CPT Miriam Virginia Ownby Oral History Tape 1, Side A

title:

CPT Miriam Virginia Ownby Oral History Tape 1, Side A

creator:

Ownby, Miriam Lee Virginia (1920 May 27 - )

subject:

Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) | Women's Army Corps (WAC) | Army Air Forces

description:

Tape 1 of 2, side 1 of 2. Miriam L. Virginia Ownby (formerly Lee) was born on May 27, 1920 in Kingston, West Virginia. Pearl Harbor was attacked when she was in her senior year at Concord College in West Virginia, and she knew the creation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942 was her opportunity to serve in the armed forces. Her brother, who was an Army officer, and her father, who had served in World War I and was called back to active duty in World War II, both supported her decision to enlist. She applied and completed all the necessary examinations at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. A few days later, she received her orders to Fort Des Moines, Iowa for basic training. Basic training was completed two days after Thanksgiving in 1942, the only Thanksgiving she remembers celebrating while in the military. After basic, Ownby was sent to Administrative School which was in downtown Des Moines, and she finished by Christmas. Her first assignment was at Fort Ds Moines in Stable Row, where she worked in Personnel interviewing people to help determine their Military Occupation Specialty (MOS). In the spring of 1943 she applied for Officer Candidate’s School, officially starting on April 26. This timing meant that her assignment was held off for a short while after completing OCS as the WAAC became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Her commission came in September 1943 with the Army Air Forces at Patterson Field in Fairfield, Ohio. When she got there, she was assigned to the Enlisted Branch of Military Personnel. In April 1944, she went on a trip to three area bases with three other WAC officers to help WAC personnel get more familiar with field organizations and check on participation in training and activities. It was while on this trip when she heard the news of D-Day over the radio. When the Air Service Command and Air Material Command were combined and moved together to Wright Field as Air Technical Service Command, her office remained the same and she moved to Wright Field. In April 1945, she was sent to Robins Field, Georgia for Air Technical Service Command Training School. She was then assigned as a commander to Squadron C 4114 AAF Base Unit in Oakland, California. Towards the end of her enlistment period, she met her husband and they married very quickly in April 1946, and she left the service in May. Upon receiving her discharge Ownby had reached the rank of captain, and for her service she was awarded a Women’s Army Corps Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. A transcript of this reading is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Anton, Josephine

date:

2004-02-02

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

715.01; 2004.715

source:

OHP | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

158666

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1942-46

rights:

Unrestricted