Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Diolanda Caballero | Coast Guard members from Seattle and Port Angeles, Washington, join Jeanne Yoder...... read more read more
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A woman’s uniform sits on display at the Coast Guard Museum Northwest in Seattle. The delicate uniform was issued during World War II and tells the story of the legacy that women left behind as they helped the men go to war.
After the United States entered World War II, the Coast Guard and the other services found themselves in great need of more men at sea and more troops on foreign soil. They acknowledged that filling U.S. shore jobs with women would allow more men to serve elsewhere and hasten the war effort. The Coast Guard’s Women’s Reserve, known as the SPAR (Semper Paratus Always Ready), was formed.
Jeanne Yoder, a resident of Sequim, Washington, is one of those women who answered the call to service and one of many of the Pacific Northwest’s centenarian veterans. On May 10, 2022, she turned 100 years old.
Shortly after marrying her husband, a pharmacist’s mate in the U.S. Navy, he was sent off to fight in the war. Inspired and encouraged by her husband she joined the SPARs and served as a storekeeper in California. She was stationed at the district headquarters in San Francisco and prepared payroll for small boat crew members.
She would serve in the Coast Guard for two and a half years before being honorably discharged.
During her birthday celebration just a couple days prior to her actual birthday, members from around the Pacific Northwest surprised her and honored her service to the Nation. They presented her with letters and coins from the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 13th Coast Guard District commander and command master chief.
While the members spent time interacting with the family, Yoder would ask every female service member what they did in the military. She expressed to each how happy she was seeing engineers, commanding officers and admirals in the service, because as a SPAR, women had limited jobs that would mostly be in administration.
As she recounted her stories, she made it evident to people that she was grateful for the recognition for her service with just one phrase:
“I’m honored.”
“I’ve always been proud of the Coast Guard and my time as a SPAR,” said Yoder. “I had a friend who was a commander in the Navy and I would always sing ‘Semper Paratus.’ She would get so annoyed, but I didn’t care. I was proud! What makes me even more proud is that the next Commandant will be a woman!”
Yoder, like many SPARs, is one of the pioneers who made it possible for women to serve in the positions they do in the military today. The impact of one historic generation of women continues to lead future generations to greater success and equality.
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2022 14:24 |
| Story ID: | 420673 |
| Location: | SEQUIM, WA, US |
| Hometown: | SEQUIM, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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