Dorothy H. Jordan 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.
Where can I find more information?: https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/962
What's in the full collection?: 3 May 1999 oral history transcript; photographs from military training and duty as a M.P. at Ft. Oglethorpe; GA circa 1944-45; Military records circa 1944 with orders sending Dorothy to Ft. Oghlethorpe, GA from New York; "A Date with Destiny" WAC Museum booklet, 1984, Fort McClellan; Alabama.
Full biography: Dorothy H. Jordan, of the Bronx, New York, served in the Women's Army Corps from January 1944 through World War II. Dorothy H. Jordan grew up in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from George Washington High School in 1941. After graduation, she worked at a bank and a grocery store and then became a playground director. Jordan joined the Women's Army Corps in January 1944. Her basic training was at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where she was assigned to Cooks and Bakers School before being re-assigned to the WAC Military Police (MP). Jordan stayed at Fort Oglethorpe until the WAC MPs were disbanded in 1945. She was sent to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, for reassignment, and then went to Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. There Jordan was an MP and then the Permanent CQ (Charge of Quarters), meaning that she only patrolled the barracks. After the war, Jordan went home on furlough due to illness, and then left the WAC not long after returning to duty. Jordan spent a year as a patient in Kingsbridge Veterans Hospital, the Bronx, New York, suffering from a skin condition and arsenic poisoning. She worked very little after she was released, having been deemed 100 percent disabled.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Army -- WAC
Conflict: World War II era (1940-1946)
Subject headings: World War, 1939-1945
United States. Army--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: 402nd AFS Band; Official portrait of WAC 402nd Army Service Forces Band at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The women pose with their instruments in front of a decorated bus.

: Ball game; WACs at the Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, gather for softball game, circa 1944.

: Bunk instruction; One WAC instructs another on how to properly make up a bed at the Third WAC Training Center at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.

: Dorothy Jordan and Theresa Clarkson; Dorothy Jordan and fellow WAC military policewoman Theresa "Stoop" Clarkson pose in front of a painted backdrop of a ranch on June 12, 1945. Both are wearing khaki long-sleeved uniforms with MP armbands and garrison caps. Taken at Dixie Studio, Chattanooga, TN.

: Dorothy Jordan and friend; Dorothy Jordan and a fellow WAC military police member pose for a portrait in front of a painted garden backdrop. Both are wearing their WAC-issue overcoat with "MP" armbands.

: Dorothy Jordan at crosswalk; Dorothy Jordan in MP uniform stands beside a stop sign at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, 1944-1945. The photo was displayed in a store in her hometown of Bronx, New York, encouraging support for local men and women in service.

: Gas drill; A line of eight WACs marches through a wooded area at Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, wearing gas masks, circa 1944.

: Marching to class; Photo of WACs in formation marching to class at the Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.

: Oral history interview with Dorothy H. Jordan; Primarily documents Dorothy H. Jordan's early life in New York; her service in the Women's Army Corps, especially her military police (MP) duty at Fort Oglethorpe, and the effects of her disabling skin condition. Jordan details playing on a semi-pro softball team in high school; her unfulfilled plans to go to college and be a physical education teacher; her German grandmother's opinion of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s; learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor; her family's patriotism; rationing; and her attempt to join the New York City Police. " She discusses many topics related to her service in the WAC. Jordan recalls her parents' reactions when she joined the WAC; homosexuality in the WAC MPs; her nickname and her superiors; patrolling the bars and nightclubs of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to check up on WACs; segregation in the army and the South; rounding up the WACs on V-J Day in Michigan; her duties at Fort Oglethorpe; treatment of WAC MPs by male MPs; talking with a priest and going to mass at Fort Oglethorpe; escorting an AWOL WAC back to Fort Oglethorpe; athletics in the service; spending time in the non-commissioned officers' club; her opinion of women in military combat positions; and her WAC friends. Jordan also discusses being treated for her skin condition at Kingsbridge Veterans Hospital and becoming disabled due to her skin condition.

: Pay day; Photo of WACs lined up to receive checks on payday at the Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.

: Portrait of Dorothy Jordan; Portrait of Dorothy Jordan in uniform with Hobby hat, circa 1945.

: Portrait of Dorothy Jordan; Formal portrait of Dorothy Jordan in uniform, taken at Chattanooga Studios, TN, in Summer 1944.

: Push ball; Photo of WACs playing with a giant ball in a game of "push ball" at Third WAC Training Center,Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.

: WAC MP Detachment graduating class; Portrait of graduating class, MP Detachment 4443 SCU, at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, on January 10, 1945." Pictured are (First row, left to right): Barhum, Parrish, Hayes, Chick, Martin, McNutt, Broz. Second row: Linchey, Rastonski, Alses, Coe, Walters, Merrill, Kiser, Lay, Nation. Third row: Balgo, Winnings, Roesner, Hall, Roesner, House, Mencer, Pazzerelli, Bacan. Fourth row: Duewiger, Majerus, Seib, Donley, Draucker, Hambly, Hansen, Welkom, Jennings. Fifth row: Monday, Moore, Foster, Henniger, Georgevitch, Gustafron, Fox, Pope, Hayes. Sixth row: Dorothy Jordan (holding flag), Walsey, Dod, Trautman, Meier, Elliot, Stewart, Clarkson, Warren, Miller.

: WAC MPs in front of sign; Three WAC military police pose in front of a "W.A.C. Training Center" sign at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1945.

: WAC band; Photo of the WAC Band in formation with instruments at the Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.

: WAC convoy; A convoy of military vehicles driven by and transporting WACs pictured at the Third WAC Training Center, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, circa 1944.