader; duties and superiors at Camp Lejeune; a memorable instructor in basic training; seeing big bands play in Washington, D.C.; the treatment of Women Marines by the men; social life, including dancing, dating, and trips to Boston and Cherry Point; patriotism; and Franklin Roosevelt. " Wiglesworth also comments on her sons' experiences and one's death during the Vietnam War; Norrie's disease; women in combat; being a military wife; and the military's effects on her life and family.

: Three Women Marines on bench; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth (far left) poses with two female coworkers on a bench in Lejeune Park, circa 1943. The women wear Women Marines' winter service dress uniform with gloves and winter cap.

: Women Marines around sign; Three Women Marines pose around a sign at Camp Lejeune that reads "U.S.M.C. Bus Stop." The women wear olive-drab work overalls, men's work jackets, and "daisy mae" fatigue hats.

: Women Marines by sign; Nina Johnson Wiglesworth (right) and two female co-workers stand around a sign that reads "Parking: Staff, Personnel and Visitors only." The women wear their Women Marines' winter service dress uniforms and winter caps. The woman on the far right has a Marines-issued handbag.

: Women Marines in front of Capitol building; Three Marine Corps Women Reserves, all in winter service uniform with handbags, pose in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., circa 1943.

: Women's Reserve Lounge at Camp Lejeune; The lounge of the Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

: Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune; The sleeping quarters of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

: Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune; The bathroom of the Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

: Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune; Women Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

: Women's Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C., circa 1944; The lounge of the Women Reserve barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, circa 1944.

In collections

Women Veterans Historical Project

Nina Johnson Wiglesworth Collection

In collections

Navigate

Sort your results

Narrow your results

Item type

Topics

Place

Decade

Veteran conflict/era

Veteran service branch

In collection

Contributed by