Jean Comins Mitchell Collection

Army dietitians at Deshon Army Hosptial
Three army dietitians at Deshon Army Hospital in Butler, Pennsylvania, sit in the cafeteria. The women, who wear the army nurse brown and white seersucker uniform, are posed in front of a Christmas tree and large fruit basket.
Dietitian interns at Walter Reed Army Hosptial
Dietitians interns at Walter Reed Army Hospital pose for a formal group photo. Jean Comins Mitchell is in the middle row, second from the left.
Dietitians with actor John Garfield
Interning dietitians at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC, pose with actor John Garfield in 1943.
Jean Comins Mitchell in uniform
Army Medical Corps member Jean Comins Mitchell stands in front of her parent's home in Bluefield, West Virginia, while on leave, circa. She wears an olive drab dietitian uniform.
Oral history interview with Jean Comins Mitchell
Documents Jean Comins Mitchell's time at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro); interning at Walter Reed Army Hospital; the various army hospitals she was stationed at during her World War II service in the Army Medical Corps; and her life after the war. Pre-war topics include Mitchell's experiences as a student at Woman's College in the early 1940s and her one-year dietitian internship at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., in 1943. " Mitchell mentions basic training at Fort Meade, Maryland, but she primarily discusses her activities at the army hospitals where she was stationed. She notes the frequent changes in dietitian assignments; the assignment of patients to hospitals based on ailment; and schedules, quarters, and social activities of dietitians. Of particular interest are Mitchell's recollections of being the dietitian for General John J. Pershing, who lived in the penthouse of Walter Reed. She also recalls the death of President Roosevelt and discusses popular music of the time. " Post-war topics briefly include her marriage to a navy man, her employment, and her children.
Portrait of Jean Comins Mitchell
Formal portrait of Jean Comins Mitchell for her Army Dietitian graduation in 1943.
WAC basic training class at Fort Meade, Maryland
WACs in basic training pose for a group photo with some soldiers at Fort Meade, Maryland, 1943.
WACs in training at Fort Meade
Four WACs in work attire pose by the stairs of a building at the basic training facility, Fort Meade, Maryland, in 1943.