Ida Ostendorff, Interview by Rebecca Michaud, 1 March 2011
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- Title:
- Ida Ostendorff, Interview by Rebecca Michaud, 1 March 2011
- Date:
- 2011
- Interviewer:
- Michaud, Rebecca
- Interviewee:
- Ostendorff, Ida
- Description:
- Ida Ostendorff was born in Gilbert, South Carolina. At the start of WWII she traveled to Washington D.C. where she passed a typing course and began work as a “government girl” working in the Judge Advocate General’s office. In 1942, upon turning 21 and meeting the minimum age requirement, she jointed the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She completed her basic training at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, where she was trained to use a gas mask. She volunteered for an assignment overseas and traveled to New York City to embark on the Queen Elizabeth. She landed in Scotland on June 6, 1944, having no idea at the time that it was D-Day. She was then transported to her assignment at Stone Staffordshire, England. On her way there she remembers the commotion caused by the Normandy landings: “As we were going along, people were just waving wildly to us because they knew it was D-Day, but we didn’t know it.” She remained in England until the end of the war. She met her husband after the war when they both took the same French class. They were married for 61 years and have five children, several of whom have served in the military.
- Collection Title:
- The Charleston Oral History Program
- Contributing Institution:
- The Citadel Archives & Museum
- Media Type:
- Oral Histories
- Series:
- Women in World War II
- Personal or Corporate Subject:
- United States. Army Air Forces. Air Force, 9th
United States. Army. Women's Auxiliary Army Corps - Topical Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives and World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.
- S.C. County:
- Charleston County (S.C.)
- Language:
- English
- Shelving Locator:
- The Citadel Oral History Program 2010.26.2
- Date Digital:
- 2011-11-01
- Digitization Specifications:
- Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival copies are .wav files.
- Internet Media Type:
- audio/mpeg
- Copyright Status Statement:
- Digital resource copyright 2011, The Citadel Archives
- Admin ID:
- 220957
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