Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Biographical Note

After receiving her undergraduate degree in History from Mount Union College, Lynne Dunn went on to pursue graduate studies at Kent State University. She worked under the direction of Dr. Lawrence S. Kaplan and received her M.A. in 1977 and her Ph.D. in 1982. Her major areas of interest are United States Diplomatic and American Women's history. In 1977, she started her teaching career as a Teaching Fellow at Kent State University, and held lecturer and visiting professorships at several universities over the next ten years.

Dunn joined the Naval Historical Center's Contemporary History Branch in 1987, conducting research on women in the military. During her two years with the Naval Historical Center, she wrote and presented the papers "From Caring to Combat: Women in the Navy, 1908-1988" and "A Special Race of Women: The Navy Nurse Corps, 1908-1938," among other projects.  For her work with the Center, Dunn was awarded a Letter of Commendation in November 1988, issued by Dr. Ronald Spector, Director of Naval History.

Two years after joining the Center, Dr. Dunn decided to go back to teaching. She accepted a position at Winthrop University as an Assistant Professor of History in 1989, where she is now an Associate Professor of History.

Scope and Content Note

The collection is organized in two series. Series I is a topical file of research material on women in the military dating from about 1940-1990. In this collection there is government research, legislation, correspondence and statements from admirals on women in the military. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series II contains questionnaires given out to women who were in the WAVES Program when it first started. The questionnaires discuss what it was like to be a WAVE, how family members reacted to their enlistment, and whether they believed they were treated fairly while in the Navy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Lynne Dunn, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve.
United States. Navy--Women.
World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States.
Women sailors--United States.
Women soldiers--United States.