Jill Biden Gives Surprise Call to 102-Year-Old WWII Veteran Who Served in All-Female, All-Black Unit

CBS; Getty Cresensia Garcia and Jill Biden

Jill Biden took a moment recently to honor Cresensia Garcia, a 102-year-old veteran who served in an all-female, all-Black segregated unit during WWII.

During an interview with CBS Mornings that aired Wednesday about Cresensia's time in the service, Cresensia and her granddaughter, Tara Garcia, received a special surprise from the first lady.

Tara, who first answered the phone, immediately recognized the caller and was shocked. She then passed the phone to her grandmother, who also recognized Dr. Biden.

"Wow. My salute for you, woman," Cresensia told Biden, to which she responded, "You are the one that needs to be celebrated. You are one incredible woman and I can't thank you enough for all your service to our country."

"And I salute you," Cresensia said, "Keep it up. Keep up the good work."

"I'm trying to follow in your footsteps. In your example," the first lady responded.

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After the call, Tara was emotional about how present and lucid Cresensia was during the call. "The fact that she knew who that was," Tara said holding back tears. "Yeah, and she felt that acknowledgment just now."

She continued, "That's all I needed. That's all I needed. I just want her to remember, that's all."

Cresensia is one of only six surviving members of the "SixTripleEight," an all-female, all-Black, segregated unit that was sent overseas during World War II, CBS Mornings reported. The team consisted of 855 women at the time.

During the story on CBS, retired Army Col. Edna Cummings showed her admiration for the unit. "They're the only military women's unit to receive a congressional gold medal," Cummings said. "They are part of an elite group of less than 200 recipients. The first being Gen. George Washington."

From Cummings' findings, Cresensia served in a burn unit about 30 kilometers from Birmingham, England, treating soldiers.

For Cresensia, however, she said her service "wasn't much." She explained, "I was just a medic, I used to take care of the hurt. When they came in, I took care of them."

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The veteran also shared the segregation that happened during her time in the service. "They put me in the Black section and there is a white section. That's America to you. See? That's America to you and it's very sad, very sad."

Five months ago, Tara posted a picture of Cresensia celebrating the bill that authorized the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor to the 855 women of the unit. "Next stop, the White House!!!" Tara wrote in the caption.

The proud granddaughter continued, "Last day of Black History Month. There is no such thing as coincidence, God is great and always on time! Thanks to the efforts of a few, the many are recognized."

Cresensia was born in Puerto Rico on April 18, 1920. By the time WWII began, she had already moved to New York City and felt a "patriotic duty to serve her country."

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After the war, Cresensia married Esteban Garcia II, an Army veteran himself. They raised three children together during their 47 years of marriage. Her husband passed away in 1994.

Cresensia spent her post-war years working as a seamstress and pattern maker in New York City's Garment District.