Rosie the Riveter from Valley gets birthday surprise

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Valley woman was moved to tears during a patriotic birthday surprise on Saturday.

Elizabeth Lee was one of the original Rosie the Riveters during World War II. She served her country here at home by welding battleships in Richmond from 1942 to 1944. She says she was so tiny her co-workers would hold her by her ankles and hang her upside down on the sides of the ships to weld those hard-to-reach places.

On Saturday, dozens of friends and family members gathered to honor Lee's legacy and wish her a happy 90th birthday.

"Oh it's something wonderful that I never expected to see in my whole life," she said.

Lee thought she was going to the Holiday Inn Express in Madera to be interviewed by a book writer about her relative Joaquin Murrieta.

Her daughter says Lee just renewed her driver's license and can still thread a needle without glasses -- proving age is just a number.