"Now it can be seen. Our entire manpower problem is most acutely a problem in women power."
-Business Week, September 1943¹
-Business Week, September 1943¹
Many American women became engineers, mechanics, welders, and riveters during World War II. "As men left their factory jobs to go and fight, women stepped up to produce the heavy machinery needed for the war and at home to keep the country running. Women quickly picked up and excelled at historically male-dominated trades such as welding, riveting and engine repair. Women were essential for the production and supply of goods to our troops fighting abroad. Their efforts during wartime refuted the misconception that women are incapable of manual and technical laboring."²
The Factory Workers
Donna Jean Harvey (on right⁴)
When her husband went off to war, she "went to United Modification Plant and learned how to rivet, do installations of various kinds and etc." She described her WWII experience to nps.gov: "When the “new” radar system was implemented, I asked to be put on that crew... I proceeded to install radar along with my riveting duties. Planes were sent here from the factory, literally as “shells” and we put them together and sent them on their way to Europe and other points where the B-17’s were needed. I installed relief tubes occasionally, did some aerial installations, loaded the shells in the magazines, installed plexiglass for the rear gunners and etc... I was awarded the Army-Navy E Award and was presented with a pin."⁴
When her husband went off to war, she "went to United Modification Plant and learned how to rivet, do installations of various kinds and etc." She described her WWII experience to nps.gov: "When the “new” radar system was implemented, I asked to be put on that crew... I proceeded to install radar along with my riveting duties. Planes were sent here from the factory, literally as “shells” and we put them together and sent them on their way to Europe and other points where the B-17’s were needed. I installed relief tubes occasionally, did some aerial installations, loaded the shells in the magazines, installed plexiglass for the rear gunners and etc... I was awarded the Army-Navy E Award and was presented with a pin."⁴
Delana Jensen Close (on left⁴)
When Delana heard "a war plant had opened up in the town of Benecia and was hiring women" she left to work there immediately. After a battery of tests she was put to work operating one of the large boring lathes. She explained to nps.gov, "I was later told that when I applied for a job, the plant had been testing women to find out if they were capable of running one of the big machines. I was hired and was the only woman to ever operate one of them, and in six months time I was training men for the job... V-E Day, on May 8, 1945 was a day of celebration, but one of mixed emotions for us. We lost our jobs. Yuba would no longer make guns. We said our good byes, and when the foreman of my section shook my hand and said goodbye, he added, “You were the best man I had.”⁴
When Delana heard "a war plant had opened up in the town of Benecia and was hiring women" she left to work there immediately. After a battery of tests she was put to work operating one of the large boring lathes. She explained to nps.gov, "I was later told that when I applied for a job, the plant had been testing women to find out if they were capable of running one of the big machines. I was hired and was the only woman to ever operate one of them, and in six months time I was training men for the job... V-E Day, on May 8, 1945 was a day of celebration, but one of mixed emotions for us. We lost our jobs. Yuba would no longer make guns. We said our good byes, and when the foreman of my section shook my hand and said goodbye, he added, “You were the best man I had.”⁴
Helen Ann Derusha (on right ⁴)
Helen "took a job as a riveter working on U.S. Army training planes at Minter Field , California , some twenty miles north of Bakersfield." She revealed her past to nps.org: "My job as a riveter was an interesting one and challenging. I was among the first women employed at that type of work. We were given some training with a riveting gun and some metal sheeting to practice on under the careful eyes of an instructor. We were impressed with the importance of our job as many lives would depend on our work. The planes we worked on took many a hard landing and had to be repaired with the utmost skill. I also learned to use the bucking bar and a great deal of my work consisted, because of my small stature, of working inside the airplanes and using a bucking bar while my partner worked on the outside with a rivet gun."⁴
Helen "took a job as a riveter working on U.S. Army training planes at Minter Field , California , some twenty miles north of Bakersfield." She revealed her past to nps.org: "My job as a riveter was an interesting one and challenging. I was among the first women employed at that type of work. We were given some training with a riveting gun and some metal sheeting to practice on under the careful eyes of an instructor. We were impressed with the importance of our job as many lives would depend on our work. The planes we worked on took many a hard landing and had to be repaired with the utmost skill. I also learned to use the bucking bar and a great deal of my work consisted, because of my small stature, of working inside the airplanes and using a bucking bar while my partner worked on the outside with a rivet gun."⁴
"Munitions jobs thus seemed a natural for women because the industry allowed no bravado, insisting instead on strict adherence to standards."
-Doris Weatherford in American Women and World War II
-Doris Weatherford in American Women and World War II
¹Quote from American Women and World War II; ²Excerpt from Massachusetts AFL-CIO; ³Picture from womensmemorial.org; ⁴Pictures and Excerpts from nps.gov