Cpl Pauline Smith Spedden Oral History

title:

Cpl Pauline Smith Spedden Oral History

creator:

Spedden, Pauline (Smith) (1922 January 1 - )

subject:

Marine Corps Women's Reserve

description:

This is the original, unedited interview audio. Pauline “Polly” S. Spedden (formerly Smith) was born on January 1, 1922 in Waterbury, Connecticut. She grew up with her parents and two sisters, one older and one younger. She attended St. Margaret’s School from kindergarten through high school graduation, then attended a junior college in New York City. She returned home and worked as a nursery school teacher and nurse’s aide. She decided to enlist in 1944 because many men were off in the service, other women were getting married, and she wasn’t very happy with her work, so she thought she could get a change of pace and contribute to the war effort by joining the military. She chose to enlist in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in April 1944 because she knew they were accepting people to go into flight school and learn to be a link trainer. She was called to basic training in July and went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. By the time she made it through boot camp, aviation was no longer an option. Instead, because of her mechanical aptitude test scores, she was put into motor transport. After six weeks of motor transport school, she was stationed at Quantico, Virginia, where she remained for the entirety of her service. Although they took mechanic courses at motor transport school, when she was working as a driver the women were told not to touch anything when their cars broke down, to just wait for the men to arrive and fix it themselves. She had several jobs at Quantico in her two years there, and her favorite was driving the men out into the country early in the morning for them to play war games. They would then have free time until the men were coming back to the base, which they would fill playing baseball, taking naps, having picnics, and more. She also drove dump trucks, prisoners, base doctors, and more. She was discharged from Quantico in April 1946 and returned home. She and several friends from the service decided to drive out to California together, but she was one of only two who made it there. She worked at the Palo Alto Airport and used the GI Bill to participate in the GI flight program there. When she left the service in 1946 Spedden had reached the rank of corporal, 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:

Greene, Elizabeth Miller

date:

1993-01-26

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

875; 1993.875

source:

NSCD | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

541887

coverage:

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

rights:

Unrestricted