Muriel Bunker papers
Scope and Contents Note
This collection contains letters to and from Marquette, Michigan native Muriel Bunker, written while she served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Most of the correspondence is from Muriel to her parents. Other correspondence includes letters from Muriel to her sister, from Muriel to her Aunt Min and Uncle Ed Anderson, from her brother Earl to Muriel, and from the soldiers to their mother. The bulk of the collection is dated between 1942 and 1945. The collection includes a few photographs, news clippings, flyers, samples of V-mail, and a CD and typed transcript of an interview with Bunker conducted by Sonya Chrisman on May 23, 2007.
Dates
- Creation: 1942 - 2007
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1942 - 1945
Creator
- Bunker, Muriel (Person)
- Martinez, Sonya (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions. Open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
Permission to publish material from the Muriel Bunker papers, MSS-159, must be obtained from the University Archivist. The University Archivist may be reached by phone at 906-227-1225, or e-mail, archives@nmu.edu. The University Archivist may also be reached in Room 126 of the Learning Resource Center, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI.
Biographical note
A native of Marquette, Michigan, Muriel Bunker served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II and was stationed in the United States, England, France, and Germany between 1944 and 1945. Before the war, Bunker had been a nurse's aide at the Newberry State Hospital in Newberry, Michigan. She was in the Women's Army Corps for seven months and nine days, from March 21, 1944 to September of 1945.
Following the War, Muriel worked in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a telephone operator, trainer, and supervisor. As a WAC medic, Muriel provided support to nurses and basic medical care to the wounded. In Germany, she was posted to General Eisenhower’s headquarters and witnessed Germany’s surrender to the Allies.
"We knew it was going to be signed that day [May 7, 1945] and we saw the generals and everybody go into this building . . . We knew they were signing the peace treaty in this building and we had our eyes on it and you could see there were great, big windows; you could see the flash bulbs flashing and that they’re taking pictures of all the generals that are there. And uh, all of a sudden after hours that we stood outside anxiously waiting, and finally we got the ntice that they had signed. And you should have seen the crowd break loose – hats were flying, everybody was kissing everybody, and everybody went crazy (laughs)."
Extent
1 box
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement note
The collection is broken into four series: Correspondence, Interview, Memorabilia, and Photographs. Correspondence is then divided into Letter Sent and Letters Received, which is then organized alphabetically by the last name of the receiver. The other series only have one folder each, so there is no arrangement.
View This Collection Online
This collection is part of UPLINK, the Upper Peninsula Digital Network. You can see it on the UPLINK website here.
Subject
- United States. Army. Women's Army Corps (Organization)
- Title
- Muriel Bunker papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Annika Peterson
- Date
- 15 August 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 8/15/2016: processing collection - updating resource record
Repository Details
Part of the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives Repository
Harden Learning Resources Center 126
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette 49855 United States
906-227-1225
906-227-1333 (Fax)
archives@nmu.edu
