Tech 5 Mary Myrilliam Sagan Oral History

title:

Tech 5 Mary Myrilliam Sagan Oral History

creator:

Sagan, Mary Myrilliam (Patterson) (1924 October 3 - 2018 February 25)

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

description:

Mary Sagan (Patterson) was born on October 3, 1924 in Lilburn, Missouri. She graduated from high school in New Madrid, Missouri in 1941 and attended San Diego State University, majoring in general arts. She had to work while in college, so she got a job as an operator at the Western Union Telegraph Company. After living in San Diego for two years, she joined the Army in 1944. She chose to enlist because she had a boyfriend who had been killed overseas, and selected the Army because she walked past an Army recruiting center every day on her way to work. She went to Fort Des Moines, Iowa for basic training, and because she'd been in college for two years prior she was eligible to go straight to Officer Candidate School after basic. Although she initially went to OCS, she decided very quickly she did not like how idle it felt and asked to leave. She was told there was an important job her telegraph experience made her perfect for, but she would not become an officer if she took it. She decided to leave OCS for this position which turned out to be at Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the nuclear bomb was being tested. Upon her arrival Mary was trained as a cryptographer, decoding messages they'd been sent and coding and sending outgoing ones. She says that the messages were often so scientific that even after decoding them she and the other cryptographers couldn't understand what they said at all. Both because of the site they were at and because they were women, Mary and the others at Los Alamos were closely monitored at all times. Their mail was censored, they had to receive permission slips to date officers, and their appearance was very closely monitored and policed. She had been at Los Alamos for a year by the time the war ended and everyone there was given the option to leave right away if they'd like to, so Mary left for San Diego to return to SDSU with the support of the GI Bill and her former position at the telegraph company. The company then offered her a job in San Francisco to train people in the implementation of a new system, which she took, although it also required her withdrawal from SDSU. While working in San Francisco, she did not find herself occupied enough with her full-time position with the telegraph company, so she began working part time at a French laundry as their bookkeeper. One of the owners of this laundry was a veteran who wanted a change upon his return to the states, so he offered Mary a loan to buy out his partner and become a part-owner herself. Once she did so, she used the GI Bill to return to school and learn French. After another couple years, she bought out her partner's stake in the business and moved it to another site after the city paid her $40,000 for the original location to build a parking lot. She expanded the business from there, eventually cornering the market in town and being the laundry choice of 90% of hotels in the area. She retired a wealthy woman at age 39 and married a former Navy officer. After marrying, they spent their time traveling the world and living a life of leisure. When she left the service, she'd reached the rank of Technician 5th Grade, and had been awarded the Meritorious Service Award and Good Conduct Award. Mary passed away in February 2018. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Bellafaire, Judy

date:

2003-07-24

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

813; 2003.813

source:

OHP

language:

English

relation:

552498

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1945-1946

rights:

Unrestricted