Jacqueline Marion Edmunds Collection
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Oral history interview with Jacqueline Marion Edmunds
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Documents the life of Jacqueline Marion Edmunds from her early life growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s, her decision to join the United States Navy in 1979, basic training in Orlando, Florida, and "A" School (technical training for naval recruits) in Meridian, Mississippi. She discusses her military service in Washington D.C. and Maryland, as well as her service aboard the USS Yellowstone and USS Vella Gulf. Edmunds discusses growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina with her brother and twin sister, her love of Girl Scouts and sports, and her difficulties with studying and school. After graduating high school in 1970 Edmunds attended The University of North Carolina at Greensboro for a short time and eventually joined the navy in 1979. She attended basic training in Orlando, Florida and A-School in Meridian, Mississippi before being assigned to the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C. She discusses the daily work requirements of shore duty in Washington D.C. and the difficulty of still having to deal with Vietnam War demonstrators in 1979. Edmunds also discusses being stationed in Bethesda, Maryland and working in the base personnel office, as well as at the Navy Manpower Engineering Center Detachment from 1985 to 1987. Other shore duty assignments include Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet and work at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek. " Personal topics include the earning the warfare pin and other medals during her twenty year service, as well as being designated "Sailor of the Year" at every command she was assigned. Edmunds reveals the problems with pregnancy onboard ship and the difficulties in reassigning newly pregnant seamen. She discusses the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" controversy, the anti-gay responses to homosexuals in the military in the late 1970s and early 1980s and her personal fears and anxieties about serving as a gay woman in the military during this period.
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Photograph of Jacqueline Edmunds
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This photograph shows Jacqueline Edmunds receiving a plaque for her promotion to chief petty officer for her work in the U.S. Navy. She and the other service members are seen wearing their service khaki uniforms.
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Photograph of Jaqcueline Edmunds and crew members
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This photograph shows Jacqueline Edmunds and crew members wearing their Summer White Service uniforms, getting ready to cut a cake that congratulates them on their promotions to Chief Petty Officers.