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100-year-old Pennsylvania veteran shares story of breaking barriers as a woman during WWII

By CBS News Philadelphia Staff

/ CBS Philadelphia

From her senior community in Bryn Mawr, 100-year-old Mae Warner loves to talk about her service during World War II.

"I was in high school, class of '42," Warner said. "When we graduated, the first thing everyone wanted to do was join up. So I thought I would like to join up too."

While women weren't allowed to serve in combat roles during the war, they were able to take on military responsibilities in other ways and across all branches.

WWII veteran Mae Warner
WWII veteran Mae Warner CBS Philadelphia

"The service had women come in and they had different names," Warner said. "The, the and the "

An acronym for the Coast Guard motto "Semper Paratus—Always Ready," Warner said the women of SPARS "were supposed to replace a man so he could go to war."

From 1942 to 1946, more than 10,000 women volunteered for service in the SPARS program, including Warner.

"It was the thing to do at the time," she explained.

Warner left the Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and made her way to basic training in Palm Beach.

Mae Warner
Mae Warner CBS Philadelphia

Eventually, Warner was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, where she and other members of SPARS kept the Coast Guard stations going.

Warner described her time in the service as a "great experience during a terrible time in that century."

"Just glad I was able to be in it," she said. "Even if I had to wait 'til I was 20."

Warner and a dozen other veterans will be honored on Veterans Day at the Mansion at Rosemont senior living facility.

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