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Evelyn Fields - World War II
Evelyn Fields grew up in Nebraska on a small family farm ravaged by the Dust Bowl. In August 1942, she started working as a clerk-typist in the Adjutant General’s office in Washington, D.C., and in 1943 relocated to Chicago. She married William Fields in February 1944, before Fields shipped out to the Pacific with the Navy. For the rest of the war, Evelyn worked for the Office of Price Administration and corresponded with her husband.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Helen Becomes a Citizen
Abstract
Interview (Audio)
Worked in the Office of Price Administration during WW II while her husband was in the Navy
Transcript
Video From the Greatest Generation Theater
Photos
Caption
Evelyn with her father, Fred, circa 1926 in Nebraska. Behind them is the Ford touring car, which was the latest model out at the time.
Where:
Nebraska
When:
circa 1926
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn takes the reins on a piece of farm machinery, circa 1926. The farm house is in the background.
Where:
Nebraska
When:
1926
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Four year old Evelyn with her favorite doll, and also a plaster dog.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn proudly displays her Easter gifts in 1929. The Easter rabbit was made of cardboard.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1929
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Neighbor Eldon Witt and Fred Oberg take a break from stacking hay, circa 1934.
Where:
Unknown
When:
circa 1934
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill Fields’ press pass to the floor of the Democratic National Convention in July, 1940.
Where:
Chicago, Illinois
When:
July, 1940
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Bill wrote this letter to relatives in November, 1941, taking delight in passing on a joke he heard about Hitler and the Nazis.
Where:
Unknown
When:
November, 1941
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
W.C. Fields gave his signed portrait to another William C. Fields, following a column that Bill wrote about the famous comedian in 1942.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1942
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Seaman Bill Fields gets his picture taken with A.J. Mallory, the city editor of the Herald American, in 1942.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1942
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Evelyn Oberg in 1943.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1943
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
William C. Fields in his navy uniform, in 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1944
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Evelyn proudly announces her recent marriage to her aunt and uncle, in February 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
February 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn and Bill share a moment in San Francisco just prior to Bill shipping out for the Pacific, in July, 1944.
Where:
San Francisco, California
When:
July, 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn, taken while on the family farm in Nebraska, when Bill was home on leave in 1944.
Where:
Nebraska
When:
1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Among Bill’s many talents, he had a flair for art. He sketched this portrait of Evelyn while at sea, and sent it to her in late 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Another portrait of Evelyn, in profile, plus a poem that Bill sent to his sweetheart.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A romantic portrait of Bill and Evelyn, drawn while on the USS Putnam, somewhere in the Pacific.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Married only months before he shipped out, a lonely Bill sent this proclamation of his love to Evelyn in late 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
late 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill Fields took this picture of his wife, Evelyn, shortly before he deployed overseas, in mid 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
mid 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Anna and Fred Oberg (Evelyn’s parents) stand in front of their farm house near Bancroft, Nebraska in 1945.
Where:
Farm house near Bancroft, Nebraska
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn’s 1945 valentine includes Bills’ drawing of the USS Putnam, plus an appeal to “Be my valentine.”
Where:
Unknown
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The impending surrender of Japan is a topic of great interest and speculation by Fields and his fellow shipmates. This document dates from August 7th, 1945, one day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
Where:
Unknown
When:
August 7th, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The impending surrender of Japan is a topic of great interest and speculation by Fields and his fellow shipmates. This document dates from August 7th, 1945, one day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
Where:
Unknown
When:
August 7th, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A blunt request for more gas that Evelyn saved while she worked in the Pender, Nebraska OPA office during 1945.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1945
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain
Caption
Evelyn Oberg and Bill Fields get their photo taken while visiting the historic Water Tower in downtown Chicago, one of the few structures in the neighborhood to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Where:
Chicago, Illinois
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill sent this photo of himself to Evelyn while he was in the Pacific.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The USS Putnam-DD 757 at sea, the destroyer Bill served on as a teletype operator while in combat in the Pacific.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Pictures of Bill, with an accompanying poem, sent to Evelyn. Waiting for the postman, and for another letter from her husband, was one of the highlights of Evelyn’s day.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill drew this sketch of a turtle he encountered while on shore leave somewhere in the South Pacific.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
More of Bill’s artwork, this time of the ship’s insignia.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill wrote this poem to Evelyn at the end of the war, while in port at Tokyo.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill’s Christmas card to Evelyn included a bow shot of the Putnam.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Evelyn Fields, on the right in the photo with two other co-workers, while she worked in Memphis, Tennessee for the Office of Price Administration. Many of her cases dealt with sugar rationing issues.
Where:
Memphis, Tennessee
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A letter from a citizen begging for more gas, but in a humorous way.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Chester Bowles was the administrator of OPA throughout the war effort. By 1946 the American public was growing very weary of rationing, and clamored for its end.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
The cover of a government ration book, dating from the war.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Public domain