Legionnaire honors World War II women
Eileen Merullo, a World War II veteran and member of Post 61 in Revere, Mass., was reading a plaque at her post that listed the names of deceased World War II veterans when she realized women veterans from the war were missing.
“I was thinking to myself that there’s no recognition for women at all in Revere. None,” Merullo said. “There is no signpost, nothing to honor the women, and so many women did (serve) from Revere.” The missing names of 150 Revere women who served during World War II sparked a project for Merullo – to build a monument memorializing the women.
After receiving approval from the post commander and the mayor of Revere, Merullo began fundraising for the memorial by sending out letters to everyone she knew all over the country. Her dedication and vision came to fruition on Sept. 7, 2013, when “Revere’s Women Veterans World War II Memorial” was dedicated on the front lawn of Post 61.
“(Women) had served and at that time did what they had to do, came home, took off their uniforms, and went back to their daily chores. No fuss, no honor, no parade, nothing like that,” Merullo said. “And that’s the way the women wanted it at that time. They went in to back the men up and that’s all they wanted. They didn’t want honor and glory for what they did.”
After finishing college, Merullo enlisted as a physical therapist with the Army and was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “There were about 15 boys in my neighborhood that we played hockey with, went to the beach with, and they all were called in (to serve),” she said. “So I figured the war’s going on, it’s my duty to (serve), and I did.”
After the war, she helped polio patients in Illinois and worked four years at Chelsea (Mass.) Naval Hospital, which closed in 1974.
“Without Merullo’s work and the resulting monument, it’s possible these women would have been left out of history’s footnotes,” said William J. Chisholm, commander of Post 61. “Now, their names are kept in the heart of Revere.”