Adelaide Murphy Collection
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Adelaide Murphy
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Adelaide Murphy stands on a beach wearing her Marines' utility coat and bell crown hat with rain cover, circa 1944.
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Oral history interview with Adelaide Murphy
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Primarily documents Adelaide Cotter Murphy's service in the Women Marines from 1943 to 1945. Murphy gives a brief overview of her childhood, including her early education. She recalls the attack on Pearl Harbor, her brothers' service in the military, and her reasons for enlisting in the Women Marines as opposed to other branches of service. Of her basic training at Hunter College in New York, she mentions an Easter celebration; barracks life; physical training; and specialized class work. She then talks about being sent to Atlanta, Georgia, for Link Instrument Training Instructors School. She discusses her work at Cherry Point, North Carolina, as a Link Trainer instructor, including activities of the typical workday; working with Link Trainers; training pilots; and passing on Officer Candidate School. She also describes being transferred to Bogue, North Carolina, an outlying post of Cherry Point. Topics from her time there include: being one of the first women on the base; being in charge of five women; social activities; and her duties as a supervisor. Of her time stationed at Naval Air Station Vero Beach, Florida, she mentions: working with specialized Link Trainers; higher-ups visiting the station to see the Links; D-Day celebrations and changes; day-to-day activities; the death of President Roosevelt; meeting and marrying her husband, Julian; celebrating V-E Day and V-J Day; and her social life. " Murphy discusses staying at Vero Beach after her discharge, waiting for her husband to leave the service; moving to Asheville, North Carolina, where she attended business school before becoming pregnant; and her family's move to Greensboro, North Carolina, shortly after the birth of her first child. Other topics include staying in touch with friends from her service days; advice for women considering enlisting; and the largest misconceptions about military service.
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Portrait of Adelaide Murphy
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Portrait of Adelaide Murphy, circa 1944, in Marines' summer seersucker uniform with bell crown hat. Photo by Bradford Bachrach.
