JEFFERSON TWP — For every American soldier fighting on the front line during World War II, there was a veritable army of military personnel providing support. And for the first time, that included young, able-bodied women in uniform, said Tim Neff, vice president and director of museum and education at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh.

Unlike clerical jobs American women performed during World War I, young women of the 1940s were able to enlist as officers in the auxiliary units connected to the Army, Navy, Army Air Corps and Coast Guard in World War II.

One of those ambitious women is now a smiling and upbeat great-grandmother who is awaiting her 100th birthday at the Oertel Care Center on the Concordia Lutheran Services campus.

Marie Basehore, who will celebrate the century mark on Dec. 30, is happy to recall the events of her long life, which are many and varied.

She was born Marie Rohrer on Dec. 30, 1924, in Harrisburg, where she grew up in a residential neighborhood of closely set brick houses with her brother, the late Edgar Rohrer.

Basehore can’t remember a time when she didn’t love dolls, and she still owns a handful of those she had as a child.

“Grumpy” has lost her arms and clothing to the passing decades and was named for her countenance.

“She has a pouting expression,” Basehore explained.

She figures another of her dolls — with a porcelain head, original styled hair and dress, and papier mâche extremities — was made around the turn of the 20th century, as it belonged to Basehore’s aunt.

“I named her after my Aunt Florence,” she said, smoothing the doll’s fancy dress.

But her prized doll, “Lenci,” was brought to her from Italy by her Aunt Grace.

“I loved her so much,” Basehore said, swiping Lenci’s cheeks with her finger. “She has a dirty face.”

Unlike many girls, Basehore took excellent care of her dolls, which are in outstanding shape for their age.

“I didn’t want to spoil her face,” she said of the care she gave to Lenci. “Her pupils, in certain light, sort of light up.”

While she never outgrew her love for dolls, Basehore attended school in Harrisburg and graduated from John Harris High School in 1942.

“I just loved school,” she said. “I had Latin, but it was not my favorite.”

Basehore enrolled in the four-year nursing program at the Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburgh, which is now Chatham University.

After two years, she decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy’s WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, a branch of the United States Naval Reserve that served during World War II.

Basehore chose the Navy because her brother survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a sailor on the USS Pennsylvania.

She received basic training in New York City before serving in the Carolinas and Florida as an aerographer’s mate 2nd class.

Basehore and her fellow WAVES charted the weather and designated where the various fronts would be located for aviation and nautical safety.

She also was part of a singing platoon that traveled to promote the purchase of war bonds.

“We were a backup to Frank Sinatra at one point,” Basehore said. “It was a very special time for us.”

When victory was declared, she was at her base in Florida.

“We found out about it and some of the sailors had cars,” Basehore recalled. “We had a regular parade all around the base. We really celebrated the end of the war.”

After receiving an honorable discharge in January 1945, she returned home and got a job at Farm Bureau Insurance, which became Nationwide Insurance in the mid-1950s.

There, she met a coworker named Robert Basehore, whose brother was a high school classmate.

“It turned out he lived two blocks away from my home,” Basehore said, deploying her signature high-pitched laugh. “I thought he was very handsome.”

The coworkers married on Sept. 11, 1948, and eventually were parents to four boys and one girl.

Bob Basehore, the eldest of the siblings, explained that in 1960, Robert Basehore was transferred to the Nationwide Insurance office in Butler, which is now occupied by Armstrong at the foot of North Main Street Hill.

He said a few years later, his father was transferred to the home office in Columbus, but the family moved back to Butler in 1963 for Robert’s final Nationwide transfer.

Asked what kind of mother she tried to be, Basehore said she took her children to church regularly.

“And I always wanted to be there for them,” she said.

Basehore quit working once Bob was born, and never returned to work while they were growing up.

“Being a stay-at-home mom, that helped the development of our family greatly,” Bob said.

He said his mother achieved the goal of being there for her children along with his father, who supported all their sons’ athletic pursuits and attended every competition or game they participated in.

“She and my father were always at those events,” he said.

Bob recalled that as a sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, his football team played a bowl game in Atlantic City. Both his parents traveled east to attend the game, as did other family members.

Gary Basehore said his mother was a natural in the kitchen as well.

“She was a great cook,” he said. “We had the best home-cooked meals.”

Gary also recalls his mother’s sticky buns and cinnamon rolls. He said although the family is not Italian, his mom made delicious spaghetti and pizza sauce.

“We never went out for pizza,” Gary said. “We made our own.”

Sharon Basehore, Gary’s wife, said the couple met in Arizona and did not have a long engagement before marrying.

“I hadn’t met any of Gary’s family, and when I met them, I realized I had hit the lottery,” Sharon said. “I couldn’t love (Marie) more if she were my own mother.”

She said one of her favorite memories is of Marie telling her “you’re really my daughter.”

Bob Basehore has a theory of how his mom has lived such a long and healthy life.

“Her disposition, I think, has a lot to do with it,” he said. “She doesn’t really get uptight about a lot of things.”

Her family members also marvel at her abilities into old age, as she climbed the Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Beach Island, N.J., at 86.

She also drove until she reached her early 90s and lived in her own apartment until last year.

Basehore herself supposes she was able to reach such an advanced age by keeping busy.

“My boys, they kept me busy when they were young, and after they grew up, I stayed busy,” she said.

Basehore is happy to be turning 100 and still enjoying her days.

“It’s been a good life. I had the family I always wanted,” Basehore said. “You did what you had to do sometimes, and other times, it was just pure joy.”

Neff, of Soldiers & Sailors, said females today who are able to realize their dreams by serving in military roles historically occupied by men have the WAVES, WACS, WASPS and SPARS to thank.

“I truly believe that women who served in those units were pioneers,” he said.