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American Lake Veterans Affairs Medical Center

• 1993 (Creation)

Oral history interviews with Ruth B. Nordstrom, Anne L. Gregory, Lyn Wilhelm, and Rene Z. Wilson by Crystal Graham conducted February-March 1993. Four female veterans reflect on their military careers and share their connections to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at American Lake. Ruth Nordstrom, a long-time volunteer at American Lake, describes her time as an office clerk for WAAC (Womens Army Corp) during World War II and for WAF (Women in the Air Force) during the Korean War. Anne Gregory, a psychiatric nurse, talks about her experiences in Vietnam as a member of the Army Nurse Corps. Linda Wilhelm, a resident of the domiciliary, discusses her service time in the US Navy during the Vietnam era and describes some of the difficulties she faced as a gay woman in the military. Ren Wilson, a former domiciliary resident, recounts the high and low points of her Army career and talks about the social barriers she encountered as an African-American female officer. All interviewees comment on how the VA can better serve female veterans.

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This oral history is a part of the University of Washington Tacoma Community History Project. To access additional content related to this interview, see the UWT Digital Collections.