Mary Ward McCaffrey Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: This collection has been digitized in its entirety.
What's in the full collection?: 2 November 2013 oral history transcript and scanned photograph.
Full biography: Mary Ward McCaffrey (b. 1931) served in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1955. McCaffrey was born in 1931 in Canton, Massachusetts, and spent the majority of her adolescence in the Boston, Massachusetts area. She attended Catholic school and participated in the 4-H Club, as well as the American Legion Auxiliary. After graduating high school in 1949, McCaffrey attended Massachusetts General Hospital for three years, working as a clinical teaching intern in nursing, and assisting in the Emergency Room and Obstetrics/Gynecology Ward. In December 1952, McCaffrey decided to join the United States Navy. She was sent to Saint Albans Naval Hospital in Long Island, New York, where she learned about basic military training. She was then sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and worked in numerous nursing wards, including Neurology, Orthopedics, Mental Health, and Labor and Delivery. While stationed at Camp Lejeune, McCaffrey met her future husband, and they were married on December 31, 1954. In lieu of a honeymoon, McCaffrey accompanied her husband to Florida for his United States Marine Corps flight training, before she returned to North Carolina.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Navy -- Navy Nurse Corps
Conflict: Post World War II, Korea (1947-1963)
Subject headings: Korean War, 1950-1953
United States. Navy--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Oral history interview with Mary Ward McCaffrey; Primarily documents the life of Mary Ward McCaffrey and her time in the United States Navy. McCaffrey discusses her childhood and growing up in the Boston, Massachusetts area, the multiple military members in her family, and her decision to join the U.S. Navy. She recalls the various nursing wards she was assigned to and the training she received throughout her time in the service, as well as the reason behind her leaving the navy.

: Wedding photograph of Mary McCaffrey and Joseph J. McCaffrey; Mary McCarffrey is seen here with her husband, Joseph J. McCaffrey, on their wedding day, circa 1953-1955. Mary McCaffrey is wearing her Formal White Dress Uniform.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Mary Ward McCaffrey Collection

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