Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation
by Tanya Roth
Washington University in St. Louis

Women's Memorial Foundation 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 400 Arlington, VA  22203
Email: curators@womensmemorial.org
Website: http://www.womensmemorial.org

While the Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located at Arlington Cemetery, the foundation’s archives are several miles away. The foundation’s archives include materials donated by women veterans in all eras, with significant holdings in the World War II period. In addition to personal collections, they have a wonderful collection of oral histories and a partnership with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

Contact the Curator of Collections to discuss your project and to set up an appointment to visit the site. The staff at this small archive are very helpful and pleasant to work with. Photography and laptops are permitted, and staff have in the past allowed researchers to use the photocopy machine at no charge.

You can access the archive facility by car or by foot and public transportation. It is located approximately one mile from the Ballston-MU metro stop (orange line) and Ballston Common Shopping Center. The hostel listed in the sidebar is approximately 45 minutes to an hour from the archives, including walking time to and from metro stations near the hostel and the archive. However, at about $25/night, the hostel price and location in DC are excellent. Although the walk from Ballston-MU metro stop to the archive can be a bit long, it is a safe area with sidewalks and crosswalks. The most eating areas are near Ballston Commons; you might consider packing a lunch to store in the archive lunch room to avoid walking back to the metro area.

(Summer 2010)