Oklahoma Woman's Story Of WWII Service To Be Archived By Oklahoma Historical Society

A military historian for the Oklahoma Historical Society has interviewed 2,500 veterans. He spoke with a woman who helped her country during World War II. You would think they were holding church.

“I don't know if I can remember all I need to tell you or not,” she said.

A group was hanging on to Willie Jean Coats' every word as Joe Todd interviewed her to preserve her story for the Oklahoma Historical Society.

JOE: "When is your birthday?"

WILLIE: "2/8/27."

At 97, Willie answered questions about what she considered the mundane aspects of growing up in Salina, Oklahoma, and also more serious matters.

JOE: "December 7, 1941. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor."

That day changed the trajectory of her life story.

"I can remember laying down in that wing 'cause I was small and I could crawl in there," said Willie.

As a teenager, she worked on the B-29 Superfortress at a Boeing plant in Renton, Washington. A real-life Rosie the Riveter, with the personality to match.

JOE: "Now what is bolting? What do you do?"

WILLIE: "Bolts? You know, nuts and bolts. You put the bolt in and the nut on the bolt."

These details may seem small to Willie, but they help us remember a bigger story about the women who helped in the war and shaped the world that followed.

Willie's story will live at the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City. It will join the hundreds of other stories that have been collected through Joe's interviews.

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