PFC Constance "Connye" Perry Oral History Side A

title:

PFC Constance "Connye" Perry Oral History Side A

creator:

Perry, Constance (1923 October 19 - )

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

description:

Side 1 of 2. Constance "Connye" Perry was born on October 19, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Connye came from a family of five siblings, two sisters and three brothers, and her parents were both from Alabama. She attended Armstrong High School and worked at night while going to school. She had a year and a half to go before she graduated but saw an ad that said "Uncle Sam needs YOU! Join the WACs" while at work as a key punch operator for the Census Bureau, so she asked her boss if she could leave early to join the Army, which she did. Since Connye was only 19 years old, she needed her parents to sign consent forms allowing her to enlist. Her mother agreed and signed the forms, and Connye's Army career began. Connye enlisted on August 21, 1944 and was sent to basic training in Des Moines, Iowa for six weeks. Upon completion of basic, she was assigned to Sioux Falls, South Dakota as a confidential file clerk. While there, she was the only black woman in her unit but states she never had any trouble because of it, saying that her mixed family provided her with an at-home orientation that helped her move confidently through those spaces. Connye learned that the Army was forming a group of black women to go overseas and replace a postal unit and she was interested. Even though Connye was too young to be shipped overseas, after another woman who was meant to go got pneumonia, she was able to fill her spot. Connye soon became part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which was an all-black battalion of the Women's Army Corps. The 6888th had 855 black women, both enlisted and officers, and was led by Major Charity Adams Earley. It was the only all-black, all-female battalion overseas during World War II. Connye was stationed in England and France, and she remembers France being completely "bombed out," to the point that the streets were basically just unrecognizable rubble they had to navigate through, slowing them so much she thinks a troop train she was on didn't move more than 20 minutes every four hours. After the war ended, she was honorably discharged from the Army on August 24, 1946. After marrying her first husband in 1946, she settled in Washington, DC, where she still lived at the time of the interview. Connye called her experience in the Army a privilege, and stated that the Army instilled in her the sense of responsibility and awareness for the value of being on time. Connye lived a full life after being discharged. She had 4 marriages, 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren. She died on April 16, 2014 as a proud Army veteran. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2003-08-11

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

734; 2003.734

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

284354

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1944-46

rights:

Unrestricted