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Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterFinding Aid Authors: Eve Bourbeau-Allard, graduate assistant, in 2015.
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Mary Frances Switzer Papers, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries
Purchase
Mary Frances Switzer (1919-2005) served as a nurse during World War Two in France, Belgium, and Germany. She first trained to become a nurse in the late 1930s - early 1940s in New Orleans. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mr and Mrs John F. Switzer, Mary was educated at Stetson University, Florida, and officiated as President of the Florida Private Duty Nurses Association.
Papers, letters, and photographs of Mary Frances Switzer (1919-2005) of Florida who served as a World War II army nurse in France, Belgium, and Germany. After a pre-war nursing degree completed in New Orleans, Mary spent time training in military camps in the United States and England. The collection comprises letters written during the war by Mary to her parents while she was abroad, in which she describes life in army camps and combat zones, leisure activities while on break, and the places she visits. There are also letters from friends and relatives, the bulk of which comes from Mary's fiancé, Allen Galer, from Michigan. Mary and Allen got engaged in September 1938, but separated when Mary decided to pursue her studies in New Orleans. They stayed in contact throughout the war. Allen, who served in the Philippines, writes about the ups and downs of their relationship and his wartime experience in the army and training for the air force. Mary's papers thus document life in the military during WWII, but also college life and courtship in the late 1930s and 1940s.
Furthermore, the collection contains more than 800 photographs taken by Mary while serving in Europe. They are arranged thematically according to their content. Photographs include numerous informal portraits of nurses and soldiers, landscapes and cityscapes, and many scenes captured in military camps and on the road with the army across Western Europe.
Also included in the collection are official military documents about Mary's assignments, ephemera from locations visited in Europe, and earlier letters exchanged among family members.
This collection has been digitized. Links to the digital objects are at the folder level within the container inventory.
Collection divided into four series: Correspondence; Army Papers and Wartime Ephemera; Photographs; and Negatives. The Correspondence series is divided into four subseries organized by correspondents and then chronologically. The internal arrangement for subsequent series is thematic. Most photographs are undated and unidentified, so a thematic organized prevailed except when information written on the back of photographs allowed for a more precise classification.
The bulk of the Switzer family correspondence are letters written to John S. Switzer, Mary's father, by relatives and business contacts concerning land transactions, real estate, the construction of a house, farm matters, and financial matters.
Letters to John Switzer. Inheritance of land, land sales, hired labor for farm, harvests, family news, bank arrangements for the construction of a house. Most letters sent to John while living in Jacksonville, Florida, by his father.
Letters to Mr. and Mrs. Switzer. A July 1930 letter to Mrs. Switzer regarding membership dues to the Annie Perdue Sebring chapter in Jacksonville, FL; and a December 1940 letter for "Ma and Pa Switzer" from "your son Charles,: living in Georgia, giving news of his health and romantic life.
This sub-series comprises letters sent by Mary to her parents during her training as a nurse in England and her wartime service in France, Belgium, and Germany. Mary requests items to be sent to her, especially food, and describes her travels, her difficult work shifts in field hospitals, the social life and entertainment provided in army camps, and rest periods. Most letters are several pages long, but the correspondence also includes V-Mail (Victory Mail, messages transferred on film and then printed at destination), telegrams, and cards. They were previously glued to scrapbook pages but were extracted, when possible, for better preservation.
Went to Bath, describes the social life in training camps.
Recounts trip to London and includes theater programs.
Scope and Contents Expresses her frustration at "doing nothing" and waiting in England; tries to locate a man named Paul through the Red Cross. Includes a clipping from a newspaper gossip column "Tea Table Chatter" about an encounter in London between Mary and Captain Jack Jourdan, also from FL.
Feeling of helplessness as she hears of battles; transfers to France to accompany troops. Recounts sleeping in fox holes and hearing sound of shells, as well as starting to work in a field hospital.
Retells details of her trip to England to France and says she works hard.
Works on night duty with German prisoners; hopes to go to a Fred Astaire show for soldiers (see Photographs series, box 3 folder 5, for visuals of the event).
Rest period. Has travelled to Paris and is now in Belgium.
Describes transferring to Germany, getting 45 new patients in her ward, and being close to battles
Living in Michigan, Allen Galer, born 1918, was Mary's longtime suitor and fiance, though Mary broke the engagement. Allen's numerous letters over the years follow their courtship and the difficulties their long-distance relationship faced. As both corresponded while students, the sub-series also documents college social life in the late 1930s. Allen's letters later tell of his experience training as an army pilot during the war.
Sends a humorous fake marriage license along with one letter, and discusses his new job and personal finances.
Hopes Mary can visit him in Michigan for the summer; reacts to Mary's announcement that she wants to study nursing for three years in New Orleans before getting married by stating his impatience to marry her.
Considers breaking the engagement if she does not write to him more often.
Includes Valentines.
After Mary stops writing to him and breaks the engagement, Allen requests his class ring back.
Demands explanations for their break up.
Now in military training in North Carolina (Camp Davis for artillery forces), Allen announces he will leave for California to be dispatched overseas in the Philippines as of January 1942.
Good-bye letters before leaving for overseas. Later writes about his training in airforce, and news of his friends, mentioning he is not proud of one who is still a civilian. Expects war to last several more years. His June 9, 1943 letter announces he is back to the United States after one year overseas. Hopes to start flight training.
Expresses his happiness that they were able to meet again, and his persistent love, and talks about marriage again. Reflects over his feelings and how he has changed over the years.
Complains about the difficulties of pilot training.
Fails his tests to be pilot, returns to ground forces.
Correspondence with Lieutenant James R. "Jim" Bellace. Jim writes from Great Britain and talks about entertainment and social life
Correspondence with Lieutenant Mark L. Cathy. Writing from various air force training camps in the US, Mark is a friend of Mary's and seems romantically interested in her.
A friend living in New York city, Gertie appears to work as a secretary in an office. She writes to congratulate Mary on her engagement to Allen and advises her to choose Allen over her studies in New Orleans. Gertie also writes about her worries for her relatives in Europe. Her fiance's parents are still in England and Gertie is trying to get her mother out of Germany.
Two letters giving various news. Julian refers to Mary as "an old girl friend."
Valentines from Southern Baptist Hospital Patients or Colleagues. One valentine from "patient Patches" and a love letter from a "Rosanna" ("Rosie-Anne") on paper with Southern Baptist Hospital, New Orleans, LA, letterhead.
This series brings together various documents kept by Mary from her WWII military service overseas. Several travel booklets are undated and presumed to have been collected by Mary during the war, unless she later went to Western Europe again.
Duty orders and clearances.
1924 Football admission ticket and undated pamphlet "Decorations and Medals of the United States of America."
This series comprises more than 830 photographs documenting Mary's experience as an army nurse during the war. They show nurses and soldiers in army camps, on the road as they travel in Europe, training with weapons, and playing games. They also show cityscapes and landmark buildings, as well as wartime landscapes with bombed towns. The photographs are organized thematically, when possible according to the identified individuals or locations. However, most photographs do not have any caption indicating a time, location, or name of persons.
Informal portrait of Allen Galer. Includes a note from him on the back.
For other photographs of nurses posing with weapons see informal portraits of Mary and Charline (Box 2, folders 23 and 26).
Includes one photograph of doctors operating on patients.
Featuring a 1945 baseball game among soldiers
Photographs of nurses and army, includes nurses and soldiers posing by army trucks, trains, and planes as they move across Western Europe
Photographs of nurses and army, some photographs taken in Germany and some feature signs of boundaries between US and British army zones
Photographs of nurses and army.
London, England, including 7 photographs by Mary, 24 "Real Photo Snaps", and the 2 envelopes in which the snaps were sold to tourists.
Brussels, Belgium, including 10 snaps sold to tourists and the original envelope.
14 items that appear unrelated to Mary's wartime experience, includes earlier portraits of unidentified men and women, photographs of children, and of a music band.
Nitrate negatives housed in special storage. Ask staff member for consultation. Most negatives correspond to printed photographs in the previous Photograph series. The negatives are thematically organized following the themes delineated in the Photographs series.
*This box does not circulate.*