Capt Ruth Elizabeth Haskell Oral History

title:

Capt Ruth Elizabeth Haskell Oral History

creator:

Haskell, Ruth Elizabeth (Jones) (1912 January 22 - )

subject:

Marine Corps Women's Reserve

description:

Ruth “Betty” Elizabeth Haskell (formerly Jones) was born on January 22, 1912 in Augusta, Georgia. After high school, she went to the University of North Carolina and got a bachelors degree, then taught in North Carolina and did some summer graduate work for a couple of years before returning to Georgia. She then taught at Tubman High School, where she had graduated from herself, until the United States joined World War II and women were allowed to enlist in 1943. She enlisted in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve partially because she knew of several men from Augusta who had joined the Marines in the 1930s and had done amazing things, and they had accepted relatively few women compared to the Army and Navy, so she decided that was the place for her. After basic training she was sent to Officer Training School at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for eight weeks and was commissioned to work at the Depot of Supplies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, she equipped and ran a mess hall for 750 Marines. She was incredibly grateful for the support and help of her enlisted Marines and especially her Master Sergeant, who had run a restaurant before enlisting, since she wasn’t very familiar with cooking or maintaining a functional kitchen. As the war was winding down, she was one of the last two women left on the base. She would sign for all sorts of equipment and finalizing paperwork as the commanding officer of a separation company, which she found one of her most interesting assignments. She herself was discharged in 1946 and returned to the teaching job she’d had before the war. She quickly got married and had a child, so she had to resign from active reserve since women weren’t allowed to be in the Reserves if they had any minor children. When she was discharged Haskell had reached the rank of captain, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Capers, Peggy

date:

1988-03-15

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

389; 1988.389

source:

NSCD | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

098057

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1943-46

rights:

Unrestricted