Emma Didlake was believed by some to be the nation's oldest living veteran, and was given the opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama inside the Oval Office last month. Ms. Didlake passed last Sunday at the age of 110, leaving behind a long line of service.
Didlake
was born March 13, 1905 in the town of Boligee, Ala. Her family later
relocated to Kentucky. In 1922, Didlake married and later had five
children. In 1943, during World War II, Didlake took a bold step by
entering the Army. It was a significant move as many women at the time
were content with being just housewives. Didlake joined the Women's Army
Auxiliary Corps as a private and driver.
After
the war, Didlake's family settled in Detroit after she was discharged
from service. Didlake joined the Detroit chapter of the NAACP and
marched alongside several civil rights leaders including Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr.
According
to several recent accounts leading up to her July meeting with
President Obama, Didlake says she had no idea she was doing anything
that would consider her a pioneer. Her daughter, Marilyn Horne, told a
Fox television affiliate in Detroit that her mother just wanted to “do
something different” by joining the Army.
Didlake
has been honored for service and has been awarded the Women's Army
Corps Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II
Victory Medal. In 2013, the NAACP awarded her with a Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Didlake's
visit with Obama was arranged by the Talons Out Honor Flight
organization of Michigan, a branch of the national Honor Flight
organization, which helps veterans take free, one-day trips to visit the
Washington, D.C. and all of its monuments.
President
Obama issued a public statement regarding Didlake's passing, calling
her a trailblazer and remarking that she lived a “long and
quintessentially American life.”
According
to a recent newspaper report, Didlake attributed her long life to
eating lots of fruits and vegetables while abstaining from meat. She
also had a ritual where she soaked nine golden raisins in gin overnight
and ate them the next afternoon.
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