Isabel Solis-Thomas and Elvia Solis were born in Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico. The Solis family immigrated to the United States and moved to Brownsville, Texas. When World War II broke out, both sisters volunteered to become "Rosies", welding pipes and repairing cargo ships by the war's end with women of all races from all over the country. Mrs. Solis-Thomas said recruiters wanted women who were small, short and thin for crawling into dangerous places in the ships. She said she worked nine-hour days, six days a week, striking and sealing steel rods with precision and purpose.