Army Veteran Loretta Weiss will be celebrating her 104th birthday on June 2 at 2:30 p.m. The party will take place at The Long Island State Veterans Home in Stonybrook. The celebration in her honor is being sponsored by the Jewish War Veterans.
Lorretta joined the Army when she was 20 years old. She began her army career in Bloomfield, Illinois in August 1942 as a mail clerk, and worked her way up to becoming a Supply Sergeant.
Loretta welcomed challenges as opportunities taking on more responsibilities during her career in the military, She became a physical training Sergeant, conducting tests for the men and drills for the women’s marching unit. She was honorably discharged in 1945 She returned to serve during the Korean War and the during the Vietnam War from September 1950 until she was honorably discharged in February 1975. She was given numerous responsibilities, at a time when the Army was primarily made up of men.
During her time in the Army, Loretta earned numerous commendations, ribbons, certificates of appreciation, and medals, including: The Victory Medal, the Army Occupation Medal Germany, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, The Good Conduct Medal, The Army Commendation Medal with Second Oak Leaf Cluster, The American Campaign Ribbon, and The WAACS Service Ribbon.
After leaving the service, she became involved with several Veteran organizations. She joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Jewish War Veterans and the Disabled American Veterans. She also became involved with local political organizations, so she could help make people aware of various veterans’ issues.