Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon that represents the American women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The woman in the iconic image is working with her sleeves rolled up, ready to do whatever it takes to help America win. The image of Rosie was one of many employed by government officials to encourage all American citizens to pull their weight during the Great War. The image is one of the most iconic from World War II, and for a good reason. Rosie, flexing her muscles in a "We Can Do It!" pose, is representative of women's newfound empowerment during the war. Women joined the workforce throughout America to help fight in World War II, and thanks to propaganda posters like this one, Rosie was one of the many faces that came to represent this war effort. She was not, however, the only face. Women all over America joined the workforce, some as nurses and teachers, others as welders and riveters. Their jobs were different, but they shared a common goal: To help America win World War II.
The Rosie, the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, hosted a reunion of women involved in World War II in Richmond, California, in 2011. Naomi Parker had plans to attend the meeting along with her sister. As Naomi saw the "We Can Do It" poster displayed alongside the 1942 wire photo, she was surprised to see that they had identified someone else as the poster's original model. Since Parker was the one who was photographed, she knew it was inaccurate. She tried to inform National Parks Service officials of the error, but they weren't convinced. It took another 4 years before journalist James Kimble pointed out this big mistake.
In 1942, Westinghouse Electric Corporation commissioned artist Howard Miller to create an iconic work-incentive poster depicting an aircraft assembly worker at the Naval Air Station Alameda. Norman Rockwell eventually featured the poster in the May 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Naomi was working on a Pratt & Whitney vertical shaper (metalwork) when this picture was taken. Like many other Americans, Naomi felt compelled to help the war effort, especially after Pearl Harbour, by rolling up their sleeves and taking on unfamiliar roles. Naomi Parker was the prototypical worker during World War II. As America sent its best to war, patriotic citizens like Noami picked up the tools and helped build the war machine.
On the east coast of the United States in 1941, a twenty-one-year-old named Virginia Moriarity didn't have a care in the world. As a twenty-one-year-old growing up in Brooklyn, her summers as a die-hard Brooklyn Dodger fan couldn't have been better. She would spend her days off from baseball games with her friends at Coney Island, eating Nathan's hot dogs and riding the famous Cyclone. The Dodgers home games were never missed by her. From an early age, her blood ran Dodger blue. Despite the Brooklyn Dodgers reaching the 1941 World Series and losing the first-ever subway series against the NY Yankees, she was still happy at the end of the summer. Like every Brooklyn native that grew up in 1941, she settled for the fact that DiMaggio, and the boys, did well in 1941, but like every summer, she still had hopes and wishes for next year. The familiar Brooklyn cry was "Dem Bums" and "Wait 'til next year!."
Against her parents' wishes (they encouraged her to marry up), she decided to work in the professional world as soon as possible after the summer of 1941. Having been trained and proficient in the more refined stenographic, clerical, and typing techniques in an all-girls private high school, she was ready to face the professional world. Her job search in downtown Manhattan failed to produce any results by December 1941. Like Naomi Parker, Virginia's life changed after December 7, 1941. A few miles from where she lived, some of her girlfriends started working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard doubled in size when the government annexed the adjacent land of the second-largest produce market in the country to build the largest dry docks and cranes in the world. First-ever hires of female mechanics and technicians were made at the Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard stayed highly active until the end of WWII on September 2, 1945. In fact, the Japanese unconditional surrender was signed on the Brooklyn Navy Yard built USS Missouri, a.k.a., "Mighty Mo." The Brooklyn Navy Yard was crucial to the American war effort during World War II, where battleships and aircraft carriers were built. A total of over 70,000 workers worked at the yard to repair over 5,000 ships. Brooklyn Navy Yard was known as "The Can-Do Yard." Virginia tried to sign up for mechanical work like her girlfriends, but she was told at her first interview that, due to her administrative skills, she would be in high demand as an administration manager for the battleships and aircraft carriers. Virginia worked as a manager at the Brooklyn Navy Yard throughout the conflict and for a few years afterward before moving on to her ultimate excellent downtown Manhattan position.
Virginia and Naomi, and countless other patriotic Americans rolled up their sleeves to do whatever it took to help America achieve victory.
