PFC Pasqualine J. Lawson Oral History Tape 1, Side A

title:

PFC Pasqualine J. Lawson Oral History Tape 1, Side A

creator:

Lawson, Pasqualine "Lena" Jones (Gibbons) (1907 October 22 - )

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

description:

Tape 1 of 2, side 1 of 2. Pasqualine “Lena” Lawson (maiden name Jones, formerly Gibbons) was born on October 22, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the fifteenth of sixteen children her parents had together, her parents were teachers, and her father was greatly involved in Republican politics. When she was young, she was sent with her sisters to attend The Oblate Sisters of Providence Academy, a historic private Black school in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended several other private schools, graduating from John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in 1927 and attending Hunter College in New York. She transferred from there to Fordham University’s School of Social Work. She was married in 1932, and when the United States joined World War II her husband volunteered for service. She volunteered with the Aircraft Warning Service and was appointed as a medical field agent through the selective service system until she joined the Women’s Army Corps in July 1944. She had 30 days to spend with her husband before he was sent overseas, then went to Fort Des Moines, Iowa for basic training. After training, she was assigned to Sioux Falls, South Dakota as a psychiatric social worker. Here she would interview psychiatric patients before they were treated by the doctors, and would help facilitate personality tests that were required by the Army for pilots and enlisted women to take. Her last station was in Tucson, Arizona where she helped process men getting out of the miliary after the war ended. She’s glad to see psychiatry being recognized more and more as important to the health of people and servicepeople, because it wasn’t considered as important when she served. Lawon was discharged in 1946 with the rank of private 1st class, and for her service she was awarded an Army Good Conduct Medal, Women’s Army Corps Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2006-04-04

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

548.01; 2006.548

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

098631

coverage:

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

rights:

Unrestricted