The unofficial grande dame of the Washington DC VA Medical Center turns 102 years old on Sept. 11 but insists that she feels “only 59.” Cpl. Alyce Dixon is an incorrigible flirt who “doesn’t bother” with men over 60 years of age. The feisty, outspoken World War II veteran, who boasts a heritage of Cherokee, Jewish, black and Caucasian descent, brings to mind the late actress Barbara Stanwyck.
She is among the fortunate World War II veterans who are still in good health. World War II veterans are dying at a rate of 900 per day, according to the October 2008 report of the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. Once 16 million strong, they number fewer than 2.2 million.
Cpl. Dixon says she has impressive health and a sharp mind for a reason: “God let me be like this to show people that you can be 101 and still talk and remember things.” She notes that, ironically, she smoked for 40 years, drank hard liquor and used to have a drink of vodka and orange juice before going to bed if she needed help sleeping.
Cpl. Dixon was born Alice Lillian Ellis. She was the third-eldest of nine children in a family that moved to Washington from Boston in 1924. At 16, she saw silent-film star Alyce Mills in the 1923 movie “A Bride for a Knight” and was intrigued by the spelling of the actress’s first name. When the movie ended and she arrived home, she declared that from then on, she would be “Alyce with a y.”
This rebellion in the era of flappers and prohibition was indicative of the woman she would become - a cigarette-smoking, scotch-, whiskey- and bourbon-drinking female who at age 18 got a speeding ticket while driving from the District to Pittsburgh for a wedding. More than 80 years later, she’s still in a hurry - racing through the halls of the Veterans Affairs facility in her motorized wheelchair. She complains that the chair “isn’t fast enough” and hopes for a replacement that will satisfy her need for speed.
She graduated from the District’s Dunbar High School in 1925 and then enrolled at Howard University to study stenography at night while working days to help support her family.
Throughout the years, Cpl. Dixon worked at a variety of places. “I kept changing jobs to keep improving myself,” she says. In 1929 and ’30, she worked as a secretary at the Lincoln Theatre on U Street Northwest. She recalls being hired by owner A.E. Lichtman. He appreciated her brash explanation for erring on her typing test: An antiquated typewriter made it difficult to type accurately.
In 1930, she married George Dixon, and in 1931, they moved to New York City. They returned to Washington in 1938 and later divorced.
Around 1941, Cpl. Dixon secured a civilian job in requisitions at the Pentagon during its construction. Her responsibilities included “buying everything from pencils to airplanes” despite not knowing anything about the latter. “They were just airplanes to me,” she explains.
In 1943, she enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-black, all-female unit deployed during World War II. The women were charged with eliminating an accumulation of undelivered mail addressed to U.S. troops. Once the backlog, stored in British warehouses, was eliminated, they deployed to France to address a similar problem. Cpl Dixon is just one of three survivors of the 6888th and is the oldest.
She returned to work at the Pentagon until her retirement in 1972. Cpl. Dixon lived in an apartment until April 2000, when an invasive infection resulting in the amputation of her right leg required the move to the nursing home. That she has only one leg is a source of frustration, but it has not diminished her lifelong love of shoes: Before her move to the VA facility, she owned 62 pairs, and although she has downsized, she still relishes a good-looking shoe.
Cpl. Dixon is admittedly vain. “I like to look good,” she says. She wears nonprescription glasses - even though her vision is 20/30 - because she says they camouflage her wrinkles. She will not leave her room until she is perfectly coifed. She usually sports bright nails, makeup, carefully pressed pants, a matching sweater or shirt and one shoe - all coordinated with earrings, bracelets, rings and a necklace from her costume-jewelry collection.
Cpl. Dixon remains active in the nursing home. She also reads Vogue, Ladies’ Home Journal, Reader’s Digest and the daily newspaper. She claims that she “always was a comedian” and enjoys shocking people with her rapid-fire, mildly off-color jokes, which have made many men blush.
So what’s next for this tireless woman who in her youth loved to jump rope, roller-skate, go clubbing and drive her sporty Ford Phaeton? She regrets not having traveled to Fiji or taken a Mexican cruise. She would love a trip to Manhattan but concedes that her options are limited.
She boasts that she has met many notables. During Prince Charles’ 2005 visit to the District, Cpl. Dixon unabashedly told him that he had grown into a “very naughty man.” She was referring to his relationship with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during his marriage to Princess Diana. She also has met Queen Elizabeth II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Kennedy and President George H.W. Bush.
She recently met first lady Michelle Obama. She would like to meet President Obama, whom she says should take time out of his schedule to visit. “I want to meet him so badly. We [veterans] need him. He visits everyone else. He should visit those who served - the veterans who are sick in the nursing home and in the hospital,” she said.
c Gayle S. Fixler is a Washington-area freelance writer. She is a member of Soldiers’ Angels and the USO of Metropolitan Washington and is a former nursing-home volunteer at Washington DC VA Medical Center.
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