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Evelyn Johnson [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
  • Unit of Service: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
  • Location of Service: European Theater; England; France
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/82811

View full service history

"I didn't believe we were going to be able to process [all of the mail], but we did." (Video interview, 11:09)

A nurse by training, Evelyn Johnson volunteered for the Women's Army Corps in 1942. Despite her background in the medical field, she wound up serving in an altogether different role, as part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only all-female, all-African-American unit to be deployed overseas during World War II. Stationed in England and France, the 6888th was responsible for sorting and processing an enormous backlog of mail, numbering millions of individual letters. Though she served in a support role, she still witnessed the "heartbreaking devastation" wrought by the war, and her service experiences remain unforgettable.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Evelyn Clarisse Johnson Collection

Names

  • Young, C.W. Bill
  • U.S. House of Representatives/C.W. Bill Young
  • Weatherby, Cynthia Johnson
  • Johnson, Evelyn Clarisse

Home State

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Johnson, Evelyn Clarisse
  • -  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

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: WAC (Women's Army Corps)
    • Unit of Service: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
    • Location of Service: European Theater; England; France
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only all African-American female unit to serve overseas in World War II.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-02-23)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2012-02-23; 2012-02-23)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/82811

Cite as

  • Evelyn Clarisse Johnson Collection (AFC/2001/001/82811), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • 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:

Young, C.W. Bill, U.S. House Of Representatives/C.W. Bill Young, Cynthia Johnson Weatherby, and Evelyn Clarisse Johnson. Evelyn Clarisse Johnson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.82811/.

APA citation style:

Young, C. W. B., U.S. House Of Representatives/C.W. Bill Young, Weatherby, C. J. & Johnson, E. C. (1942) Evelyn Clarisse Johnson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.82811/.

MLA citation style:

Young, C.W. Bill, et al. Evelyn Clarisse Johnson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.82811/>.