While there, she began writing the correspondence for a general. When Dixon first enlisted, she was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. For the rest of her life, Dixon never understood why she was the only member of her family with the condition.ĭixon enjoyed her role in the Army because it allowed her the opportunity to travel. One day you’re going to be white.” Dixon left the appointment in tears. She remembered an Army doctor telling her, “Don’t worry about it.
#Alyce dixon ww ii wax musuem figures skin
Dixon was later diagnosed with vitiligo, a skin condition that causes depigmentation. She joined the WACs in April of that year, hoping that Army doctors “knew everything” and could cure her condition. In 1943, the same year as the creation of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAC), Alyce Dixon noticed white spots on her back that concerned her. However, she divorced her husband after he found out she was sending money back to her family and put her on a strict allowance. She remembers living off of seven dollars a week (about $115 in 2023), later joking that today “they can’t even get a good sandwich for $7!” When she was 23 she married George Dixon. Ellis left school and took a job at Lincoln Theatre, the highlight of Washington’s “Black Broadway.” She worked as a secretary making $15 a week (about $250 in 2023), sending the majority home to her family.
Her college career was short-lived, though, after overhearing her father’s financial concerns. She graduated from Dunbar High School in 1925 and then enrolled in Howard University. When Ellis was a senior in high school, she moved to Washington, D.C. When she saw the credits she thought “I liked that spelling, I thought it was pretty and a ‘y’ and an ‘i’ are the same, so I changed it.” Even against her mother’s wishes, she stuck to the spelling change. When she was 16 years old, she watched a film with the actress Alyce Mills. Ellis was determined and independent, even from a young age. The 6888th was the only all-Black, all-female unit sent overseas during World War II.Īlice Lillian Ellis was born in Boston on Sep.
As a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, she was one of the first Black women in the Army. When the Alyce Dixon enlisted in the Army in 1943, she did not realize that it would set the stage for a long career of government service. Alyce Dixon (right) with her superior officer.
#Alyce dixon ww ii wax musuem figures cracked
Dixon reportedly cracked a few of her signature jokes while in the Oval Office. There was no mention of Dixon having a family but there are plenty of references to her meeting with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. “He left me here with all these lovely people and all these nice things they’re saying. True to her character, Dixon charmed the crowd with a joke. According to a recent report by local news outlet WJLA, the center celebrated Dixon’s birthday in festive fashion and even fashioned the veteran with a tiara. After leaving the Army, Dixon returned to the Pentagon and worked an additional 35 years before retiring.ĭixon currently resides in the VA’s Community Living Center in Northwest Washington. Dixon was one of the first few civilians to work inside the Pentagon.Īt 31, Dixon joined the Women’s Army Corps and supported postal operations for members of the service. For three years, the women in Dixon’s auxiliary unit made certain that mail piled in foreign storage stations would make it to the men and women working together and fighting during the war.ĭixon served in Scotland, England, and France. in 1924, which is where the future servicewoman planted roots and joined the workforce.
Dixon was born Septemin Boston, Mass., the third-oldest of nine children.
0 kommentar(er)
