National Home Front Project - Meet Jo Ann Marshall
The National Home Front Project is a major grassroots initiative under the leadership of historians at Washington College. Our innovative oral history program partners with individuals, communities, and organizations across the United States to record, preserve, and share audio interviews with civilians who experienced World War II. By pulling together in the spirit of wartime Americans, we can ensure that future generations hear their voices, and that our country never forgets its past. For this short entry, we’d like to share the story of Jo Ann Marshall.
On December 8th, 1921 in Cloquet, Minnesota, Jo Ann Marshall was born. In 1939 she graduated from Cloquet High School and then went on to complete a two- year degree program at the University of Minnesota- Duluth in 1941. In this interview, though she discusses her experience from the time the United States entered World War II in 1941, Jo Ann decided to search for a way to aid in the war effort. After thinking about the Navy, she considered several options before accepting a position as a fingerprint analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C., a job she held from 1942- 44. Jo Ann’s interview provides an interesting and detailed view of everyday life during wartime in the nation's capital, 1942- 45.
While working in the nation's capital, Jo Ann met her husband, Lester Marshall, of Washington, D.C., and they were married in October 1943 in Cloquet. In October 1945 Jo Ann and Lester moved to Cloquet, where they raised a family. Jo Ann passed away on 2 December 2012, six days before her 91st birthday. If you like to hear her story for yourself, listen here.
- Blog post by RCL intern Ally Allen
