Story County

 
Lt. Alvira Elizabeth Lunsford

 

 

S.U.I. Women and the WAC

Former students and Alumnae Now Serve Overseas and in Army Bases Throughout This Country

DES MOINES -- Take a cross section of American women - and you have the WAC. Take a cross section of the higher-education WAC groups, and you have S.U.I. WACs.

They range from captain to private. You find them working for Uncle Sam wearing his uniform in every part of the country. There's one in England; there's another in Africa; there's a third simply "overseas". You'll find them at the air bases driving trucks, tanks, and jeeps at army camps, working in army hospitals, sending out messages by radio, teaching army subjects to army people.

Here is a partial list of them -- Iowa home girls only -- where they are and what they are doing since they switched from S.U.I to G.I.

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LIEUT. ALVIRA E. LUNSFORD of Ames, director of physical education at Emmetsburg and at Ames before her enlistment a year ago, is now assistant personnel officer at Roswell army air base, Roswell, N.M. She was given a specialist course in army administration before officers training and was commissioned a second lieutenant on May May 31. Lieutenant Lunsford is a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, the National Education association and the Iowa Teachers association.

Source: Iowa City Press Citizen, November 30, 1943

Alvira Elizabeth Lunsford was born Sept. 16, 1907 to J.S. and Louisa Lunsford. She died Apr. 17, 1974 .

Alvira served in World War II with the U.S. Army WACs at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico.

Source: ancestry.com