Inventory of the Evelyn P. Foote Papers 1930, 1959-2013
Evelyn Patricia "Pat" Foote (1930-2025) served as an officer in the United States Army for 30 years, rising to the rank of Brigadier General. Her career is marked by several "firsts" for female Army Officers, and she is considered an expert in issues affecting American women in military service. Materials include correspondence, newsletters, speech notes, clippings, photographs, certificates, and official Army orders, reports, and personnel records. These materials document Foote's career in the Army from 1959 to 1989; her numerous speaking engagements, participation in organizations, and attendance at conferences regarding women in the military through 1998; her participation in the creating of the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.; and her involvement in various presidential campaigns.
Biographical and Historical Note
Evelyn Patricia "Pat" Foote was born on May 19, 1930 in Durham, North Carolina. Foote began her career in the United States Army in 1959, as a Women's Army Corps (WAC) Officer. During the next thirty years, Foote was often a pioneer in gender equality in the Armed Services, commanding one of the first integrated training battalions, becoming the first woman to serve as a Public Relations Officer in Vietnam, and serving as the first and only female faculty member of the U.S. Army War School in 1979. Foote was also the first woman Inspector General for the Army, and the first female brigade commander in Europe; she also served as the first female commander of Ft. Belvoir, VA. When Foote was promoted to Brigadier General in 1986, she became one of only four female Generals in the U.S. Army. Upon her retirement in 1989, Foote continued to serve on many panels and was in great demand as a speaker, primarily addressing issues facing women in the United States Armed Forces. Foote, a 1953 Wake Forest graduate, served on the Board of Visitors for Wake Forest College and Graduate School from 1995 to 1998. Foote was also heavily involved in the planning of the World War II Memorial dedicated in 2004, as well as the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton. General Foote passed away at St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth, Minnesota on August 10, 2025, at the age of 95.
Collection Overview
The Evelyn P. Foote Papers span from her elementary school years in 1937, to 1959, when she was commissioned in the United States Army, to 1998, almost a decade after her retirement, to 2009, when she helped campaign for Barack Obama. The collection also contains two copies of Foote's birth certificate from 1930, along with Army personnel records and clippings which provide insight into her life before the Army. The bulk of the Foote Papers, however, relates to her career in the military, and documents both Foote's personal experiences and the larger history of women in the Armed Forces. Foote's rise through the ranks of the U.S. Army, which started with an appointment to the Women's Army Corps (WAC) and ended at Ft. Belvoir, VA as a Brigidier General, is attested to through official military personnel files, which contain record of promotions, awards, evaluations, and transfer orders, in addition to clippings which are biographical in nature or announce significant events in her career. Several journals and calendars also contained in this collection function as appointment books and provide insights into the daily routine of a this female officer from 1977 to 1979 and 1988 to 1990. The high esteem in which BG Foote was held and the significance of the positions she held is attested to through commendations and awards found in her official personnel files, along with numerous invitations, notes of thanks and congratulations, and requests for assistance in personnel matters from lower ranking officers contained in the correspondence series. The Foote Papers also document official U.S. Army activities and policies through handbooks, reports, studies, clippings, and orders. Many of these specifically regard Foote's assignments and command, but female soldiers, gender integration during the transition of WAC members to the regular Army in the 1970s, and the problems of sexual harassment in the military that surfaced after the Tailhook scandal in 1991 are frequent topics, which Foote often quoted, used statistics from, or referred to in speeches.
The Foote Papers document the demand for BG Foote as a guest speaker and panel participant, as well as her interest in, membership to, and participation in an array of women's, veterans, and military organizations. Upon becoming a general in 1986, speaking at events and participating in advisory boards became a significant part of Foote's official duties, and it continued well after her retirement in 1989. Correspondence, speech notes, clippings, and photographs document her military obligations, including participation in official Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Women's History Month observances, appointments to Army committees and speeches given at college ROTC events. The Foote collection also contains videos recordings, correspondence, speech notes, newsletters, and photographs concerning her voluntary participation in women's, veterans, and retirees clubs; civic, scholarly, and political organizations; and the creating of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by: Cat Saleeby McDowell and Ashley Jefferson; machine-readable finding aid created by: Cat Saleeby McDowell, 2013
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- MS517, Evelyn P. Foote Papers, Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.