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Shirley Virginia Bellemeur, known as a real-life Rosie the Riveter, was recently honored for her valiant efforts in repairing damaged sea planes during World War II. Bellemeur, now 99-years-old, was given a special leadership award on Wednesday for the work she did to get planes safely back into the skies from 1944 to 1946. According to the Los Angeles Times, "a crowd of friends, family, and well-wishers" packed into the Pasadena Meadows Nursing Center to witness Bellemeur accept the award in red, white, and blue attire, surrounded by matching balloons.
Bellemeur, not typically one to invite attention towards herself, was "overwhelmed" with joy at the sight of the award. Though her memories are slowly fading, the American icon recalled how important helping with war efforts was to her.
“That was important to me then, at the time. Now it’s a memory that I have. My goodness. I have done so many things in my almost 100 years.” The cause was so significant to Bellemer that she left her childhood home in Vermont to repair planes at a factory in Pensacola, Florida. The Los Angeles Times mentioned that the planes would arrive in Pensacola from Europe, strewn with bullet holes. Bellemeur, just 20-years-old at the time, would climb into the wings and "rivet it from the inside out" with fellow Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, otherwise known as W.A.V.E.S.
Bellemeur married when the war was over, moved to Pasadena, started a family, and began working as a preschool director of education after obtaining her masters degree. Standing out as an example of strength, compassion, and intelligence, Bellemeur instilled creativity, thoughtfulness, and impeccable work ethic in her own children, and most recently, her grandchildren.