MEMPHIS, Tenn. — "The Greatest Generation" is the name we use to identify the generation of Americans who fought World War II, the deadliest war in human history that claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans.
It was a different time - when asked if all the boys in her high school graduating class later left for the war, 99-year-old Pauline Daniel of Cordova simply replied; "there were no boys in my class, they had already gone [to war]."
Those that talk with Pauline - who left her Mississippi high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor to help contribute to the war effort - can begin to see why the name "Greatest" applies.
"When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor...That was the most horrifying thing," said Daniel. "That's when I went from my little school in North Mississippi and went to Memphis to go to work."
Pauline went to work at the Firestone Rubber and Tire factory in Memphis, mainly manufacturing rubber assault boats and survival equipment for air crews - equipment that would be vital to the upcoming invasion of Europe, what we now know as "D-Day."
The invasion, launched on June 6, 1944, was the largest invasion by sea in history, and marked the beginning of the end of Hitler's so-called "Fortress Europe."
Hundreds of thousands of American, Canadian and British troops landed in German-occupied France on the beaches of Normandy, thousands of them paying the ultimate price.
"We had boys killed in Normandy, more than anyone thought possible," said Daniel. "It was hard for people to understand."
The death toll was staggering, but the Allies succeeded in invading France, leading the way for what would ultimately be the end of Nazi Germany. The equipment Pauline helped make playing a critical part.
On Monday, the 78th anniversary of the invasion, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. payed a visit to Pauline, presenting her a proclamation in honor of the work she did during the war.
It's work that Pauline is proud of.
"I knew that I had helped - I didn't know at the time just how much I had helped but I knew I helped," she said. "I was just so proud to be an American. I went to Normandy and Holland with my daughter - I saw the White Cliffs of Dover - and I went to [Austria], where Hitler came from. And I was glad that he was gone."