In these letters she writes to her family about her time in Japan and Korea during the Korean War, giving a personal account of her duties and experiences working abroad in wartime.
[2] Meyner's serving papers take the form of either letters or postcards written to her family during her time in the Korean War.
These documents describe her experiences as a hospital nurse in Japan from 1950 to 1951 and a clubmobile worker in Pusan, Korea from 1951 to 1952.
As the hospital was severely understaffed and under-equipped, soldiers did not receive the health care that they needed, especially with regard to their mental well-being.
They [the soldiers] are not proud of anything and they certainly are not fighting for anything, not even their outfits (January 5, 1951).In April 1951, Meyner arrived in Pusan, Korea, as a clubmobile.
We are always dirty but we make a mighty effort to stay neat and groomed, not only for G.I morale but for our own too (April 13, 1951).Although her work was in recreational services, she was able to collect information about the war from soldiers.
Meyner specifically reflected on her role as a white woman; often, soldiers enjoyed her company due to the lack of American women serving in Korea.
American soldiers are treated better than any soldiers in the world (April 30, 1951).In February 2019, Kara Dixon Vuic wrote the book The Girls Next Door: Bringing the Home Front to the Front Lines, which pulled from Helen Stevenson Meyner's letters as well as other women's writings in similar lines of wartime work to explore gender roles in the war environment.
[3] Images of Meyner from this time period are accessible in the online exhibit "Coffee, Doughnuts, and a Witty Line of Chatter".
[1] In 1972, Meyner ran as the Democratic nominee for Representative from New Jersey's newly redistricted 13th Congressional District that included her home in Phillipsburg and included Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren Counties and portions of Mercer and Morris Counties.
[1] In 1974, with the Watergate scandal leading to Democratic congressional gains throughout the country, Meyner ran for the seat again, this time beating Maraziti.