Helen Ehlers was born in September 1923 in Cicero, Illinois. She had two brothers and one sister. Her father was a laborer at a foundry. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom. During the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], they learned to do without. Her father did not have a charge card. He would save and pay cash. They had a mortgage to pay. Her father stayed working during the Depression. She remembers it was a Sunday afternoon and they had the radio on when she heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. She was home alone. Her father's brothers were in the service. She went into the service in 1944. Her father had to sign for her. Her brothers were already in the service. Her father was an immigrant.

Helen Ehlers idolized the Marines. She was anxious to go to boot camp. She thought she was going to fight. She was trained in aircraft instrument mechanics then worked in a shop repairing and calibrating them. The training lasted all day. She was stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Cherry Point, North Carolina]. The Marines she associated with were all gentlemen. They respected the women. They stayed in uniform, but they did not get to town often. The base had a bowling alley and an ice cream shop. There was also a library. After boot camp, they had a graduation and a dance. No one wanted to dance with the GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier]. She liked to march. Saturdays were inspection days. She made friends. One girl was from New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. They lived together in barracks. She wrote home while she was there. Her brother Joe was a paramedic and trained in Washington state. Her brother Steve was in the infantry and received training at Fort Benning [Annotator's Note: Fort Benning, Georgia]. She enrolled in college but did not stay in. She used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. She worked at Western Electric which was located in Cicero [Annotator's Note: Cicero, Illinois; Ehler's hometown]. Her first job was working on microphones for the pilots. She also worked on a switchboard.

Helen Ehlers started working before she joined the service. She went back to work for Western Electric after her service. She got married and had a daughter. She went to work in the office for AT&T. She liked her office work. She retired at 71 years old. She heard about the women playing baseball [Annotator's Note: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League], but she never went to a game. She and her sister would go downtown [Annotator's Note: in Chicago, Illinois] every Saturday. During basic training, her sergeant was not aware or diligent. She had gotten a toothache and needed to go to the dentist, and it was bad. They fixed her tooth enough, but she had to make a dentist appointment later. She is glad she served. Her brothers were in and she wanted to go in as well. She thinks people are becoming more aware of what happened during World War 2. There was a time when the war was forgotten, but it is coming back. She does not think the war changed her. Her final rank was corporal.