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Helen Minor, circa 1944-1947

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
  • Unit of Service: O'Reilly General Hospital; Beaumont Hospital; Halloran General Hospital
  • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Staten Island, New York; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; El Paso, Texas
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/4746

View full service history

"We didn't know what was going on in the world other than what they fed us." (Audio interview, 14:32)

For Helen Minor, military service meant extensive travel--not abroad, but to posts all around the United States, from Georgia to Missouri to Texas. When she dropped out of college in 1944 to enlist in the WACs, Minor was promised training in occupational therapy. She taught wounded soldiers how to regain the use of their limbs through simple handicrafts; she also observed the fortitude of men who remained amazingly upbeat in spite of their injuries.

Helen Minor Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Helen Minor Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Helen Minor Collection

Names

  • Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame
  • Cavanaugh, Katie
  • Minor, Helen

Home State

  • Michigan

Headings

  • -  Minor, Helen
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army. Women's Army Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
    • Unit of Service: O'Reilly General Hospital; Beaumont Hospital; Halloran General Hospital
    • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Staten Island, New York; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; El Paso, Texas
    • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1947
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2002-02-12)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-02-12)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/4746

Cite as

  • Helen Minor Collection (AFC/2001/001/4746), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Michigan Women'S Historical Center And Hall Of Fame, Katie Cavanaugh, and Helen Minor. Helen Minor Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04746/.

APA citation style:

Michigan Women'S Historical Center And Hall Of Fame, Cavanaugh, K. & Minor, H. (1944) Helen Minor Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04746/.

MLA citation style:

Michigan Women'S Historical Center And Hall Of Fame, Katie Cavanaugh, and Helen Minor. Helen Minor Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04746/>.