Woman values Marine memories

[thedrifter]

Woman values Marine memories
By DAVE GOSSETT Special to the Tribune Chronicle

WEIRTON, W.Va. - Ruth Coates never fired a shot in combat. She never had to invade an enemy-occupied island or survive an invasion.

But the 85-year-old Weirton, W.Va., woman is still very much a United States Marine.

Coates, a World War II veteran, joined the Marines after graduating from Steubenville High School in 1942 and working briefly at a war plant in Cleveland.

''The married supervisors at the plant wanted to date us because we were young and single. So I made up my mind to join one of the services,'' Coates recalled recently.

''Three of us went downtown on a Saturday to the Navy and Marine Corps recruiting station and were told to come back on Wednesday. I really wasn't sure if I should join the Navy or the Marines. I am a Presbyterian and I believe in the power of prayer. So that Sunday I turned our radio on and heard the 'Marines' Hymn' playing and knew it was a message from God,'' said Coates.

''I guess I will be a Marine for life. It has gotten more meaningful as I have grown older,'' she added.

After the former Ruth Ann Campbell enlisted, she was sent to basic training at Camp Lejune, N.C., and then off to basic training in Norman, Okla. There she said she was trained in aviation mechanical school.

''We had to learn to tear down and then rebuild the airplane engines. And after we rebuilt them we were required to fly in that plane with the pilot. So we learned to do our job well. I thought it was great,'' said Coates.

Coates said she was granted leave to be married to her husband, who had enlisted in the Navy, before he was shipped out.

She worked as a military clerk in El Toro, Calif., where her job was to collect the last effects of pilots who had crashed and return the items to the pilot's family.

''I also had to go out to the crash sites to look for any other personal effects and make sure they were shipped home with the pilot's body,'' Coates said.

Coates recalls fondly her service days.

''It was a wonderful experience that I still treasure to this day. I probably would have been dissatisfied with life if I hadn't enlisted back then, although I always seemed to be on the mess duty list. But I know I am still a Marine to this day,'' said Coates.

''I was recently flying to California and was talking to a man at Pittsburgh International Airport about my Marine experiences. I got on the Southwest Airlines plane, and a man came to my seat and said the pilot of the plane wanted to meet me. I walked up to the front and the pilot asked if I was really a lady Marine. I said 'yes' and he took off his wings pin and pinned them to my blouse. That really meant a lot to me,'' acknowledged Coates.

Coates recalls using her Marine training in family life after being discharged.

''One day my one son kept tickling me. I asked him to stop, but he kept tickling, so I grabbed his arm like I was taught in basic training and flipped him over my shoulder. The boys never really pestered me after that,'' Coates said with a smile.

Coates said she had planned to attend Memorial Day services Monday, but she also has another mission that she is focused on these days.

''I pass out a paper that has the history of taps on it. I am amazed by the fact so many people don't know where that song came from, so I always carry extra copies and give it to people whenever I can. I have never met a stranger because I try to make the best of everything in life,'' said Coates.

''And I know I will always be a Marine," she said.

Dave Gossett is a reporter for the Steubenville Herald Star.

Ellie