WHEN AMERICA NEEDED HER MOST, Dolores Burdett was there to serve. The Waterloo, Iowa, native was one of World War II’s fabled female codebreakers—in her case, deciphering intercepted messages from the Japanese to help her country turn the tide in the Pacific Theater. An estimated 10,000 women served as codebreakers during World War II, assisting the navy and army in their efforts to eavesdrop on the Japanese and Germans. After being ordered by the U.S. Navy to remain silent, Burdett, at 100, is fully free to talk about what she did. Now living at an assisted living facility in Florida, the gregarious veteran recalls breaking codes that helped win battles, along with a host of other once-in-a-lifetime events.
How did you
