"Right in front of Post Headquarters, segregation began for me in the Army." (Video interview, 20:58)

Martha Settle Putney

Martha Putney in uniform War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) Rank: First Lieutenant

By the time she entered the Women's Army Corps, Martha Putney already had an extensive resume: she had graduated from Howard University on a full scholarship, and earned a Master's degree in Modern European History. As she relates in her oral history interview, joining the Army was pragmatic, rather than political. While entering the military provided new opportunities, it also brought her face-to-face with more narrow points of view, as she confronted the realities of serving under segregation. As a female African American officer, she endured disrespect from her white colleagues, male and female, as well as harassment from civilians she encountered while traveling and at various duty stations. It was, as she relates, “a very lonely life.” After the war, using the GI Bill, she earned a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.