ELLISVILLE, Mo. — This is an unsung story about a group of World War II nurses.
Terry Jacoby, a 100-year-old retired nurse, now lives in Ellisville.
She is likely one of the few remaining women part of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps who answered the call when her country needed her most.
Terry was 19 years old when she joined the cadet nurses.
One of her sons, Paul Jacoby, said that by 1945, 85% of the nurses in the U.S. hospitals came from this program.
Paul credited them with preventing the collapse of care when hundreds of thousands of injured service men and women returned home.
From 1943-1945, Terry trained with the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, which was a war-time program designed to take care of civilians at home and soldiers overseas.
"It was really good to watch them, the veterans, how they all react," Terry said. "It's wonderful what they do."
She worked at the Cleveland Clinic during World War II, even taking on holiday shifts so that other nurses could be with their families.
"I don't know, I was always good to the patients," Terry said. "Patients always liked me."
She was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 27, 1924.
Eventually, she had seven children.
Her son Paul lives in Wildwood but moved all over the country with Terry and his father, Jim Jacoby.
"I saw a grainy picture of my mom in uniform," Paul said, recollecting when he first learned about the cadet nurses.
"I said, 'Mom? Dad was in World War II. I didn't know you were.' She goes, 'Oh I was just a nurse in the war. I was in this cadet program.'" Paul said. "I did research and I found out not a lot of people knew much about it."
The 1944 government short film "Reward Unlimited" emphasized the nursing need. In a scene of dialogue, two actresses discuss the need for thousands of nurses with some coming out of retirement to help in World War II. Yet, the government was hoping the majority of the shortage would be filled with graduates of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps.
Terry would become one of those 120,000 cadet nurses.
A free nursing education after high school, room and board, and up to a $20 a month stipend were offered in exchange for graduates pledging service for the duration of the war.
"They never got the credit they deserved," Paul said. "They're the only uniformed service people from World War II that are not considered veterans."
Eventually becoming one of the first intensive care nurses at Missouri Baptist Hospital, Terry was also an avid golfer up until very recently.
She had to stop hitting the links after a bad fall when she was about 98.
Now, she's spending more time with her 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
"It was a good life," Terry said. "I've lived a very good life."
Her secret, Terry said, is being active everyday and going on two 20-minute walks around her home at The Fountains of West County.
Paul said his mom is his role model.
He hopes Terry's story will inspire others to live a vibrant life, pursuing what they're passionate about.
Maybe even for a century.