Application and Personal History Statement - Julia Carolyn McWilliams
1942-1945
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This is the Application and Personal History Statement from the personnel file for Julia Child, documenting her employment as a civil servant, stationed in China, Sri Lanka, and Washington, D.C., with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The file contains applications, physical examination records, correspondence, oaths, resumes, personnel actions, and performance ratings and appraisals.
The entire personnel file is available in the National Archives online catalog.
The entire personnel file is available in the National Archives online catalog.
Additional details from our exhibits and publications
Before she was a well-known TV personality and cookbook author, Julia Child, worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the CIA, during World War II. Known then as Julia McWilliams, she began as a typist, but because of her experience and education was eventually promoted to research assistant. Not only did she play a role in communications between U.S. Government officials and intelligence officers, often having access to top-secret documents, but she was able to travel the world while on different assignments. In 1945, while on assignment in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) she met fellow OSS employee and future husband, Paul Child. This application, which is in her handwriting, includes a memo in which she explains her “forced resignation” from a previous job.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of Strategic Services.
National Archives Identifier: 121635462
Full Citation: Application and Personal History Statement - Julia Carolyn McWilliams; 1942-1945; Records of the Office of Strategic Services, Record Group 226. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/mcwilliams-julia-c, April 24, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
