Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Maine Women Veterans Oral History Project collected oral interviews with women veterans through a collaborative effort of the Maine commission on women veterans, the Maine Studies program at UMaine, and the Women Studies program at UMaine. Includes WWII, Vietnam, and Desert Storm.

Dates

Creation: 2000-2003

Creator

Barker, Caitlyn (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).

Extent

From the Collection: 68 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Abstract

NA3224 Sharon Blair, interviewed by Caitlyn Barker, December 4, 2001, at her home in Augusta, Maine. Blair talks about her aspirations of becoming a legal secretary; attending Thomas College; reasons for joining the Marine Corps in 1965; struggles of boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina; treatment of women in boot camp; the developed bond between members of Marine Corps, and those of the military; life at the base at Cherry Point in North Carolina; working at the Cherry Point base while fellow Marines were deployed to Vietnam; segregation; lessons of the Marine Corps, and its impact on her life; being the first women veteran to work in a male dominated section of the VA; information about WIMSA. Text: 33 pp. transcript, 3 pp. journal. Recording: mfc_na3224_c2328_01, mfc_na3224_c2328_02 (C 2328, CD 2188) Time: 1 hour 13 minutes. Restrictions: None