Levittown resident to accept Congressional Medal of Honor on behalf of World War II-era 'Rosie the Riveters'
Last edited Thu Apr 11, 2024, 07:18 AM - Edit history (3)
Source: WHYY Philadelphia/PBS
April 10, 2024
The women of World War II who inspired "Rosie the Riveter" will receive a long-overdue honor Wednesday -- the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor. One of the original "Rosies," 98-year-old Mae Krier of Bucks County, will stand before Congress to accept the award on their behalf.
The Second World War changed the lives of many "Rosies." "We weren't in the trenches, but we built everything that our fighting men needed. And I thought that they should at least give us credit for what we did," said Krier. Krier was just 17 when she left her home in North Dakota to work at Boeing in Seattle. Her job was to drive rivets into the metal sheathing of B-17s and B-29 bomber aircraft.
"We were good," she said. "Sometimes, we were much better than the men, but we didn't get the same pay as the men. The men got paid a lot more." The war forced Krier and millions of other American women to leave the homefront and enter industrial work. They built planes, boats and other war equipment.
They were trained to become mechanics and mail carriers and to take on whatever jobs were needed while men fought overseas. But once the war ended, their services were no longer needed. "The men came home to parades and flying flags, the women came home to a pink slip," Krier said. "It just wasn't fair that they didn't recognize what the women did in World War II."
Read more: https://whyy.org/articles/rosie-the-riveter-congressional-medal-of-honor/
Ceremony to be broadcast -
ETA - ABC news had this pic of the attendees -
Twenty-eight so-called 'Rosie the Riveters,' women who entered the US defense workforce during WWII, pose for a group photo ahead of a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring their service in the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., April 10, 2024.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock
ETA - one of my aunts and her friends (one of whom lived next door to us), worked at the Philly Navy Yard during WWII (my aunt said they did it to make some $$$
). Lots of women were down there at that shipyard riveting and doing other stuff! 
= new reply since forum marked as read
They deserve credit!
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my aunt and her friends were down at the Navy Yard! All of those women would be in their late-90s (my aunt would have been 98 this year).
https://southphillyreview.com/2021/09/15/local-rosie-honored-for-helping-win-the-war/
They honored a local one here in Philly a couple years ago - https://southphillyreview.com/2021/09/15/local-rosie-honored-for-helping-win-the-war/
and you can't find what you saw earlier! 
That's why sometimes I try to hang onto some "earlier" search tabs for reference and start up a new tab when I try to change up the search parameters.
Women welders at a shipyard in Richmond, California, at work on the construction of the Liberty ship
S.S. George Washington Carver,1943. Photographed by E.F. Joseph.
Welders Alivia Scott, Hattie Carpenter, and Flossie Burtos are about to weld their first piece of steel on the
ship SS George Washington Carver at Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California. 1943
But I didn't find this detail till after she passed 
not only that; she was the head draftsperson either in that section, or over all.
So besides her doing drafting; everyone came to her to have their work checked, and approved! She had at least 25, but I think closer to between 50 - 100 draftsmen under her.
When she had to come back to NYC, she landed another drafting job, as well.
They were expected to give up their jobs, go home and become wives and mothers, whether they wanted to or not. Many did go home, many did get married and have babies, but some were resentful that their efforts were no longer wanted in the workforce.
I think this was especially true for the factory jobs, but even in the offices women managers were demoted or fired so that men could be re-hired. What a terrible way to handle the transition to the peace-time workforce. "Thanks Rosie, now get out of here."
