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Scillens, Christine (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews conducted for a Women's Studies class focused on women during WWII. The interviewer and narrator knew each other from classes that they took in the American Indian Studies program. The narrator was open and willing to share her experiences, particularly because of the interviewer's known familiarity with and respect for native traditions and culture. Date not available.
- Date
- 2020-01-30
- Resource Type
- Creator
- Campus
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- Notes
- SUBJECT BIO - Christine Scillens is a Teton Sioux woman who joined the Army Nurses Corps during WWII. She was active in the American Indian Movement and the American Indian Studies program at CSULB. Born on a South Dakota reservation, Scillens was put into a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding school when she was only six years old. She continued in various schools, going home only in the summer, until she entered college in Kansas City. After two years in college, she moved to Chicago and went to work in the BIA office there. In 1942, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps, signing up for overseas duty. After training, she was sent to a medical station in New Caledonia, where she remained for six months. She then went to Fort Mason in San Franciso, where she worked in the hospital. She married a man serving in the Navy in 1944. After she was discharged in 1945, she moved to Vallejo, where her husband was stationed. She eventually moved to the Los Angeles area. TOPICS - going to Chicago; joining the Women's Auxiliary Corps; signing up for overseas duty; interest in radio school; basic training at Drake University; 1943 becoming part of regular Army; Fort Bliss, Texas; training f life in New Caledonia; attitude toward Red Cross during war; segregation of Blacks; mother's illness and discharge from army; marriage; discharge exam; civilian life; and parents attitudes towards her marriage;
- File: aicscillens3.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:26)... The US government thought all the Indian women could do was type or do office work and they had a business training program in high school. Scillens and three of her friends went to Chicago to work and share an apartment. However, they did not stay too long. One girl went to Florida to get married; another one heard from her sister-in-law in California that jobs were paying well. They decided to go to California in the summer of 1942 but Scillens wanted to visit her family first. On the way to South Dakota, Scillens stopped in Minneapolis and met her friend who told her about the opportunity to go to the army. Scillens decided to join. She had two weeks to visit her family until she had to report to camp. Except for her, all of the girls with whom she went to Chicago went to California. (5:26-10:05)... Scillens ran into her friend in Minneapolis and she stayed with her at a rooming house and took tests at the Induction Center. She didn't think she would pass; she also did not realize what she was getting herself into. She found out she had gotten involved with the army, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WACS). She had to get a physical as well as take written and oral tests and produce a high school certificate. Scillens passed her tests and went home for two weeks to visit her parents. (10:05-14:19)... Scillens went to visit her parents for two weeks and she gave all of her personal belongings away to family. Her parents were not pleased about her going into the army because they had two sons who had already enlisted. Scillens signed up for overseas duty, but never told her parents. She signed up for Medical Corps not really knowing what she was getting into. She had no formal nurses training, but had worked summers in Indian medical camps and learned from experience. She signed up for overseas duty but never thought she would go because of her lack of experience. (14:19-18:11)... After Scillens visited her parents she went to Massachusetts for induction. She was asked about her experience and she signed up for radio school but had to wait to get in. In the meantime she went to Kentucky for basic training and when she got there she was assigned to a regiment. From there she had to get on a train to go somewhere else; she did not know where she was going but ended up in Iowa. Scillens thought she would die if she had to spend the next eight weeks there because it was so dreary. She stayed in a university dormitory and trained in the fields during the day. (18:11-25:00)... Basic training included survival skills and physical training. Scillens had to learn to swim underneath burning water and how to use her barracks bag to float. The basic training she received was like the men's training. There was one other Indian woman with Scillens during training. Scillens was waiting for radio school and was approached to go to medical school; she was not really interested but was already signed up. She was then separated from her friend and was sent to the hospital in Fort Demoines. In July of 1943, Scillens found out she was part of the regular army and she wrote to everyone. After that, she was shipped overseas and started to make more money and get more promotions. She was making about $75/month. (25:00-27:18)... The men in the army were making the same money as the women. When Scillens was part of the regular army she was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas. She did not like Texas at all. 27:18-29:18)... The next place Scillens was sent was to Fort Mason, San Francisco, where she was doing the same kind of nursing work in the hospital. It was like the government hospital because of the people that came in were servicemen and it was more interesting. She was then sent to Santa Anita, California on a train. 29:18-31:56)... When Scillens got out to California and arrived in Union Station, she was overwhelmed by the size and how many servicemen were there. She decided to walk to the Pacific Electric Train and did not know she had to walk through skid row in Los Angeles. Her impression of Los Angeles was changed as she did not see any movie stars; she was very disappointed. (31:56-35:46)... In Santa Anita, Scillens received her overseas training and was then taken to Wilmington. She was being trained for an attack on a ship and was always doing drills to take care of the wounded on the sea. (35:46-39:07)... Scillens then went to Camp Ross for two weeks and was waiting to hear what to do next, during which time she was confined to the base. They finally got called out and had to be ready to go. She did not know where she was going and was never told what was going on. She got on the ship and became very sea sick and had an awful time. She ended up in Hawaii but was not allowed to go ashore and from there went to New Caledonia. (39:07-44:15)... Scillens was part of the Nurses Aides group during her work in the army and was stationed in New Caledonia in 1943. She has never really talked about her experiences in New Caledonia because of the things she saw. At the time her brother was killed and nothing made sense; people were being killed and she was very disillusioned. The soldiers Scillens had to tend to were in very bad shape and her job was to prepare them to return to the United States. Scillens did not stay there very long because the army thought the women could not handle what they were seeing for too long. End of tape. File: aicscillens4.mp3 (0:00-3:59)... In New Caledonia, Scillens lived in makeshift quarters and slept on a cot. The weather was not so bad, but it did rain a lot. They had to dig trenches so the rain would not come into the tent. Scillens recalls that in 1943 she heard gun shots continually on Christmas Eve and that everyone was disappointed because the mail did not come. She was sad because she had not received letters or cards from her parents; she thought they had forgotten about her. She did not think she should enjoy Christmas because of all of the wounded men in the hospital. (3:59-6:22)... After a while, the attitude of the women in New Caledonia got bad. However, Scillens was used to living with other women and being so close to others. There was really no recreation for the women and most of them were restless. There were about ten women in one tent, and about thirty women total. (6:22-10:30)... Scillens was mostly on duty at night and learned to sleep during the day through anything. Scillens did not like the Red Cross and most of the servicemen disliked them. The Red Cross contacted Scillens when her brother died. A man came to New Caledonia to see her and told her that her brother was dead. This was the only personal experience she had with the Red Cross. (10:30-18:18)... Scillens was the only Indian women in her regiment in New Caledonia but did not feel isolated. Her best friend, Jeanette, was from New York; she was used to a wealthy life. They both were overseas together and Scillens did make many good friends. Scillens notes that the Black women were separated from the other women; they had separate living quarters and separate movie theaters. Scillens knew that the Blacks were discriminated against but so was she so she did not really think about it. (18:18-27:51)... When Scillens came back from New Caledonia after about six months, she found out that her mother was ill. She went to Camp Ross in April of 1944 and went to San Francisco. There, she ran into her future husband who remembered her from the ship she had been on. He was German-Italian. They married in Long Beach, and because she was still in the army when they met, she was told that she could get a discharge if she wanted. Scillens' father had contacted the Red Cross because her mother had a heart attack and had asked for her discharge. Scillens had to leave and went home for her mother. She had to take a military plane because the commercial planes were grounded because of rain. (27:51-31:42)... Scillens went home for her mother and arrangements were made for her discharge. Her father wanted her discharged, but Scillens was not so eager. She had not been a civilian for several years and was scared to go back into society. Also, her husband was in the army for five years. She was still in the service when they married in October of 1944. She took a leave for seven days and went to Long Beach on the train. (31:42-35:49)... In 1944 there was a law in California that Whites could not marry anyone who was not White. When Scillens and her husband went to Long Beach, they got around the law because she did not have a birth certificate. They went to the city hall and found a judge to marry them; the judge crossed out that Scillens was Indian and wrote down "Caucasian." (35:49-41:22)... Scillens' husband was on ship when they were married, and returned to the ship afterwards. She moved to Vallejo after she was discharged out of the army. She had to go through a two week exit examination, staying in the hospital the whole time. She was in a ward with the pregnant wives of servicemen. Scillens felt isolated from them; they had not been in the service and had already had children. After two weeks, Scillens was given her discharge in 1945. A social worker found her an apartment in Richmond, where the hospital was located. She stayed there for about a month and was very lonely because her husband was at sea and she was living alone. (41:22-44:43)... Scillens moved to Vallejo but was feeling better about being a civilian. Her parents were eager to meet her husband and Scillens went back for visits but never went back to live. Scillens' parents never questioned why she married a German-Italian but some of her uncles did object. Scillens' parents got along well with her husband and welcomed him to the family. End of tape
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