Meet the New Jersey woman making sure female veterans are remembered — and recognized
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) — About 350,000 women served during World War II, which is roughly 2% of all the Americans who served, according to the National World War II Museum.
May Brill, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is one of them. Her motto is "one day at a time," and her continued fight for recognition begins every morning by putting on a special hat.
"I feel as though I have a job to do," Brill said. She has made it her mission to inform the world that women in the military are not invisible.
"I wear this hat...I don't like to wear hats, but I wear this hat every day," she said.
The words "WWII Female Veteran" are embroidered on the side of her hat.
Awards cover one of Brill's living room walls, offering a peek into her history. She's been honored by New Jersey and federal lawmakers, and in January, Brill was one of 12 people to receive the Camden County Freedom Medal.
Both of Brill's brothers served during the war, and at 20 years old she enlisted with the WAVES, a branch of the Naval Reserve for Women.
"I said, 'What's the matter with me? ... It's my country too,'" Brill recalled.
Brill spent two years with the WAVES. She worked hand-in-hand with the men but said women never received any credit.
"You would go to a place where you were with a man, a veteran, and they would talk to the man as the veteran, not to the woman," Brill said.
Decades later, Brill said she is still making sure female veterans are seen and heard. She's 99 years old and still on the move.
Brill spends many days at the Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, where she's volunteered for years and speaks to groups about the history of women in the military. Her picture is front and center on the wall there.
"A young girl who is very proud to be in the military," Brill said as she looked up at a photo of herself.
Brill and her husband had four daughters, and they say she's an inspiration to everyone she meets.
"She, along with my father, taught us all our life that women can do anything, and she is the example of women can do anything," Brill's daughter Judy Goldberg said.
Brill still serves as the chairwoman of Women in the Military for the state of New Jersey and commander of Jewish War Veterans Post 126.
"We want people to realize that women are as good as the men, but we want recognition," she said.
Brill admits progress has been made, but for now, she said she's not ready to stop wearing her hat.