Genevieve Anderson is Kauai’s oldest veteran, and is going strong.
She turned 102 last Saturday.
When you get a chance to talk to Anderson, you feel as if you know her, and she is still sharp.
“I am so happy to see other women today, commanding in the different military branches or living their lives and working where they want to work,” Anderson said. “I went to college, and at best could maybe be a nurse or teacher, then eventually get married and have kids. There weren’t many opportunities for us women back in my time. I hope I had some part in helping them do what they love to do today.”
Anderson is veteran of U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, known as the SPARS (Semper Paratus Always Ready). They called themselves “Peddlers of Patriotism” and trained at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
According to friend and fellow veteran Jim Jung, “she’s a living treasure and her mind is sharp as a tack.”
SPARS was created on Nov. 23, 1942 by the Coast Guard to replace men on shore duty. Members did almost everything except sea duty. This changed in 1977 when Coast Guard women were assigned to sea duty.
Anderson enjoyed a return to the Coast Guard for a special ride on the USCG Nawiliwili station motorized lifeboat.
“Jenny Anderson would have loved going to sea,” Jung said. “She rose to the rank of Lt. j.g. (lieutenant junior grade) as a recruiter, stationed in Columbus, Ohio, and Kansas City, Missouri,” Jung said.
”Jenny was a darn good recruiter. Every month she met her quota. Every month thereafter, they raised her quote. She is articulate, probably from all the speeches she drafted and gave,” said Jung.
Anderson was the pioneer of women veterans before they were called veterans. She was one of the first women to pave the way for other women to work in the military and do something great for the country.
Caregiver and fellow veteran Mary Kay Hertog said she has a lot of respect for Anderson.
“For women veterans, she is our legacy,” she said. “Without her, and others like her who enlisted or were commissioned officers in World War II and Korea, we would not have progressed as far as we have today. She and others were trailblazers for us, and for that I’m forever grateful,” said Hertog.
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Stephanie Shinno, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
