Janice Benario's job in the U.S. Navy was so secret, she couldn't tell her husband for 25 years.

Her parents died without knowing how their daughter served this country during World War II.

Allen Sullivan/AJC (ENLARGE)

Walter Todd, dressed as a 7th Infantry soldier during the battle for Kwajalein Atoll, speaks to visitors during a World War II Remembrance Day event.

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Benario, a retired Georgia State University professor, was a U.S. Navy code breaker in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) from 1943 to 1946.

"We had to be extremely accurate," she said, adding that round-the-clock shift work never left her with enough sleep. "We sent information up as to where the subs were in relation to convoys. The big thing was the secrecy. The Germans never knew.

"We were told 'loose lips sink ships.' "

Benario was one of more than a dozen veterans and widows of veterans who participated in the Atlanta History Center's World War II Remembrance Day Sunday.

A wide variety of folks from 5 to 85 years old meandered through the exhibit listening to stories and examining weapons, uniforms and other war memorabilia.

Meg DuBose of Marietta attended the event with her husband, who is retired from the military.

"These folks have actually been there making the history," DuBose said. "It brings us back to the values of being an American citizen."

Bob "Punchy" Powell of Atlanta attracted a riveted crowd as he described his days flying a Thunderbolt and a Mustang in the U.S. Army Air Force. Powell, a member of the 352nd Fighter Squadron, wore his flight suit as he chatted with visitors about his 87 missions from April 1943 to December 1944.

"It was a wonderful experience, I wouldn't want to do it again for a million bucks," he said laughing.

Another veteran, Clifford Dunaway Sr., spoke about his experience as a sailor on the USS Atlanta when the cruiser went down in the Battle of Guadalcanal. For another perspective on the war, Benjamen Salata, director of Heritage Education at the Historic Columbus Foundation, came dressed as a Russian soldier.

"Twenty-five million died fighting the Germans," Salata said.

The History Center has organized the program since 2004, when it started as part of the "V for Victory" exhibit. By 2 p.m., more than 450 people attended the event.

As for Benario, she earned her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in classical languages thanks to the G.I. Bill. Benario, now 85, also taught at Emory University and Agnes Scott College.

"The first day I was told any talk in wartime was treason. And you know the penalty for treason," Benario said. "Nobody talked for 30 years."