Letters

Jeanne Cleary's Letters Home from the USMC Women's Reserve

October 17, 1944 to April 26, 1946

Background

United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (Reserve) was the World War II women's branch of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. It was authorized by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 30 July 1942. Its purpose was to release officers and men for combat, and to replace them with women in U.S. shore stations for the duration of the war, plus six months. Ruth Cheney Streeter was appointed the first director.

Aside from patriotism, Colonel Streeter was interested to learn the reasons why young women joined the Reserve. A survey of 1,000 new enlistees was conducted at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, which asked this question. The results of this survey showed that 750 enlistees had had positive reasons for enlisting. Some had male relatives or friends in the armed forces, and some wanted revenge against the enemy, while others wanted the experience it would bring to their lives. The remaining 250 acknowledged they were trying to escape from something: a bad home life, a broken marriage, boredom, or some personal disappointment.

The incorporated territory of Hawaii was the only overseas duty station where members were assigned. They served in occupations classified as professional, semi-professional, clerical, skilled trades, services, and sales. The peak strength of the Reserve was about 19,000. With the end of World War II in sight, the corps began to demobilize the members and by December 1945, the Reserve was down to 12,300, and by August 1946 it had about 300 members. The Reserve did not accept African American or Japanese American women during World War II, but did accept Native American women.

Initially, General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, had been opposed to having women serve in the Marine Corps. Before the end of 1943, however, he reversed himself, saying, "Like most Marines, when the matter first came up I didn't believe women could serve any useful purpose in the Marine Corps ... Since then I've changed my mind."


The Cleary Family

James Mansfield Cleary and Evelyn (Budie] Morency Cleary had six children; Jeanne was the third. Born on October 26, 1923, she graduated from the University of Chicago in 1944 and joined the Marines shortly before her 21st birthday. She wrote to 227 Sheridan Road Kenilworth, IL, where, in addition to her parents, lived her siblings: Marguerite* (27); Mary Evelyn (24); Dorothy Anne (D'Anne] (18); James (Jimmy) (15); and Michael (8). (Parenthetical ages in 1944.)

*Marguerite married James McNulty, a Navy pilot, in 1942. He died overseas in April, 1944, and their son Patrick was born on April 11 of the same year. Marguerite and Patrick lived at 227 Sheridan during the time covered by these letters.


The Letters

Jeanne's daughter Kate Goessling Madson found the letters at the Glencoe, IL home of her Aunt Marguerite while helping her cousin Patrick McNulty go through the home's contents after his mother's death in 2019 at the age of 101. The house contained a large quantity of her parents' files and records. These letters were in an accordion file with "Jeanne" scrawled on it in black marker. It also held an assortment of letters Jeanne wrote home in 1940 and 1941 from Trinity College (which she attended before transferring to the U of Chicago), and a few from summer camp in 1936, when she was 13.

There are 70 Marine letters - typed, hand written, one-sided and double-sided - on stationery of various sizes and opacities. With one exception, there are no accompanying photographs. A very few letters have no date, and are sequenced as seems correct based on their contents.


The Letters' Contents

Jeanne served in the military for just over 18 months. She was 21 years old when she joined, 22 when she was discharged, and it appears that she wrote home several times a month. (Long distance phone calls were expensive.) The letters mention her work assignments, her colleagues and bunk mates and lots about how she spends her time off. She asks after folks at home, thanks them for treats and asks for favors. She pursues photography knowledge.

Jeanne did her basic training at Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, North Carolina, and then was transferred to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. The letters indicate that she went to Sunday Mass, visited relatives and friends as possible, explored locally with her colleagues, learned to drink the occasional beer and took a lot of photographs. They are newsy and cheerful, containing very few complaints, no homesickness and no analysis of others or herself. She is composed, curious and sensible.


Note

The PDFs of the letters are labeled: JCG* [Year]-[Month]-[Day]

  • JCG 44-10-17 – "The train is stale and filthy."

  • JCG 45-1-1 – "I'm leaving here Wednesday for San Diego where I am to be a mail clerk.”

  • JCG 45-8-14 - "At this point - the war ended - the office is in an uproar -“

  • JCG 45-8-31 – "I'm so anxious to get started on something."

  • JCG 45-12-18 – "The separation centers up and down the coast are all full and overflowing”

  • JCG 46-2-19 - "the troopship Wakefield came in carrying 5000 Marines”

  • JCG 46-3-13 – "if I can just get through six more weeks without being insubordinate"

*Jeanne Cleary Goessling


Depending on your web browser, clickable images of the letters should appear below. If you don't see them, follow this link for access:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17e-APlIOvjW_nAJeicQWxba4STM6k8XJ?usp=sharing