Janina Davenport Collection
This collection contains memoirs, military documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings from Janina Davenport's service as a nurse during World War II. Many of the documents are photocopies but include handwritten and typed captions from Davenport.
Dates
- 1939-1943
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite, and a minimum of 2 business days are needed to retrieve these items for use. Researchers interested in consulting any of the collections are advised to contact Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact Special Collections.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet (3 folders)
Overview
This collection contains memoirs, military documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings from Janina Davenport's service as a nurse during World War II. Many of the documents are photocopies but include handwritten and typed captions from Davenport.
Biographical / Historical
Janina Smiertka Davenport was born on May 19, 1914, in Holyoke, Massuchusetts, to Joseph and Bertha Smiertka. She received two degrees from Pratt Institute of Food Management and Franklin Public School for Nurses in 1937. She joined the Navy as a nurse on October 3, 1938. Davenport served stateside during the war and received two special commendations for the aid she administered on-site to survivors of an ammunition magazine blast in Bellevue, Maryland, on July 20, 1942.
Davenport married Gordon Henry Davenport (1918-1998) and had two children. She later received degrees in Russian and Eastern European history at the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Davenport was active in Veteran Affairs and Polish Life Histories. She died in Greenfield, Massachusetts, on March 19, 2002. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Arrangement
This collection is in three folders.
Previous Citation
This collection was previously listed as part of MS.1881.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated through the University of Tennessee's Center for the Study of War and Society.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository