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Title: Marie Adams papers
Date (inclusive): 1887-1950
Collection Number: 78076
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes
(3.8 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The collection includes materials relating to Santo Tomás Internment Camp and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during
World War II, in the form of correspondence, propaganda leaflets, printed matter, and memorabilia.
Creator:
Adams, Marie, 1891-1976
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Boxes 6 and 7 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1978.
[Identification of item], Marie Adams papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1891 | Born, Aberdeen, Washington |
| 1936-1941 | Executive Secretary of Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 1941 | Arrives in Manila, Philippines, to work as Field Director of Hospital Services for the American Red Cross |
| 1942-1945 | Interned, Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC), Philippines |
| 1945 | Author, Life Without Lipstick |
| June 1945 | Submits report to the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General on living conditions at STIC following the takeover by the Japanese military authority in 1944 |
| circa 1945 | Awarded Bronze Star Medal for service with sick and wounded while interned at STIC |
| 1976 | Died |
Scope and Content of Collection
Having been sent to the Philippines by the American Red Cross in 1941 to work as Field Director for Hospital Services in Manila,
Marie Adams found herself among the thousands of American and Allied civilians to be held as prisoners of war at Santo Tomás
Internment Camp (STIC). As one of the head nurses at STIC, Adams witnessed first-hand the physical and psychological toll
of internment, with circumstances worsening in 1944 after the Japanese military assumed control of operations. The collection
is primarily comprised of materials from Adams' time as a prisoner of war and immediately following her release.
Of particular note in the
Philippines file is a set of meal tickets and a log of daily meals served at STIC from 1944 to 1945. These materials supplement newsletters
and announcements distributed at STIC around this period, providing insight into daily life at the camp. In addition, the
series includes printed matter about the Philippine front of World War II, in the form of newspapers, clippings, reports,
and studies on the destruction of Manila and the liberation of prisoners of war.
In her time at STIC, Adams wrote a number of poems reflecting on life in the camp, hunger, sickness, and the hope of liberation.
These poems were self-published under the title
Life Without Lipstick and distributed to friends and family as Christmas presents in 1945. Letters written in response to this book are included
in the
Letters received series along with letters received by Adams at STIC and congratulatory letters received upon her return home, written by
family, close friends, and colleagues from different chapters of the American Red Cross.
The collection is organized into 3 series: Philippines file, Letters received, and Memorabilia
Life without Lipstick by Marie Adams, Hoover Institution Library
Myrene Cassel papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Roger Mansell collection, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Ann Miller Depew papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
William Henry Hastings papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Santo Tomás Internment Camp (Manila, Philippines) Internee Executive Committee issuances, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Santo Tomás Internment Camp, January 4, 1942-September 27, 1943: typescript, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Katherine Ream Sobeck papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons
World War, 1939-1945 -- Philippines
Philippines -- History -- Japanese occupation, 1942-1945
Prisoners of war
Santo Tomas Internment Camp (Manila, Philippines)