Archives West Finding Aid

Tracy Faulconer was born in 1944. At the time of her birth, her father, Henry (Harry) A. Faulconer, was living in a Civilian Public Service camp. From 1941 to 1947 about 12,000 U. S. citizens were drafted into Civilian Public Service, the alternative to military service for conscientious objectors. These men were sent to camps across the United States to conduct non-violent work of national importance such as forestry, work in mental hospitals, and fire fighting.

Following the War the Faulconers remained in close contact with Harry's fellow conscientious objectors. This association had a strong influence on Tracy. As a committed pacifist, Tracy helped teach people about pacifism and about how to gain conscientious objector status. Throughout her career as an educator, Tracy studied and assembled a massive collection of copied documents and research notes relating to both her father and the larger Civilian Public Service system. Tracy was also instrumental in coordinating an oral history project that interviewed numerous conscientious objectors. All of Tracy's research files and oral history files and recordings are included in this collection.

In 2006 Tracy received the Thomas S. Thompson Distinguished Professor Award from the College of Education at Pacific University. She was also awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award. Unfortunately Tracy never had the opportunity to write about the results of her research into conscientious objectors. Tracy was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006 and she died in her home on December 25, 2008.