WASHINGTON — Dozens of women who helped the American war effort at home during World War II are in D.C. to receive Congressional Gold Medals. Marian Sousa, Jeanne Gibson and Ernestine Wean arrived at Reagan National Airport Monday. They were greeted a water cannon salute, cheers and flag waving.
More Rosie's arrived this week for the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol that honored all the women who served on the home front during WWII and who earned the nickname Rosie the Riveter. This will recognize their essential contributions to our nation’s wartime success.
The iconic Rosie the Riveter represents women who worked in positions previously only held by men. The Rosies worked in a variety of positions building supplies for the war effort. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, making up 65% of the industry’s total workforce.
Among those honored was 106-year-old D.C. native Dorothy Boggess. She worked as a typist and correspondence clerk for the Department of Defense.
"We were answering letters from families who were concerned about their families overseas, and felt it was very important work," Boggess told WUSA9.
Another Rosie expected on hand at the ceremony was Mae Krier. She was hired by Boeing in Seattle as a riveter to build B-17 and B-25 bombers. She's one of the youngest surviving Rosies.
For the past 20 years, Krier has worked tirelessly to educate the public about the role women played on the Home Front during WWII. Krier was also instrumental in the creation of Rosie the Riveter Day, which is celebrated every year on March 21.
Krier also worked with fellow Rosie Phyllis Gould to design the medal. Gould's original idea was to have four racially diverse Rosies on the medal, but was disappointed to learn you can't put real people on the medal. She passed along a detailed design idea to the Mint before she passed away in 2021 at the age of 99.
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