Her journey started 74 years ago, although she remembers it like it was yesterday.

Marie Roberson, World War II Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) shipfitters helper and tack welder, left her hometown of Washington, North Carolina when she was 17 and-a-half years old. She and her sister, Dot, journeyed to Hampton Roads to fill jobs that were once filled by men before they were sent to fight in World War II. Dot got a job as a pipefitter aboard the pre-commissioning unit (PCU) Shangri-La, one of three carriers NNSY built during the war.

Part of the hiring process was to take a written knowledge test. Roberson was nervous since she didn't have any shipyard experience and pretended to be 18.

"I wanted to do my part to help out," said Roberson. "I lied about my age so I could work in the shipyard, but that was just a little lie."

Vacant jobs needed to be filled quickly. Most of them were filled by homemakers, single women, and teenagers. With their help, NNSY was able to stay on track to finish the ships, get them commissioned, and into the fleet as soon as possible to support war efforts.

She sighed with relief when offered a job. "We didn't have a choice about where we went or did. They wanted me to be a shipfitters helper and tack welder," said Roberson.

She didn't know the first thing about welding and was thankful her new boss put her with someone who was skilled and patient enough to teach her.

"It was hard work with long hours, but it was all worth it," she explained.

After welding a few pieces of metal, it was off to Dry Dock 8 where she would test her skills for the first time aboard the PCU Lake Champlain. Upon arriving, she suddenly became nervous when realizing there were 18-inch wide beams she had to stand on to weld, as well as go across to get to the flight deck.

"I was scared to death," she said. "If you fell from there you would fall down onto the hanger deck. I was a frightened I might fall."

After taking some deep breaths, she slowly stepped out onto the beam, pacing her steps and not looking down, and eventually made it halfway across the beam. "I thought, I can do this. By the time I got to the place on the beam where I was supposed to stop and do welding beads, I was like a cat walking around on that beam."

"Most of the women workers were either a welder or tack welder. My last pay check was $44.72 and that was with overtime," said Roberson. "It's just as hard to pay for some of the things back then as it is with today's wages and prices."

In stretching money and resources to make ends meet, an aspect of the war that affected millions of people was rations. Gasoline, hygiene items, medications, meats, sugar, eggs, coffee, oils and butter, processed and canned foods, and clothing and shoes were all rationed. Rations began to support and maintain supplies going to the troops overseas.

"There were many things we had to go without. But it was okay, because we knew those guys over there were risking their lives for us," said Roberson.

Working in the shipyard exposed her to many new things. She learned how the best peach pie was made from dried peaches; how to use a telephone; and why the shipyard would use a smoke screen across the shipyard to protect the ships and submarines due to the fear of enemy submarines in the water nearby.

Some of her unforgettable memories from the shipyard were when a welding arc sparked and caught her hair on fire; a guy's false teeth fell into a bucket of ship grease; Shipyard Commander, Admiral C. H. Jones coming aboard the ship every day; when a guy's bicycle with a lawn mower motor blew up next to the dry dock; and donating money towards the ship's bell.

She started working aboard the PCU Lake Champlain shortly after the keel was laid, and watched as the ship was formed by many different people.

"It was really interesting to see it all come together. We worked, we really worked hard, and all of the time because the ship had to be built piece by piece," said Roberson.

As the war wound down, men started returning home and back to their jobs in the shipyard.

"Women were supposed to let them have their jobs back because they were the head supporter of the family," she said. "Some women really hated to give up their job because having it helped them provide for their family and they got benefits."

When her job ended, she watched as the timbers supporting the ship came down, the waterways opened and the ship left the dry dock. She recalled, "I felt like, Ahh (sigh of content) and thought...I helped do that. I felt so proud; just so proud."

When asked if she had the opportunity, would she do it all again. She said, "Of course! I enjoyed working there. It was a great opportunity and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

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