Mr. Speaker, on November 27, one of my constituents, Rose Jacobson, celebrated her 100th birthday.
To this day, Rose can still rattle off her name in Morse code because of her service in the Second World War. She became an expert in many codes during her years of service.
Rose grew up in Montreal, and when the call came for women to join the forces, she left her job to do so. Rose said that the initial reaction to women in the army was a bit awkward, and some thought it was a bit of joke, but in time, she and her peers earned respect for their work to support the war effort.
From 1942 until the end of the war in 1945, Rose spent much of the war training pilots, and some of them were from Australia and New Zealand. She said that she did not choose to be an instructor. They chose her.
Rose married a military man, Edwin Christopher “Jake” Jacobson, and over the years they had three daughters: Sharon, Diane and Lynne.
Today we celebrate Rose, her accomplishments and her tremendous service to this country.
We thank Rose and wish her a happy birthday.