(KERO) — The Golden State promised war time employment in the 1940s and many women from across the U.S. made the trip west blinded by visions of sunshine and national pride. Not to mention the opportunity to become a "Rosie."
For Elaine King, it was also a chance to join the war effort while her fiancee was flying over Europe.
Elaine King left the small town of Seward, Nebraska, population 2,700, right after graduation in 1943 as a 17-year-old woman with a future that was "riveting."
She was hired by Lockheed working in a defense plant building the tail section of a P-38 fighter plane.
But in August of 1944, she injured her back on the job.
The doctor telling this strong, corn-fed Midwestern gal that it would get better. She ended up having a successful surgery on her back.
After the war her husband, Dick, finished college and they moved back to California.
Elaine is heading to Washington, D.C., on the next honor flight with her daughter, Lori.
And Elaine isn't worried about the hectic schedule that awaits her: it's how she lived every day of her life.
And you might say it's her "Rosie" outlook that is also a blessing for anyone who meets her.
Elaine and Louise Lewis, the other Rosie we introduced you to in March, will leave on the Honor Flight May 3rd and return home May 5th.
