JOSEPHINE DOWNEY:

The earliest papers consist of letters (Jan. 1929) Josephine Downey sent to her family while teaching high school in Nemo, South Dakota. The letters describe Downey's living arrangements and social life, her school work and students, and her decision to attend graduate school and not return the following year.

A diary (June 9-Aug. 25, 1931) and group of letters (June 13-Aug. 22, 1931) provide an account of Downey's first European tour, beginning with her train trip to New York City and voyage on board the S.S. St. Louis (June 12-22). Downey and her traveling companion, Helen, disembarked at Hamburg, proceeded to Sweden where they visited relatives (June 25-July 3), and traveled across Norway (July 4-6). After completing the Scandinavian leg of their journey, the two women sailed to England and met the Carleton Tour in Glasgow, Scotland. The tour's itinerary included visits to Scotland and England (July 7-16), Paris (July 17-21), Belgium and Holland (July 22-23), Germany (July 24-30), Czechoslovakia (July 31-Aug. 1), Hungary (Aug. 2), Austria (Aug. 3-5), Switzerland (Aug.6-12), and Italy (Aug. 13-25). Downey's account of the tour includes descriptions of the countryside, sightseeing and shopping, the weather, and their hotels and meals. Lists of the tour's hotels and the ships the women sailed on is included at the end.

Another diary, which is accompanied by a partial itinerary, documents another of Downey's European tours (June 23-Aug. 29, 1936). This trip included an extended stay in Paris where Downey attended school (July 7-Aug. 14). The account begins with a description of the train trip to New York City and voyage on board the Lafayette (June 27-July 6). Entries made during Downey's stay in Paris describe her living arrangements and social life; plays she attended; sightseeing in Paris and vicinity, including a brief trip to London (Aug. 1-4); the weather; and her school work. After completing school Downey made a tour of Normandy (Aug. 15-19), visited Lucerne and Interlaken, Switzerland (Aug. 20-22), and Florence, Italy (Aug. 23-26). The last entries describe Downey's last night in Paris and her return voyage on board the S.S. Paris.

A third diary describes an automobile trip to Mexico that Downey made with two friends (June 18-Aug. 1, 1939). The account begins with a description of a week-long religious institute the women attended in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (June 18-24). The entries describe the trip south to Mexico City including stops in Monterrey, Ciudad, and Iacala (June 25-30); an extended stay in Mexico City (July 1-July 12); trips to Taxco (July 13-17) and Oaxaca (July 21-25); and the road trip back to St. Paul (July 28-Aug. 1). Downey provides detailed accounts of the food and hotels, a bull fight they attended (July 2), sightseeing excursions which included visits to a number of ruins and shrines, shopping days at different markets, various dances and ceremonies they witnessed, a cockfight (July 23), and the difficulties they experienced during customs inspection on their way back to the U.S. (July 29).

The remainder of the collection consists primarily of letters Downey sent her family while serving as a cryptographer with the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Downey joined the service in October 1943 and completed her basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The early letters (undated and Jan. 1943-Mar. 1944) discuss her experiences as a general clerk at Fort Hamilton, NewYork. She was next sent for decoding training at the Missouri Signal Corp School at Camp Crowder, Missouri. She departed for San Francisco (Aug. 9, 1944) where she waited until shipping out for New Guinea (Aug. 20, 1944).

Downey arrived in New Guinea at "Base B" at the beginning of September 1944 and was later transferred to a base at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea (Jan. 1945). Her letters from New Guinea describe camp conditions; problems with the mail and personal items she requested her family to send; her job; her social life, including the men she dated; recreational activities; the weather; boredom due to the safety restrictions placed on the women at "Base B" and the lifting of those restrictions after moving to Hollandia; frustration over her lack of promotion; and her good conduct medal (March 1, 1945).

Downey was transferred to Manila (April 1945) and remained there until she accepted an assignment in Shanghai, China (Jan. 1946?). The letters during this period describe her living quarters; recreational activities; her job; her experiences with the Filipino people and views on U.S. relations with the Philippines; Filipino accounts of their treatment under the Japanese; classes she attended on Philippine history and Tagalog at the Philippine University; her attendance at the trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and the witnesses' accounts of Japanese atrocities (Nov. 1945); and her post-war plans.

Downey's final letters from Manila (Jan. 1946) discuss her decision to accept an assignment in China and the boredom she faced while being restricted to a staging area prior to her departure. Downey's last letter (April 27, 1946), written during her service as a cryptographic technician with the American Consul in Shanghai, describes a Chinese opera she attended and relates her decision to return to the U.S. rather than stay in China through October 1946.

Other papers related to Downey's military service include her enlistment and discharge records (1943, 1946), her campaign ribbons, and a number of photographs taken during her assignments in New York, New Guinea, and Manila.

A final group of papers contains writings by Downey including a term paper she wrote based on a visit to Guatemala during the Summer of 1947, an article she submitted for publication (July 1947) entitled "Life in a Leaky Tent or How WACS Became Rugged," and a poem entitled "WAC On New Guinea."

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Josephine Downey Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession Number: 15,185; 16,309

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Processed by Frank P. Hennessy, January 1998.

Addition by Meagan Kellom, August 2011.

Catalog ID number: 990017345590104294

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Additional correspondence sent by Downey to a friend, Mary Chapin, during World War II may be found in the George A. Chapin and family papers in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscripts collections.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Philippines.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- New Guinea.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Cryptography.

Places:

Europe -- Description and travel.

Irian Jaya (Indonesia) -- History.

Manila (Philippines) -- History.

Mexico -- Description and travel.

Nemo (S.D.).

New Guinea -- History.

Organization:

United States. Army. Women's Army Corps -- Cryptologic technicians.

Types of Documentation:

Diaries.

Photographs.

Occupation:

High school teachers -- South Dakota -- Nemo.

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