PFC Anita T. Crist Oral History Side A

title:

PFC Anita T. Crist Oral History Side A

creator:

Crist, Anita (Tabor) (1922 December 13 - )

subject:

Marine Corps Women's Reserve

description:

Side 1 of 2. This is the original, unedited interview audio. Anita Crist (formerly Tabor) was born on December 13, 1922 in Dunsmuir, California. She was in nurse’s training when World War II was going on, and was less than a year from getting a bachelors and being a Registered Nurse (RN) when she left to join the Women’s Ferry Command, not content to remain where she was. From there, she enlisted in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1944. Her brother had joined the Marines earlier as well, and later transferred to the Navy after going to medical school. She went to basic training at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, which was quite tough. She remembers it being a month to six weeks long, but it felt like forever. After finishing training, she was stationed in San Diego, which is where she stayed until her discharge. She was assigned to the Motor Transport Corps, which surprised her since she wasn’t a strong driver. One day, while she was driving a trash truck, she saw a guard hit a prisoner on the kneecap with his club and reported it, but was told to keep her mouth shut. From then on, she felt the MPs were also closely watching her, and suspects that is also why she wasn’t promoted past PFC. Once she got off trash detail, she drove food for the galleys on the base. She didn’t immediately return to school after her discharge because she felt too stirred up, but after moving to California in her 40s she transferred her credits and quickly graduated from Santa Fe State. She also struggled with alcoholism that she believes developed in her time as a Marine and several officers and NCOs enabled. Once, she had to see the Army chaplain and he, as Crist puts it, “made a move on [her],” which she didn’t tell anyone about and struggled with for years. She was also apart of the base swim team, which she thinks may have saved her life as another outlet besides drinking. She would not recommend her daughter join the service, because there are more ways for women to find adventure and an education now. Crist thinks it’s about time that women are able to serve in more roles in the military now and to do so after having children, because they are just as able as men in every way, and she wishes that these roles were as open when she was in the military. When she was discharged, Crist had reached the rank of private 1st class, 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:

Addcox, Corkey Marie

date:

2006-05-22

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

201; 2006.201

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

606555

coverage:

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

rights:

Unrestricted