SSG Carolyn E. Fix Oral History Oral History

title:

SSG Carolyn E. Fix Oral History Oral History

creator:

Fix, Carolyn (1922 November 28 - )

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC) | Army Reserve

description:

An oral history interview with Carolyn Fix. Carolyn E. Fix was born on November 28, 1922 in Utica, New York. She graduated from Hartford High School in 1940 and although she had interest in biology, her family wouldn’t be able to fund a college education, so she never really considered it. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, her older brother, who was studying chemical engineering, enlisted to have slightly more choice in his assignment than if he was drafted. After high school, Fix went through the National Youth Administration’s machine shop training and began working as one of the first four women at the Savage Arms Company. She tried to join the Navy WAVES but was turned down, so when she was working at the plant, she took x-ray tech courses during her time off. Once she finished that course, she couldn’t find a job since they all required work experience, so that’s when she decided to join the Women’s Army Corps. She enlisted in 1943 and went to basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. After finishing basic, her first assignment was at Camp Stoneman near Oakland, California as an x-ray technician. For many men, this camp was their last stop before being sent overseas, so it was especially tense. Their barrack was broken into twice by drunken soldiers, and one armed guard died by suicide. She left for her next station in the fall of 1944. She visited home briefly on her way, and she got sick while she was home. First, she went to the general hospital in Utica, before heading to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. She was at Walter Reed when the war ended and was invited to the first White House garden party for hospitalized veterans. She stayed in the Women’s Army Corps until June 1948 stationed at Letterman General in San Francisco, California. She moved to the reserves that year because she found out about the GI Bill and didn’t want to join the regular Army. She got a bachelors in biology in three and a half years, then went to Syracuse University to get a masters degree studying geology. She left the service between these degrees, in 1951. She also got a Fulbright and went to Australia, studying ecology. When she left the service, Fix had the rank of staff sergeant, 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:

2006-04-06

type:

Moving Image

format:

Hi-8

identifier:

303.01; 2006.303

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

030496

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1943-48 | 1949-51

rights:

Unrestricted