War and Conflict | Page 4

The 688th Battalion in formation, awaiting inspection

The 688th Battalion in formation, awaiting inspection. Battalion members stand in front of their Women’s Army Corps quarters in England. Photograph by Pfc. George Holt, February 15, 1945. NAID: 175539133, local ID: 111-SC-200585.

Virginia Lane in uniform

Virginia Lane in her Army uniform, ca. 1944. Printed in the St. Paul Recorder, March 9, 1945, 1.

Frazier, Virginia Lane (1921–2012)

Virginia Lane Frazier was one of the first Black US Army’s Women’s Corps (WAC) soldiers to enlist in Minnesota during World War II. She served with the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a unit made up entirely of Black women that was stationed in England between February and November of 1945. The battalion won praise for clearing a backlog of mail that provided solace to American soldiers in combat.

Academic hood presented to Gratia Alta Countryman

Black academic hood made by Cotrell & Leonard of Albany, New York, and given by the University of Minnesota to Gratia Countryman as part of an honorary Master of Arts degree, 1932. It features a white velvet band with gold and maroon lining.

United War Work Campaign poster

United War Work Campaign poster. Lithograph by Adolph Treidler for the American Lithographic Company, ca. 1917–1918.

"Induction"

Etching on paper by Clement Haupers depicting an induction examination at Fort Snelling ca. 1940; created in 1981.

Little Wolf, William (1899–1953)

William Little Wolf left his home on Minnesota’s White Earth Reservation as a child to attend a series of boarding schools. In 1917, he ran away from Carlisle Indian Industrial School in order to join the Navy and fight for the United States in World War I. He earned praise for his service as a gunner on the USS Utah and returned in 1919 to live out the rest of his life in Minnesota.