United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve
(USMCWR)
. ...III. Sources
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-. WWII Sources
Official Sources
Articles, Magazines, Books
Movies
-. Literature
History books
Memoirs and Novels
-. Documentary
-. Links
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Sources
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Below I have listed reference material about the USMCWR that might be useful for all who want to get more information. Many of these sources I have used for the background information presented on this website. This list is not meant to be a complete arrangement. I'm still searching for more and I would be very happy about everyone who can recommend further interesting material. 
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WWII Sources
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Official Sources
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United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve, MCP 117944, 10-28-43 50M.
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Women of America by the U.S. Marines Corps produced by Milwaukee Advertising Club
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Be A Marine ... Free a Marine to fight, U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve, MCP 110340, 1-25-43 100M.
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Personal Facts, MCPB 115471, 8-27-43 200M.

So Proudly We Serve, MCPB 120646 1-18-44 100M.

.. Many different recruiting brochures were distributed to encourage women to join the Marines Women's Reserve during WWII. 
These official brochures give much information about purposes of  the Women Marines, requirements for joining, payment etc. 

The content of some recruitment brochures are represented online here:
Women Veterans Historical Collection

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Application forms consisting of:
Application for Marines Corps Women's Reserve (NMC 51 A&1)
Report of Physical Examination (NMC 54 A&1)
Information concerning the Aptitude Test (NMC 55a A&1)
General Information
These application forms give detailed information about how to join the Marines Corps Women's Reserve. They contain several questions about the applicant, her personal data, vocational experience, physical health, etc.  Especially interesting is the information about the aptitude tests which presents several examples of the kind of questions that would be asked. 
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Articles, Magazines, Books
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Meet Molly Marine by PFC Barbara E. Bristol, MCWR, Obrana Press (1945) . Cartoon about the Women Marines. Main character Molly caricatures many experiences of the daily life of female Marines. Funny and interesting to read.
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Ladies in Uniform
by Margaret Sprague, 
Acwell Press (1943)
. A complete guide to the women's services in the Armed Forces of the United States (WAC, WAFS, Waves, Marines Reserve, Spars). Detailed information about their purposes, recruiting requirements, payment, uniforms etc. with the intention to encourage more women to become ladies in uniform.
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Life Magazine, 
March 27, 1944
This issue contains an article about Women Marines. It shows examples of the various jobs women performed and includes an overview of uniforms.
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.. A Guide to US Navy Insignia including U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard by Thomas Penfield, Whitman Publishing Company (1944)
Navy, Marine and Coast Guard insignia presented in over 300 colored illustrations. Additionally, short uniform description (including the women's organizations WAVES, Spars, NNC, Marine Corps Women's Reserve)
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Literature
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History Books
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Free A Marine To Fight: Women Marines in World War II by Colonel Mary V. Stremlow, U.S. Marines Corps Reserve (Ret), Marine Corps Historical Center (1994) .. Detailed history of women Marines in World War II with many excellent wartime black and white pictures.
The book is published online here:
http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc
/pcn-190-003129-00/index.htm
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Marine Corps Women's Reserve in World War II by Lieutenant Colonel Pat Meid, USMCR, (1962, revised 1968) Very detailed history of women Marines during WWII with all information derived from official records and appropriate published and manuscript sources.
The book is published online here:
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate
/usmchist/women.txt
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Women Marines: The World War II Era by Peter A Soderbergh,  ISBN-13: 9780275941314 (1992) Study about the interesting recollections of 146 Women Reservists who served in the US Marine Corps during World War II who were surveyed by Peter Soderbergh.
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In Defense of a Nation - Servicewomen in World War II by Major General Jeanne M. Holm, USAF
 (Ret.), Vandamere Press, ISBN 0-918339-43-X (1998)
This book contains excellent overviews of several WWII women's organization (like WAVES, SPARS, WAC, ANC, NNC, WASP, Women Marines) illustrated with nice black and white photographs. 
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USMC Uniforms & Equipment 1941-1945 by Bruno Alberti, Histoire and Collections, ISBN-10: 2915239991 (2007)  This uniform reference book contains original B&W period photos as well as modern color photographs. A thirteen page chapter about the USMCWR is included.
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Dressed for Duty. America's Women in Uniform 1898-1973 (Volume One) by Jill Halcomb Smith, R. James Bender Publishing, ISBN 0-912138-85-8 (2004) The two volumes about women's organizations of the last century cover all military branches and especially give interesting details about several mostly forgotten civilian organizations. 
They contain many original photographs and some color pictures of uniform items.
The chapter about the Women Marines is in Volume 1.
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World War II Allied Women’s Services by Martin Brayley, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-053-06 (2001) . Short overview about allied women's services of WWII (from the USA: WAAC/WAC, WAVES, Marines Reserve, Spars). It contains colored drawings of different uniforms in addition to black and white photos. The chapter about women Marines is very short.
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Memoirs and Novels
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A Few Good Women: Memoirs of a World War II Marine by Inga Fredriksen Ferris
ISBN 1401049818 (2002)
.. The memoirs of Inga Fredriksen Ferris give an  interesting and detailed insight in her daily life as women Marine during World War II. 
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Women Marine: A Memoir of a Woman who joined the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II to "Free a Marine to Fight" by Theresa Karas Yianilos
ISBN 0-962114-24-x (1994)
Autobiographical story of a young girl who joined the USMCWR in 1943 and who experienced what it really meant to "free a Marine to fight". Including many interesting historical background information and a list of Marine Corps Language, Slang and Navy words.
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Documentary
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Free a Man to Fight! Women Soldiers of Word War II by Mindy Pomper & RYS Productions (1999) . Great video that features rare archival footage interwoven with intimate interviews of women who served in the military during WWII. It includes several interviews with former members of the Marines Women's Reserve.
Unfortuntaley, the documentary contains a few mistakes. More information about these inaccuracies can be found here
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Women At War - from the home front to the front lines by 'V for Victory', Atlas Video Inc. (1991) . This documentary consists mainly of original newsreel stories to detail the vital contributions made by women during World War II, going from the factories to the battlefields. Covers WAC, Army Nurses, WAVES, Marines Women's Reserve, Navy Nurses, Cadet Nurses, etc.
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Links
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Women Marines Association
 Website of the female Marines veterans association.
Nice uniform pictures and additional information about the Women Marines can be found on the internet page of
Edith Macias Vann, member of the Women Marines Association. 
http://members.tripod.com/womenmarines
/uniforms_2.htm
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World War II Timeline
This website about World War II has an interesting article about the first women Marines overseas. 
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Women Veterans Historical Collection
. The Women Veterans Historical Collection documents the female experience in the Armed Forces through letters, papers, photographs, published materials, uniforms, medals and oral histories. Impressive and most informative website!
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