TDIH: Emma Didlake, WWII Veteran

Believed to be the oldest female WWII veteran.

On this day in 2015, a heroine passes away. At the time of her passing, Emma “Big Mama” Didlake was believed to be the oldest female military veteran. She was at least 110 years old.

Her year of birth is disputed. Some think she might have been 111.

“I didn’t know I was breaking barriers,” Didlake said of her time in the U.S. Army, “but I enjoyed doing what I was doing because I had committed myself to do just this.”

Didlake was nearly 40 years old when she joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps  (“WAAC”) during World War II.  She was married to a coal miner and had five kids, but she was determined to serve her country, nonetheless.

In fact, she didn’t even ask her husband for his opinion. She just signed up. “There wasn’t no argument or anything like that,” she said matter-of-factly, “it was no trouble. I just did it.” She explained that she “wanted to do different things.”

The women of the WAAC were to serve in Army support positions, thus freeing up more men for combat. While the Army initially limited the duties they were allowed to perform, the women served so well that the Army expanded the scope of the program.

Maybe you won’t be surprised to hear that, by the end of the war, these determined women were even able to serve in specialist positions such as cryptographers.

As for Didlake, her role in the Army kept her stateside. She served as a private and a driver, reportedly carrying a Bible with her while she worked. She served for seven months before receiving an honorable discharge.

For decades, Didlake was just one of the many veterans who returned to civilian life after the war. She outlived her husband and children, and in 2015, it was discovered that she was likely the oldest living female veteran.

Talons Out Honor Flight invited her to Washington D.C. for a July 2015 tour of several monuments.

“You should see her face,” Didlake’s granddaughter, Marilyn Horne, said at the time. “She is smiling from one ear to the other.”

Didlake visited both the World War II Memorial and the FDR Memorial. She also saw the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, and she visited with the Prеsident.

She absolutely loved her trip, according to Horne.

That Honor Flight trip was one of the last things she would ever do. Just a few weeks later, she fell ill and passed away. “I think she felt she had accomplished everything and could take her rest,” Horne concluded.

“Emma Didlake served her country with distinction and honor,” a prеsidential tribute concluded. “[She was] a true trailblazer for generations of Americans who have sacrificed so much for their country.”

Yet another member of the Greatest Generation, serving her country without hesitation.  Rest in peace, Ma’am.

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