Title: Dorothy Dannies Alexander Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1942-1980

Creator:

• Alexander, Dorothy Dannies

Call Number: WVM Mss 5

Quantity: 1.7 linear ft. (1 archives box and 5 flat boxes) of papers, 0.8 linear ft. (1 archives box, 1 flat box and 2 oversized folders) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact our Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of Dorothy Dannies Alexander, who served as an officer and company commander in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II from 1942 to 1944 and was active in the Milwaukee chapter of the WAC Veterans Association. Papers from her service as a WAC officer include correspondence, personnel records, and a 1942 WAC officer training script. Five scrapbooks with numerous newspaper clippings and other memorabilia document her career, life at the military bases at which she served, and the broader world of the WAC. WAC Veterans Association papers include correspondence, convention business and activities documents, and newspaper clippings. Held in Milwaukee, the 1949 and 1965 WAC Veterans Association conventions are particularly well documented, as Alexander was instrumental in the organization of those conventions. The collection also contains a scrapbook and 1972 correspondence of Alice Watson, of Riverside, California, who served under Alexander in the WAC and was also active in the WAC Veterans Association. The correspondence includes reminiscences about the WAC and the scrapbook contains photographs taken at WAC Veterans Association conventions. The photographs in this collection document life at the three posts where Alexander served: Camp Grant (Illinois), Fort Custer (Michigan), and Camp McCoy (Wisconsin). Included are many candid and posed photographs of WAC soldiers at work and recreation, inspection visits by superior officers, and a 1944 WAC field services event in Wausau, Wisconsin. The WAC Veterans Association photographs are mostly posed groups from conventions from the 1940s to 1960s. The collection also includes a small number of personal photographs.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00005

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Dorothy Dannies was born on December 15, 1912 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and graduated from Wauwatosa High School in 1930. She attended the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University before graduating with a degree in Elementary Education and English from Milwaukee State Teachers College in 1939. She taught school at Fisher Elementary School in Wauwatosa from 1939 to 1942. Dannies joined the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1942 and graduated from the first WAC officer training class at Fort Des Moines, Iowa as a 2nd Lieutenant. She then became an instructor at Fort Des Moines and later a supply officer, at which time she was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. In March 1943, she was named company commander of the 46th WAC Post, Headquarters Company, Camp Grant, Illinois. While at Camp Grant she married Eugene Alexander, whom she knew from the Fisher School. In July 1943, Alexander became the adjutant commander of the 4621st Service Unit at Fort Custer, Michigan and in November was named the company commander of that unit. In early 1944 she was named company commander of the 4620th Service Unit at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin and was promoted to Captain. In July 1944, Alexander left the service because of the impending birth of her first child.

After the war, Alexander was instrumental in organizing the Milwaukee area chapter of the WAC Veterans Association and she served for a time as president of the Milwaukee Chapter. She was active in the national WAC Veterans Association activities, she attended many of the WAC Veterans Association conventions, and in 1965 was the chairman of the national convention, which was held in Milwaukee. Alexander remained active in the WAC Veterans Association for many years, and maintained contact with many of her former comrades. She died in May 1983.

The papers of Dorothy Dannies Alexander are divided into four series, Military Service, WAC Veterans Association, Alice Watson, and Photographs.

Military Service (1942-1944) includes correspondence, Alexander's Officer Qualification Record, personnel rosters for units that Alexander commanded, a script that she used as a WAC officer trainer, WAC song booklets and the program for a musical production held at Camp Grant. The five scrapbooks have significant material about Alexander's military service and about the WAC. The scrapbooks are comprised mainly of newspaper clippings about Alexander, life at the bases at which she was stationed and the larger world of the WAC in World War II. They also include correspondence, social invitations and programs, the script for a 1943 radio program about the WAC, and other memorabilia related to her military service.

WAC Veterans Association (1947-1980) primarily consists of material related to the WAC Veterans Association national conventions organized by year with one folder for general material related to the WAC Veterans Association. The series includes newspaper clippings, brochures and convention schedules and a small amount of material

relating to the operation of the association. The 1949 convention, which as held in Milwaukee, includes correspondence and material on the finances of the convention. The 1965 convention, which was also held in Milwaukee and was chaired by Alexander, has the most extensive coverage, including convention minutes, correspondence and the speech given at the traditional Pallas Athene luncheon. The series is arranged by convention year, with one folder for general material related to the WAC Veterans Association.

Alice Watson (1943-1972) contains a scrapbook, consisting of photographs and memorabilia from WAC Veterans Association functions, some World War II-era photographs, and thirty-five letters to Watson from former comrades in the WAC including one letter from Alexander. The provenance of this series is unclear, but at some point Alexander must have obtained possession of these materials from this former WAC subordinate who died in 1972.

The Photographs in the Alexander papers are organized into three sub-series, Military Service, WAC Veterans Association, and Personal.

The Military Service sub-series (1943-1949) contains the bulk of the photographs, and includes numerous photographs of WAC activities during World War II. The series is organized by the name of the base where Alexander was assigned. It also includes photographs documenting a 1944 WAC field services event in Wausau, Wisconsin, additional WAC activities, and other World War II-era photographs.

The WAC Veterans Association sub-series (1948-1965) consists exclusively of photographs taken at WAC Veterans Association conventions. Most of the photographs are of posed groups, but some convention activities such as a variety show are also pictured. The Personal sub-series (1947-1950) includes a small number of post-war photographs of Alexander and family members.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Presented by Ted Fetting, Milwaukee CVSO, on behalf of Dorothy Dannies Alexander, 1991. Accession Number: V1991.80. This collection was known previously as Accession Number: Series 5 and Record Group 5.

Processing Information

Originally processed by Mark Van Ells, 1994, with additional processing by Jonathan Nelson, 2001.

	Series: Military Service
Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1943
Box   1 Folder   2	Personnel and training, 1942-1943
Box   1 Folder   3	Newspaper clippings, 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   4	Personnel rosters, 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   5	Songs and musical productions, 1943-1944
	Scrapbooks
Box   2 Folder   Vol. 1	W.A.C. officer scrapbook, 1942-1943
Box   3 Folder   Vol. 2	Camp Grant, Illinois, March 18, 1943-July 9, 1943
Box   4 Folder   Vol. 3	Fort Custer, Michigan, July 9, 1943-January 7, 1944
Box   5 Folder   Vol. 4	Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, February 3, 1944-July 30, 1944
Box   6 Folder   Vol. 5	“The Real McCoy,” 1944-1945
	Series: Women's Army Corps Veterans Association	⇧
Box   1 Folder   6	General, 1948-1980
	Subseries: National Conventions	⇧
Box   1 Folder   7	First, Chicago, 1947
	Third, Milwaukee, 1949
Box   1 Folder   8	General
Box   1 Folder   9	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   10	Fourth, Philadelphia, 1950
Box   1 Folder   11	Sixth, Des Moines, 1952
Box   1 Folder   12	Nineteenth, Milwaukee, 1965
Box   1 Folder   13	Twenty-second, Daytona Beach, 1968
Box   1 Folder   14	Twenty-third, Chicago, 1969
Box   1 Folder   15	Twenty-fifth, Washington, D.C., 1971
Box   1 Folder   16	Twenty-sixth, Kansas City, 1972
Box   1 Folder   17	Twenty-seventh, Atlantic City, 1973
Box   1 Folder   18	Twenty-eighth, San Diego, 1974
Box   1 Folder   19	Twenty-ninth, Detroit, 1975
Box   1 Folder   20	Thirtieth, Bal Harbour, 1976
Box   1 Folder   21	Thirty-first, Newport Beach, 1977
Box   1 Folder   22	Thirty-second, Little Rock, 1978
Box   1 Folder   23	Thirty-fourth, St. Paul, 1980
	Series: Alice Watson	⇧
Box   1 Folder   24	Correspondence, 1972
Box   7 Folder   23	Scrapbook, 1943-1972
	Series: Photographs	⇧
	Subseries: Military Service
Box   7 Folder   1-7	Camp Grant, Illinois [38] 1942-1943
PhOv   1 Folder   1	Camp Grant, Illinois [4] 1942-1943
Box   7 Folder   8	Fort Custer, Michigan [5] 1943
Box   7 Folder   9-11	Camp McCoy, Wisconsin [18] 1944
Box   7 Folder   12-13	W.A.C. field services, Wausau, Wisconsin [11] 1944
Box   7 Folder   14-15	Women's Army Corps [8] , 1943-1949
Box   7 Folder   16-17	W.A.C. Portraits [5] , circa 1943-1948
Box   7 Folder   18	Other World War II military [3] , circa 1942-1945
	Subseries: W.A.C. Veterans Association	⇧
Box   7 Folder   19-20	W.A.C. Veterans Association [13] , 1948-1968
PhOv   1 Folder   2	W.A.C. Veterans Association [2] , 1953
Box   7 Folder   21-22	Personal [9] , 1947-1950