At the age of 100, World War 2 Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) Jessie Strike-McClelland got to mark Anzac Day with 450 other guests on board the USS Midway, San Diego, California.
The USS Midway Anzac service is the largest in the US and one of the last services to be held around the world, due to the city’s time zone.
Invited as a special guest, Ms Strike McClelland laid Australian wildflowers as a tribute to her late husband, Flying Officer Billie Strike-McClelland, who died in an aircraft crash near Evans Head, NSW, in 1944.
Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Justin Kelly attended Ms Strike-McClelland’s 100th birthday late last year and said it was a privilege. “I’m honoured we were able to make this happen for Jessie,” he said.
Ms Strike-McClelland had not previously attended an Anzac Day service in the United States. Her grandson, Colin, transported her from her retirement villa in Orange County to attend this year’s event.
“It was just wonderful to be a part of this special commemoration, so lovely. It’s kind of like going home when you’re at an event like this, it’s familiar to me,” Ms Strike-McClelland said.
“It was a beautiful and incredible event, we are so fortunate to attend our first Anzac Day here on the USS Midway,” Mr Strike-McClelland said.
Ms Strike-McClelland joined the WAAAF during WW2 and was assigned to the intelligence Signals Unit, decoding signals under US General MacArthur, who was stationed in Brisbane as head of operations for the Southwest Pacific area.
Born and raised in Sydney, Jessie met her husband Billie in 1942. Six months later they married in Croydon, they had one son before Billie died.
“I didn’t take too much notice of [Billie]. I wasn’t boy crazy, however he was very insistent.
“Billie would come in [to my work] every Saturday and wait for me to serve him. It took me a while to catch on to what he was doing. I invited him to breakfast one morning after Church, and we married a short while after.”
In the lead up to Anzac Day, Group Captain McCutcheon paid tribute to Ms Strike-McClelland’s late husband at the Australian War Memorial and she was presented with photographs from his tribute. It was the first time she had seen her husband’s plaque.
Group Captain McCutcheon said it was an honour to pay his respects to Flying Officer Strike-McClelland. “I feel so humbled when I think of these brave men and women – and their families – who sacrificed so much,” he said.
