Women's Army Corps and WAC African American Band scrapbook from Fort Des Moines

Item Info

Title:
Women's Army Corps and WAC African American Band scrapbook from Fort Des Moines
Date:
1941 to 1945
Description:
Collection consists of a forty-four page scrapbook belonging to an unidentified compiler, documenting the history of Fort Des Moines, Iowa, as a Women's Army Corps (WAC) training center, and the 404th Women's Army Corps band, the first African American female band in the United States military. The scrapbook contains 100 photographs, all but one black-and-white, ranging in size from 2 x 3 inches to 7 1/2 x 8 3/4 inches. The creator also included photographic postcards as well as clippings from official Fort Des Moines publications. The covers for the scrapbook are missing. The first page contains a photograph of the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin from December 8, 1941. The following early pages provide a short history of Fort Des Moines, with clippings documenting its conversion to the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps training center. The clippings are augmented by photo postcards depicting the grounds, along with one showing a woman blowing a bugle into a oversize megaphone. Documentation of the African American women's band begins on page 21, with a group portrait. Other photographs show the women in uniform; many of the photographs are signed or are otherwise identified in ink. Images include the practice room, women marching with instruments, and off-duty band members relaxing, riding bicycles, traveling together, preparing for sleep, or playing with pets. There are at least two photographs of Major Charity Adams Earley, the first commissioned African American WAC. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
Location:
Subject:
Format:
Language:
English
Extent:
1 scrapbook; 44 pages; 100 photographs
Digital Collection:
Women's Army Corps and WAC African American Band scrapbook from Fort Des Moines
Source Collection:
Women's Army Corps and WAC African American Band scrapbook from Fort Des Moines, 1941-1945
Provenance:
The Women's Army Corps and WAC African American Band scrapbook from Fort Des Moines was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2016.
Rights:
Limited Re-Use
Unknown Rights-Holder
Rights Note:
This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.
Identifier:
  • 007385204
  • 87c227e102885bcc3a0594777028be40
  • fortdesmoineswac
  • duke:587573
  • afrst07001
  • ark:/87924/r4pn9212g
  • d38e82da-d924-4542-8b74-0e889cf2404f
Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4pn9212g
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