Blanche Holt Gwyn Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Only a part of this collection has been digitized.
What's in the full collection?: Summer Blue Cord Uniform (Jacket and Skirt), circa 1950s; White Shirt; Navy Uniform (Jacket and Skirt), circa 1950s; Black Tie, Hat, and photograph.
Full biography: Blanche H. Gwyn (d. 2008) of Mount Airy, North Carolina, served in the United States Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from July 1944 until April 1946 and in the Naval Reserve for twenty-three years. Gwyn grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina and graduated from Mount Airy High School. She earned a bachelor of science degree in secretarial administration from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1936. She worked as a secretary in Mount Airy, but in 1939, she took a job with the Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport, Tennessee. In July 1944, Gwyn took military leave from her job to join the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She attended two months of Naval Reserve Midshipman School at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her first duty station was at the Bureau of Ships in Washington, D.C. There she expedited equipment delivery to damaged ships. On 20 April 1946, she was discharged from the WAVES. Gwyn spent twenty-three years in the Naval Reserve, first in a composite unit in New York and then in a telecom censorship unit in naval intelligence. In 1946, Gwyn went back to Eastman, this time working in advertising in New York City and later transferring back to Tennessee. She also attended Columbia University in New York City for a bachelor of arts degree and graduate studies in business. After retiring, Gwyn lived in Fancy Gap, Virginia, before returning to Mount Airy.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Schools and Colleges
Branch of service: Navy -- WAVES
Conflict: World War II era (1940-1946)
Subject headings: World War, 1939-1945
United States. Navy--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Blanche Holt Gwyn; Formal Potrait of Blanche Holt Gwyn

: Oral history interview with Blache Holt Gwyn; Primarily documents Gwyn's experiences at WCUNC and her time in the WAVES, both in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. She details memorable WCUNC professors, including Vera Largent; living in Spencer Residence Hall; one of the WCUNC reunions she attended; the Depression's effect on WCUNC social life; and her work at Tennessee Eastman Company. Topics related to the military include deciding to join the WAVES; living arrangements at Smith College and in Washington, DC; leading a platoon; white glove inspections; basic training instructors and courses; special treatment WAVES received from civilians; her family's reaction when she joined the navy; winning sixth place in a navy pistol meet; nautical terminology; tension between navy and civil service personnel; sports and physical training at Smith College; her opinion of the Roosevelts; her heroes, including General Omar Bradley and General George C. Marshall; celebrations on VE Day and VJ Day; and her opinion of women in combat positions.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Blanche Holt Gwyn Collection

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