Margaret Langland Johnson papers

Collection

Identifier: IWA0816

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The Margaret Langland Johnson papers date from 1925 to 1972 and measure 5 linear inches.

The Biographical series (1925-1972) contains a diary written by Margaret Langland about her 19th birthday and her time as a nursing student at the Iowa Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines, Iowa. Her career as a nurse is documented through papers issued by the U.S. Government, her World War II discharge papers and United States Government Office Memoranda from 1956 to 1965 which are annual reviews of Margaret Johnson's performance and responsibilities. A pamphlet from the 1940s, "That Men Must Live", outlines "that good soldier- the army nurse".

The majority of the papers consist of correspondence between Margaret and her brother Lowell Langland and the rest of her family during World War II. Some of the earlier letters are from her 23 months abroad in Europe to her family. A story she wrote, "Tendring" tells of her experience living with an elderly couple in England during the months preceding D-Day. A photograph album details her nursing activities and the people she met during her travels to Tennessee, Britain, Germany, Belgium and France during World War II.

Dates

Creation: 1925-1972

Creator

Johnson, Margaret Langland, 1912-1972 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Margaret Lillian Langland was born on January 2, 1912 in Williams, Iowa, to Severin and Nellie Langland. She had three sisters (Dolores, Gladys and Arleane) and three brothers (Floyd, Francis and Lowell). Margaret Langland graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1929. In 1933, she graduated from the Iowa Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines, Iowa.

She lived in Story County, working at the Mary Greeley Hospital for a number of years before entering the Army Nurses Corps in 1942. She served overseas for 23 months and in 1946 received an honorable discharge as First Lieutenant. After World War II, Langland married Jasper Allen Johnson on September 11, 1952 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After her husband's death in 1965 in Santa Monica, California, Margaret Johnson worked as a nurse at the Veterans Hospital for 25 years. She received an award from the U.S. Government for being an outstanding nurse on June 28, 1961. Margaret Langland Johnson passed away July 12, 1972 in Santa Monica, California.