DOROTHY HAUGHTON Denver, Colorado Unit Transcript of an Oral History Interview All rights, title, and interest in the material recorded are assigned and conveyed to the Women's Overseas Service League for the purpose of publication, use in teaching, or other such uses that may further the aims and objectives of the League, such use and participation to be acknowledged in appropriate fashion and with due credit to: Dorothy Haughton PREFACE This transcript is the product of an interview conducted on 13 March, 1986, for the Women's Overseas Service League. Signed, dated agreements of release and biographical information accompany the original casset te. Transcribed by Patricia Siggers Lansing, Michigan 1 June, 1989 WOMEN'S OVERSEAS SERVICE LEAGUE 2 Oral History Project 4 6 DOROTHY HAUGHTON 8 Denver, Colorado Unit 10 NOTE: Interviewer is Marjorie Brown of the Denver Unit. 12 MB: What is your name? DH: Dorothy Haughton. 14 MB: When did you join the Denver Unit of WOSL? DH: 1971. 16 MB: Were you in the Service? DH: I joined the American Red Cross in 1943, and then 18 came into the Army in 1948. MB: Why did you come into the Service? 20 DH: I wanted to travel, primarily. MB: Before you came into the Army, what did you do? 22 DH: I was a physical therapist before I came into the Army, and before I came into the Red Cross I was a 24 secretary. MB: What did you do in the Service? 26 DH: In the Red Cross I was a hospital secretary, and in the Army I was a physical therapist. WOMEN ’S OVERSEAS SERVICE LEAGUE DOROTHY HAUGHTON, Denver Unit 28 MB: What does a physical therapist do? DH: Primarily, exercises for various disabilities; 30 orthopedics or things like strokes, parkinsonians, various things with kids like cerebral palsy and 32 various muscular disabilities and osteo. MB: How long were you in the Army? 34 DH: Twenty years. MB: Where did you travel while you were in the Service? 36 DH: While I was in the Army, I was in Fort Sam Houston. I went from there to Japan; to the Philippines; back 38 to Japan; to Valley Forge; to Fort Knox; to Fort McPherson; to Madigan; to Fort Polk; to Germany; to 40 Fi tzs immons. MB: What kind of housing did you have when you were in 42 the Service? DH: It was mostly nursing quarters and for a while, I 44 was able to live in private apartments. MB: What kind of medical care was available to you? 46 DH: Anything that was needed. MB: What kind of uniforms did you wear? 48 DH: When I first came in we were wearing seersucker wraparound duty uniforms and pink-and-greens for 50 dress. Then we finally got into white uniforms for duty, and went to taupe, and then to the green with 52 the dress blues. 2 WOMEN'S OVERSEAS SERVICE LEAGUE DOROTHY HAUGHTON, Denver Unit 54 MB: When you went into the Service, what was the biggest adjustment you had to make? DH: Oh, I don't really know. I'd been in the Red Cross 56 before, and it was not a lot different; what I was doing. 58 MB: Can you relate a couple of either funny or sad or some experiences that were particularly notable to 60 you? DH: In Japan it was fun to travel around the country 62 after the peace talks started in Korea. We were sending patients home as fast as they were able, and 64 then we weren't getting any more in, so we weren't very busy. I bought a second-hand car, and we did a 66 lot of traveling around the Tokyo area. I enjoyed that very much. 68 MB: When you went into the Army, did you plan to make it a career? 70 DH: Yes. MB: After you left the Service -- you retired, what did 72 you do? DH: I worked for five years as a physical therapist at 74 Colorado General Hospital. Then I quit working there, and stayed home and started carving and 76 keeping up a house and yard, or trying to. 3 WOMEN ’S OVERSEAS SERVICE LEAGUE DOROTHY HAUGHTON, Denver Unit MB: 78 80 DH: 82 84 86 88 90 MB: DH: 92 When you say you joined the Red Cross and then went into the physical therapy part of the Army; explain that to me? Well, I had never heard of physical therapy until I was in this hospital unit. I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of my life working in someone's office, and physical therapy appealed to me. One of the physical therapists I was with in Marseille became a good friend of mine, and she answered all my questions. She's still a good friend of mine; and I came home and went to p t school and worked for a little over a year as a civilian, and then joined the Army. What does being a member of WOSL mean to you? I've always liked my country, and this is a patriotic organization; and our local unit has a lot of neat people in it. 4 WOMEN'S OVERSEAS SERVICE LEAGUE DOROTHY HAUGHTON, Denver Unit 94 MB: Would you recommend a career in the Service for a young woman today? 96 DH: Well, I think you have to have a special type of personality to really enjoy it, and the Army is so 98 different now from what it was when I was in it, that that's a hard question to answer. I enjoyed 100 it. MB: O.K. Thank you very much. 102 End of Interview 104 106 Transcribed by Patricia Siggers Lansing, Michigan 5 INDEX HAUGHTON Housing, 2 Locat ions Fitzsimmons, 2 Fort Knox, 2 Fort McPherson, 2 Fort Polk, 2 Fort Sam Houston, 2 Germany, 2 Japan, 2 Madigan, 2 Marseilie, 4 Philippines, 2 Valley Forge, 2 Medical care, 2 Service American Red Cross, 1 Army, 1 Uniforms, 2 i