To say the least, Angeline Lucero was a character. Right off the bat, you could catch her sarcasm and sense of humor, as she flung it all around the room. Angeline was a parachute factory worker during WW2. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, NM on Oct. 24, 1930 and has loved every minute of it! She says that she wouldn’t trade it for the world! Angeline grew up with 2 brothers and 3 sisters, being solely raised by their mother – her father died when she was real young. According to her, “he took the easy way out”. The gratitude she showed towards the Parachute Factory is what I remember most about her. She nearly teared up every time she talked about that place. For her and the rest of the workers, it gave them sanctuary and hope. In a time and place where there were no jobs – especially for women – Angeline and her friends were thankful for the hard labor job that the Parachute Factory had to offer all those years ago. It was interesting to hear about how they made the parachutes – in huge sections – and then eventually stitched them all together. Angeline was a 4 needle machine operator – the best of the best! She says if she could still see the darn needle, that she would still make parachutes if somebody asked her to! 🙂
Right next to Angeline, we had Viola Duran. It just so happens that these 2 gals are the best of friends and roommates at Vida Encanta Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. Viola was born Oct. 13, 1949 in Las Vegas, NM. She herself was not in the military, but her father was. So we thought it would be interesting to get her point of view from the war. Although she didn’t share a whole lot about her Father, other than that he was in the War and that he got sent all over Europe, it was evident that the War had a major impact on her and her mother, something that they will never forget.
It was an absolute treat to have these two lovely ladies sit down and talk with us! Here is a [semi] short clip from our time with these gals. Enjoy!
-IMV
World War II 