Title: Roberta Wells Manuscripts and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1943-2004

Creator:

• Wells, Roberta

Call Number: WVM Mss 1776

Quantity: 0.2 linear ft. (1 archives box and 1 flat folder) of papers, 0.6 linear ft. (2 archives boxes 1 folder and 1 oversize folder) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Manuscripts and photographs pertaining to Roberta Wells, a Madison, Wisconsin resident who served in the Women Marines during World War II. The collection includes materials from her service in the Marines and her political career after the war. The collection is mostly photographs from her time in the Marines. Manuscripts from her time in military service consist mainly of training materials and materials she collected while in service. Materials collected in service range from church bulletins and invitations to dances on base to a poem written by a fellow Woman Marine and sheet music written by a Marine she served with in Hawaii. The photograph collection includes official Marine Corps photographs of combat in Japan, Marines and Women Marines in Japan and on base in Honolulu and personal photographs. Photographs from her time in the Women Marines include candid images on base and during outings and more formal images taken by Wells and others of events on base. The range of photographs in her collection illustrates life as a Woman Marine during World War II. Also included in the collection are photographs from Milton Leidner, Wells' husband, who served in the 8th Air Force during World War II. Photographs include several images of himself and others in Europe. Materials from her political service are mainly articles Wells collected about issues she was involved in and concerned with. Wells served on the city board for Madison, Wisconsin and the transportation committee, making her main focus public transportation and the positive impact it could have on all of Dane County.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01776

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Roberta Wells, from just outside Grand Rapids Michigan, was born March 7, 1922. Wells was one of the first to join the Women Marines during World War II, then was part of the first group of Women Marines to be sent overseas. Wells and her fellow Women Marines were stationed on a base in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1944 to 1945. During her service, Wells worked in a recruitment office, recruiting other women to join the service. Later, she moved to working in the Public Relations office, where part of her job was developing photographs for approval by the Marine Corps. During her time at the Public Relations office, Wells developed the iconic “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” photograph. Once Wells and Leidner moved to Madison, Wells became active in local politics, urging community members to become involved and eventually getting elected to local government boards. Her main focus while serving in office was the improvement of public transportation options for Madison and Dane County. Roberta Wells Leidner died July 25, 2004 and is buried at the River Bend Cemetery in Grandville, Michigan.

Milton Leidner was born in New York, New York in 1921. He enlisted during World War II in the 8th Air Force as an Instrument Specialist. Leidner and Wells met after World War II when both were attending Olivet College in Michigan. Later, they married and moved to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The collection of Roberta Wells is arranged into two series: Military Service and Political Service.

Military Service (1943-1946) includes manuscript materials from her application, enlistment and post-war life. Enlistment and service materials include instructions for application to the Women Marines, transportation orders, certificates of enlistment and a post-service employment survey from the Marines. Ephemera from her service includes religious materials from church, newsclippings and other materials she collected. The sheet music is for “Your Kiss is Like a Melody” from Eugene Whitworth, and is autographed with a dedication to Wells. Of particular interest is a poem entitled “The Women Marines are Winning the War, Partly Blue,” with a hand-written note from Roberta, stating that the officers would like to know who wrote the poem. Included in the collection is a scrapbook, which has been dismantled for preservation purposes, copies of the original layout of the scrapbook are included with the manuscript materials while the photographs are in the scrapbook files in the photographs. Training materials from the Marine Corps provide information about the duties of each department of the Corps and hierarchies for the armed services at varying levels. Victory in Japan Day ephemera includes a napkin and news articles about the Victory in Japan Day celebrations.

Photographs in the Military Service series include training and enlistment, service and official photographs from the Marine Corps. Wells took and collected many images of the base during her time there. Included are photographs of her fellow Women Marines on the deck of a ship during a trip. Military life photographs include images of the women marines interacting with other men on base at social events, such as a dance and a dinner, and an office picnic taken by the public relations office, and more casual images of the interactions between Marines and Women Marines on base. The Marine Corps wedding features a wedding between two marines, with their fellow marines in attendance. Included are many views of Hawaii, taken by Wells during her time there.

While working in the publication office, Wells developed and approved for publication photographs from the front lines in the Pacific. These photographs include enlarged prints of Wells and a male marine washing a puppy in a bucket, two copies of the “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” photograph and a beach. Official photographs capture images of Marines in battle in Japan, after-action images of men in stretchers and leisure time images, often featuring Marines with puppies. Parade photographs cover many angles of a parade the Women Marines marched in, including images of the crowd and photographers. Official photographs of the Women Marines capture their arrival in Hawaii and on base, more candid shots of them working on base, parade review and a Taps ceremony.

Wells's personal photographs offer a more casual look at life on base in Hawaii. There are a series of photographs at a camp made up of tents with several shots of the wider camp. The Women Marines are shown waiting at an airstrip and boarding a plane, then departing on a large ship with other marines. Milton Leidner's photographs are from his time in the 8th Air Force as an instruments specialist overseas. Images include several portraits of Leidner and several group photographs. Group photographs are mostly of Leidner and others at an airfield. There is a postcards featuring Wells and two other Women Marines walking down a street and another advertising a club for Women Marines on Honolulu. Photographs of Wells alone, with groups and other Women Marines tend to be much more relaxed than official photographs. They often capture candid moments in the barracks and on base.

Political Service (1974-1981) focuses mainly on Wells's time in Madison as a member of the city board and the transportation committee. Manuscript materials include campaign materials, letters and newsclippings she kept on relevant issues. Photographs feature Wells at city board meetings.

Due to her local notoriety as a city board member, there were many articles written about Wells during her time in Madison. Wells was locally famous as a city official and had been part of a famous group of Women Marines to go overseas, there are many articles about her. Included is a copy of a Leatherneck article about the Women Marines' trip and arrival in Hawaii, features and obituaries on Wells and a small obituary for her father-in-law in a Jerusalem newspaper. Wells's political materials include campaign letters, leaflets and mailings to her constituents, congratulatory notes from friends and co-workers and certificates for her various positions. Wells's collection of newsclippings include many topics. Issues of air, rail and road transportation are covered in many articles. Wells's opinion appears in most articles on city matters and transportation matters. Her main focus on the transportation committee and city board was the expansion of Madison's and Dane County's public transportation system to cut down on car traffic. Also covered in news clippings are election results, endorsements from various newspapers and opinion pieces on Wells and her work.

Photographs of her political service show Wells being sworn in and attending city board meetings and a group of city board members in a marsh. The color photograph is of Wells at a meeting.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Becky and Milton Leidner, 2004 and 2005. Accession Number: Mss 2005.004, and Mss 2005.101.

Processing Information

Processed by Brittany Strobel in 2013

	Series: Military Service
	Subseries: Manuscript
Box   1 Folder   1	Enlistment and service, 1943-1946
Box   1 Folder   2	Ephemera, 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   3	Religious materials, February-March 1945
Box   1 Folder   4	Scrapbook, copies, 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   5	Training materials, 1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Training materials-Charts, 1945
Box   1 Folder   7	Victory in Japan Day ephemera, 1945
Ov   39 Folder   11	Oversized, 1945
	Subseries: Photographs	⇧
	Hawaii
Box   2 Folder   1-5	Base, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   6	Boat Trip, 1945
Box   2 Folder   7	Military life, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   8	Official Events, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   9	Office Picnic, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   10	Social Activities, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   11	Marine Corps wedding, 1945
Box   2 Folder   12	Contact prints, 1945
Box   2 Folder   13-14	Scenery, 1944-1945
	Official Photographs
Box   2 Folder   15	After-action images, 1945
Box   2 Folder   16	Combat, 1945
Box   2 Folder   17	Combat (small), 1945
Box   2 Folder   18	Leisure, 1945
Box   2 Folder   19	Leisure (small), 1945
Box   2 Folder   20	Contact prints, 1945
Box   2 Folder   21	Parade photographs, 1945
Box   2 Folder   22-24	Contact prints, 1945
	Women Marines
Box   2 Folder   25	Arrival, 1944
Box   2 Folder   26	Candid and Leisure, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   27	Mascots, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   28	Contact Prints, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   29	Parade and Taps, 1944-1945
	Personal Photographs
Box   2 Folder   30	Camp, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   31	Departure, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   1	Milton Leidner, 1941-1945
Box   3 Folder   2	Postcard, undated
Box   3 Folder   3-4	Roberta Wells, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   5	Roberta Wells group photographs, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   6-12	Scrapbook, 1943-1944
Box   3 Folder   13-14	Women Marines, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   15	Contact Prints, 1944-1945
	Series: Political Service	⇧
	Subseries: Manuscripts
Box   1 Folder   8	Memorials, obituaries and feature pieces, 1975-2004
Box   1 Folder   9	Campaign Materials, 1973-1986
Box   1 Folder   10	Certificates, 1974-1981
Box   1 Folder   11	Letters and ephemera, 1972-1980
	Subseries: Newsclippings	⇧
Box   1 Folder   12	Airport, local politics, budget issues, 1974-1981
Box   1 Folder   13	Elections and endorsements, 1974-1981
Box   1 Folder   14	Highways and the Beltline, 1974-1981
Box   1 Folder   15	Railroad, 1974-1981
Box   1 Folder   16	Transit, National Transit activities, parking, 1974-1981
Ov   39 Folder   11	Oversized, 1974-1981
	Subseries: Photographs	⇧
Box   3 Folder   16	Political service
Paper Print   5 Folder   10	Political service-color