Marie Louise Pihlblad Letters

This collection has not yet been digitized.

https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/396

Correspondence from Marie Louise Pihlblad begins in August 1942 and ends in April 1945. Letters detail Pihlblad's daily routine as a WAC; life in the WAC barracks and mess hall at Camp Lee; USO shows; her brief stay at Washington and Lee University where she attended military classes; and her social activities and personal travels. Described in detail are the WAC uniforms, including elements of design, patterns, seasonal fabrics, colors, and cost. Also frequently mentioned in letters is the financial situation of WACs, including the changing rules concerning WACs being able to claim dependents for financial aid as servicemen were able to do. All letters in the collection are written to her mother, Louise Kiesling, of Los Angeles; California. There is only one letter from August 1942. The rest of the correspondence is from November 1943 to April 1945.

Marie Louise Pihlblad, a former school music teacher from Los Angeles, California, was a member of the United States Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Pihlblad completed her basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and was stationed at Camp Lee, Virginia, in 1943. While at Camp Lee, Pihlblad worked at the base post office and later the base library. During 1944 she spent several months attending military classes for WACs at Washington and Lee University just outside of Lexington, Virginia. Upon the completion of her classes she returned to Camp Lee. Philblad's discharge date from the WAC is unknown.

Women's History
Military

Army -- WAC

World War II era (1940-1946)

World War, 1939-1945
United States. Army--Women

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries