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Betty Leiding [2002]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: SPAR (Women's Coast Guard Reserve)
  • Location of Service: Palm Beach, Florida; New York, New York
  • Highest Rank: Storekeeper First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2546

View full service history

"I never regretted that I didn't go into the Navy or the Army." (Video Interview, 14:54)

A persuasive Coast Guard recruiter opened the door to a life of adventure for 20-year-old Betty Tosti of Framingham, Massachusetts. After training in Palm Beach, Florida, where she learned to swim, she was assigned to an office in lower Manhattan. A brief stint in the Finance Office led to an offer she couldn't refuse-since it was an order: becoming an assistant to a genial commander. Social life in New York included dating officers (a no-no for an enlisted woman) and meeting her future husband, a Merchant Mariner in training. Leiding admits that going off to war, even if it only meant office work in the States, offered her a different perspective on the world from that of her younger sisters, who stayed close to home all their lives.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Betty Tosti Leiding Collection

Names

  • Venezio, Thomas
  • Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
  • Ziff, Bonnie
  • Leiding, Betty Tosti

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Leiding, Betty Tosti
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. SPAR (Women's Coast Guard Reserve).

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: SPAR (Women's Coast Guard Reserve)
    • Location of Service: Palm Beach, Florida; New York, New York
    • Highest Rank: Storekeeper First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2011-06)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-07-12; 1999-12-31)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2002-07-12; 2007-10-19)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2546

Cite as

  • Betty Tosti Leiding Collection (AFC/2001/001/2546), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Venezio, Thomas, Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Bonnie Ziff, and Betty Tosti Leiding. Betty Tosti Leiding Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02546/.

APA citation style:

Venezio, T., Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Ziff, B. & Leiding, B. T. (1943) Betty Tosti Leiding Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02546/.

MLA citation style:

Venezio, Thomas, et al. Betty Tosti Leiding Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02546/>.