Betty Pegg Hemphill Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Most of this collection has been digitized. Some items have not beed digitized due to copyright or other logistical issues.
What's in the full collection?: 4 January 2002 oral history transcript; photograph of Betty in a group photograph of the Ellington Air Force Base (Houston,Texas) softball team in 1950; black and white copy of Betty with her team in uniform next to the base Commander; official portraits (2 undated) and various photographs of Betty on the Army Air Corps Base in uniform.
Full biography: Betty Hemphill (1932-2008) of Guilford County, North Carolina, served in the Women's Air Force from 1949 to 1951 and then with the United States Postal Service from 1967 to 1992. Betty Hemphill was born in High Point, North Carolina, in February 1932. She was raised on a farm in nearby Colfax. Hemphill enlisted in the Women's Air Force in August 1949 and was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training. She was then stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, from October 1949 to March 1950, where she attended supply school. She was transferred to Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas, where she worked in base supply and played on the softball team. Hemphill was then assigned to Keesler in Biloxi, Mississippi, for eight months, where she worked as squadron supply officer. In June 1951 she transferred to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and worked a recruiter. While there, she met Ralph Hemphill, and they were married in December 1951. She was discharged in June 1952 when she became pregnant. The Hemphills moved to Greensboro in 1955 and raised three sons. In 1967 Betty Hemphill went to work for the post office, and in 1974 she was appointed postmaster. Hemphill retired from the United StatesPS in 1992 and passed away on 7 August 2008.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Schools and Colleges
Branch of service: Air Force -- WAF
Conflict: Post World War II, Korea (1947-1963)
Subject headings: Korean War, 1950-1953
United States. Air Force
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Betty Pegg Hemphill beside sign at Keesler AFB; Betty Pegg Hemphill, in civilian clothes, poses beside a sign for the 3408th Student Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, circa 1950.

: Betty Pegg Hemphill on railing at Keesler AFB; Betty Pegg Hemphill poses on the stair railing outside a building at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, circa 1951. She wears WAF khaki shirtwaist and work pants.

: Oral history interview with Betty Pegg Hemphill; Primarily documents Betty Pegg Hemphill's service in the Women's Air Force from 1949 to 1951. Hemphill briefly describes her early life, including a visit from soldiers stationed at the Greensboro Airport near her home and her aunt serving with the WACs (Women's Army Corps) during WWII. " Hemphill discusses her reasons for enlisting in the servic; her trip on a Pullman train to Lackland Air Force Base [AFB]; and marching, physical training, and barracks life during basic training. She also discusses attending supply school at Lowery AFB, working at Keesler AFB, and being stationed at Ellington AFB, where she worked in base supply and played on the base softball team, which was slated to play for the armed forces championship before activities in Korea canceled the game. Of her time in Fayetteville, North Carolina, she discusses working in recruitment; traveling in her own car; talking to high school students; meeting her husband, Ralph Hemphill; asking her commanding officer for permission to marry; and being discharged due to pregnancy. " Other topics include Ralph Hemphill's service in the reserves and civilian career; Betty Hemphill's career with the Postal Service in Guilford County; and her personal photos from her service.

: Portrait of Betty Pegg Hemphill; Portrait of Betty Pegg Hemphill in WAF khaki shirtwaist with winged propeller insignia and garrison cap, taken while she was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1951.

: Portrait of Betty Pegg Hemphill; Portrait of Betty Pegg Hemphill, taken while she was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, circa 1951.

: WAF softball team; Group photo of the Ellington Air Force Base (Houston, Texas) softball team in 1950. Betty Pegg Hemphill is on the front row holding the team mascot.

: WAF unit on parade; A squadron of WAFs march toward the camera while on parade at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, circa 1951.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Betty Pegg Hemphill Collection

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