Kind, gentle, and charismatic, Anita Morris is a mother and grandmother. But it may be hard to believe that the Jacksonville resident is also a World War II veteran. “I’m very proud that I served my country,” Morris told News4JAX. “I feel like maybe I’ve given a little bit back to my country when it has given me everything. I love America. I love the service.”

Now 100 years old, Morris is talking about the time when she proudly served in the United States Coast Guard, enlisting 80 years ago at the beginning of the deadliest war in history. Morris is the daughter of Italian immigrants. She said her family built up wealth with a small business but lost just about everything in the Great Depression. Then, her father died. That left her mother to raise two daughters.