Wilma Norris, left, and her daughter Rosemary Agee, right, both served in the U.S. Navy. (Michael Sullivan/The News-Review via AP)
ROSEBURG, Ore. — “Growing up, my mom shared a lot of her stories from the Navy,” said Rosemary Agee, nestling closer to her mother. “You could feel the patriotism — God, country, and family. She showed it in her values and what she did.”
Agee’s mother, Wilma “Marcene” Norris, was born in Ohio in 1924. Her parents separated when she was very young and her father moved to California, leaving her mother to raise four children by herself, the News-Review reported.
“Some nights all we had to eat was hot water and crackers,” Norris said. “Sometimes we’d have coffee on crackers. I don’t drink coffee now, and I think that’s why.”
Norris was in high school when America entered World War II. After graduation she was determined to find a way to help her family and her country.
“I was going to work in a defense plant, but you had to be 21 in Ohio,” recalled Norris. “I moved to California and got a job working at Douglas Aircraft as a riveter, making airplane wings for bombers. I sent money home every month.”
Norris wanted to do more, so in 1944 she returned to Ohio and enlisted in the Navy. During that time, women were assigned to the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) — a part of the Naval Reserve. But for Norris the distinction didn’t matter — she was Navy through and through.
“They gave me three choices: secretary, nurse, or airplane mechanic,” said Norris. “I loved airplanes, so I chose mechanic. I was assigned to Ellyson Field in Florida.
“They took us out to the flight line, pointed out a plane, and said ‘that’s your plane.’ I enjoyed it. All the work, the airplanes. I enjoyed helping. My plane was an SNV Valiant – the ones used to train new pilots.”
Norris adjusted well to the military life and the sisterhood she found there. She loved the camaraderie, sports, barracks life, and the nearby USO. She earned the nickname “Ping Pong” after winning the Ping Pong championship at her airfield. After a year of hard work, she was promoted to the control tower. Eventually, the war ended and Norris was moved to Whiting Field.
“I met my husband there, on Thanksgiving,” Norris said. “They’d just set up a bowling alley but all the lanes were full. My (future) husband came up to me and asked if I wanted to bowl. I said there’s no lanes, so he wrote ‘Joe plus one’ on the list for bowling and said ‘your name’s on the list now.’ We started dating.
“A few weeks later we were coming out of the USO, and he asked me if I had a date for New Year’s, and I said …..
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