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HATCHER, Jean Elizabeth Sheppard (b. 1924)

Oral Histories

OH 1680

For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. World War II-era veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserves (or SPARs). World War II-era veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserves (or SPARs). Childhood and education in Edwardsville, Virden, and Girard, Ill.; father’s experience in World War I; waitressing and clerical work following high school graduation; memories of Pearl Harbor attack; decision to enlist in Coast Guard SPAR program in June 1944; clerical training at Palm Beach, Fla.; meeting future husband, Bill Hatcher, at USO Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.; assignment to USCG headquarters in Washington, D.C.; courtship; contraction of fibromyalgia and discharge from service; 1946 wedding; family history; involvement in Ridglea United Methodist Church in Fort Worth.