Joan R. Kammer Horton 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?: 20 December 2000 oral history transcript; photographs of Joan 1953-57 during service and wedding; clothing requisition slips 1953-54; photocopied newspaper articles of Joan's sharpshooter abilities 1954-1956; textile box 1 contains a navy blue marine service cap, green cap, green blouse with 2 green light weight jackets, olive green neck tie, and a green cloth wallet; and textile box 2 contains a green lined hooded trench coat.
Full biography: Joan Kammer Horton (1931-2006) of Cincinnati, Ohio, served in the United States Marine Corps in San Francisco, California, from 1953 until 1957. Joan R. Kammer Horton grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from Seton High School in 1945. She worked after school for trucking companies and at Kroger's grocery store. After graduating, she continued to work in the trucking industry and in a bank, and became involved in a competitive rifle club. In late 1953, Horton joined the Women Marines. After eight weeks of basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, she was assigned to the Department of the Pacific in San Francisco, California. While there, she ran the rifle range with her future husband, Carl Horton, and worked in an office. Horton was promoted to sergeant on 1 April 1956, and switched to the Reserves in 1957. She and Carl Horton were married in August 1957, and she left the Marine Corps when she became pregnant. The Hortons lived in Washington State until her husband retired from the Marine Corps in 1969. They moved to Pigeon Key, Florida, where they operated a marine field station for the University of Miami with their three children. They later moved to Davie County, North Carolina, where they briefly ran a shrubbery nursery and then worked in trucking and motel supply. Horton also volunteered at Veterans Administration hospitals.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Marines -- Women Marines
Conflict: Post World War II, Korea (1947-1963)
Subject headings: Korean War, 1950-1953
United States. Marine Corps--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Joan R. Kammer Horton; Joan R. Kammer Horton stands outdoors in her Women Marines' olive green work shirt and garrison cap, circa 1955.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton; Joan R. Kammer Horton walks beside Marine Corps Supply Forwarding Annex in San Francisco while stationed there between 1953 and 1957.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton at marksman competition; Joan R. Kammer Horton looks at the scoreboard during the Sixth Army Rifle Match, circa 1956.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton at rifle range; Joan R. Kammer Horton sits on a box in civilian clothes at the Camp Matthews, California, rifle range, in 1955.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton receiving promotion; Joan R. Kammer, backed by the American and Marine flags, receives a certificate of promotion to sergeant on 8 May 1956. Kammer is wearing her Women Marines' spruce green and white summer dress uniform. The front of the photo reads, "To Sergeant Kammer, Heartiest congratulations on your promotion. W.C. White, Capt. USMC."

: Joan R. Kammer Horton with handgun; Joan R. Kammer Horton, with one arm behind her back, aims a handgun while at the Marine Corps rifle range at Camp Matthews, California, on 19 March 1956. She wears the Women Marines' forest green winter uniform and bell-crown hat.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton with rifle; Joan R. Kammer Horton poses with a rifle in front of a target on 12 October 1954. Her jacket shows her marksmanship awards won while a member of the Annex Team Two rifle team in the 12th Naval District. The patch on her pocket appears to be related to the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch, Germany.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton with rifle; Joan R. Kammer Horton poses with a rifle in front of a mirror on 22 March 1956. The back of her jacket, with patches signifying her marksmanship awards won while a member of the 12th Naval District Annex Team Two rifle team, can be seen in the mirror.

: Joan R. Kammer Horton with rifle; Joan R. Kammer Horton lies on mattress aiming her rifle, sometime while stationed with Department of the Pacific in San Francisco from 1953 through 1956.

: Marine rifle team; Joan R. Kammer Horton (seated) is lone female among seven Marines with rifles on 17 March 1955. This is likely the 12th Naval District Annex Team Two rifle team.

: Marines at Toys for Tots display; Joan R. Kammer Horton and two male Marines pose beside a barrel collecting gifts for the Toys For Tots program at a Shell Station, circa 1954. Kammer holds a doll, a Marine holds a large stocking full of toys, and the group is joined by a man who appears to be a Shell gas station attendant, also holding a doll.

: Marriage of Joan R. Kammer and Carl Horton; Marines Joan R. Kammer Horton and Carl Horton pose on their wedding day in August 1957 with two members of the wedding party.

: Oral history interview with Joan Kammer Horton; Primarily documents Joan R. Kammer Horton's background; her experiences in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in the mid-1950s; and her life after her military service. Horton discusses growing up during the Depression; collecting metal, knitting, and working in defense during World War II; the stigma of a German heritage during World War II; President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death; celebrating the end of World War II; shooting at the Coney Island rifle range; and taking the train to New Orleans, Louisiana. " Topics related to Horton's military service include her reasons for joining the the Marine Corps Women's Reserve; her parents' reactions when she joined; basic training, including the advantages of being older than most of the recruits; uncomfortable regulation shoes; a difficult sergeant; trying to teach Women Marines how to shoot; treatment of women Marines by male Marines; the importance of appearance for Women Marines; and the different summer and winter uniforms. " Horton offers her opinion of compulsory military service; married women in the military; women in combat positions. She also discusses her husband's experiences in the Marines during World War II; becoming an extrovert during her military service; patriotism; living on an island in the Florida Keys; and her volunteer work.

: Photo of Joan R. Kammer Horton for Ms. San Francisco Servicewoman contest, circa 1955; Photo of Joan R. Kammer Horton in a bathing suit for the Ms. San Francisco Servicewoman contest, circa 1955

: Portrait of Joan R. Kammer Horton; Portrait of Joan R. Kammer Horton as a sergeant in her Women Marines' spruce green and white summer dress uniform, circa 1956.

: Portrait of Joan R. Kammer and Carl Horton; Portrait of Joan R. Kammer Horton and Carl Horton, who married in August 1957, both wearing Marine Corps dress blues.

: Third Recruit Battalion, Platoon 21-A; Photo of the Women Marines Third Recruit Battalion Platoon 21-A, the Battalion Honor Platoon, at Parris Island, South Carolina, on 27 January 1954. Joan R. Kammer Horton is in the last row, third from left. In the front row are Staff Sergeant C.I. Greenwood, Sergeant J.R. Marion, and Sergeant P.J. Gordon.

: Two Women Marines shoot rifles; Joan R. Kammer Horton (bottom) and fellow Women Marine Mae Van Hecke lay on their stomachs aiming rifles, circa 1956. The Marines are both wearing jackets with patches that signify their marksmanship awards.

In collections

Women Veterans Historical Project

Joan R. Kammer Horton 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