Video
Living History: The Ambassadors of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park
Transcript
00;00;06;13 - 00;00;10;11 [Rosie the Riveter music playing]
00;00;11;27 - 00;00;14;13 All the day long whether rain or shine...
00;00;14;13 - 00;00;16;29 she’s a part of the assembly line...
00;00;16;29 - 00;00;18;12 she’s making history...
00;00;18;12 - 00;00;19;27 working for victory...
00;00;19;27 - 00;00;21;22 Rosie, the Riveter.
00;00;22;08 - 00;00;27;04 The World War II home front is a significant chapter in America's history.
00;00;27;04 - 00;00;31;13 Women who worked on the war effort, now known as ‚Rosie the Riveters,
00;00;31;15 - 00;00;34;23 worked not only as riveters, but had jobs as welders,
00;00;34;23 - 00;00;38;18 electricians, machinists, and a myriad of other jobs in the
00;00;38;18 - 00;00;40;20 then booming war industry.
00;00;40;20 - 00;00;43;13 Working women arrived from various parts of the nation to work in
00;00;43;13 - 00;00;47;10
Henry Kaiser’s Shipyards in Richmond, California,
00;00;47;10 - 00;00;53;03 Where Rosie the Riveter/ War II Home Front National Historical Park is located.
00;00;53;03 - 00;00;57;01
TUCKER: A song was written more about the real
00;00;57;01 - 00;00;58;22 and the poignant story of a lot of the women
00;00;58;22 - 00;01;03;28 who had these opportunities during the war to work in nontraditional jobs.
00;01;03;28 - 00;01;06;26 And then at the end of the war, they were told, ‚Thanks for your service...
00;01;06;27 - 00;01;08;11 ...go back to whatever you were doing.
00;01;09;13 - 00;01;12;05 MATHER-THRIFT: The war wasn't, couldn't have been won without them, period.
00;01;12;13 - 00;01;13;16 It just couldn't.
00;01;13;16 - 00;01;16;22 And so, they were quintessential people in that effort.
00;01;16;22 - 00;01;19;24 And they've been pretty much overlooked because we tend to live
00;01;19;24 - 00;01;23;25 in that kind of society, where women are sort of the back burner support group.
00;01;24;16 - 00;01;29;12 But in fact, what they did was amazing, and so beneficial.
00;01;29;22 - 00;01;32;27 And even though other people were pitching in and everyone
00;01;32;27 - 00;01;36;01 did, you know, with recycling at home and Victory Gardens
00;01;36;01 - 00;01;39;27 and all of the other efforts, the Rosies were really exceptional
00;01;40;09 - 00;01;43;01 because they built the things that had to be used for the war.
00;01;43;11 - 00;01;46;25 Most men were already in the service.
00;01;47;28 - 00;01;50;17 The only thing they had left was Rosies.
00;01;51;12 - 00;01;53;16 And Rosie sure did the work.
00;01;55;15 - 00;01;57;14 And I'm proud of it.
00;01;57;14 - 00;02;00;07 Several of the women who worked in these same shipyards
00;02;00;19 - 00;02;03;11 came to serve as volunteers at the park decades later.
00;02;03;21 - 00;02;08;14 Now known as the park's Rosie Ambassadors, and were essential to bringing
00;02;08;14 - 00;02;13;10 this critical era in American history to life beyond the park's exhibits.
00;02;13;13 - 00;02;16;15
In fact, it was their involvement and dedication
00;02;16;15 - 00;02;20;05 to sharing their homefront stories that helped put the park on the map.
00;02;21;05 - 00;02;24;13 A few years before the national park was officially established,
00;02;24;18 - 00;02;27;17 The City of Richmond initiated the Rosie Memorial Project
00;02;27;23 - 00;02;31;18 to celebrate this important aspect of the city's history.
00;02;31;18 - 00;02;34;14 Designed by Cheryl Barton and Susan Schwartzenberg,
00;02;34;14 - 00;02;38;02 the memorial was completed and dedicated in 2000,
00;02;38;02 - 00;02;43;00 and it became the inspiration and the touchstone for the national park.
00;02;43;00 - 00;02;47;06 Hundreds of World War II home front workers attended the commemoration,
00;02;47;06 - 00;02;52;07 including Mary “Peace” Head, who came from Louisiana during World War II
00;02;52;07 - 00;02;56;26 to be a welder, and would come to serve as a park ambassador for years to come.
00;02;57;05 - 00;02;59;15 HEAD: Oh, I am so happy.
00;02;59;15 - 00;03;02;12 I didn't think it would be such a crowd.
00;03;02;12 - 00;03;06;03 So many people remembered us as being
00;03;07;02 - 00;03;10;11 on the battlefield in the shipyards.
00;03;11;10 - 00;03;14;23 We worked hard and enjoyed every moment of it.
00;03;15;02 - 00;03;19;07 She just loved celebrating her history and she loved the fact that she was a Rosie.
00;03;19;07 - 00;03;20;20 She was so proud of that
00;03;20;20 - 00;03;23;26 and she knew it was really important to pass this on to the next generations.
00;03;23;26 - 00;03;27;18
Legislation for founding a national park soon followed
00;03;27;18 - 00;03;30;28 and one of the first Rosies to advocate for the forming of the park
00;03;30;28 - 00;03;35;08 was Ludie Mitchell, who, along with her husband Jesse, came to Richmond
00;03;35;08 - 00;03;38;26 from Houston to work in Henry Kaiser Shipyards during World War II.
00;03;38;26 - 00;03;41;29
She was asked by Congressman George Miller
00;03;41;29 - 00;03;46;06 to share her experience and testify before a congressional subcommittee
00;03;46;06 - 00;03;48;02 for the establishment of the national park
00;03;48;02 - 00;03;51;20 that would commemorate the contribution of women to the war effort.
00;03;52;15 - 00;03;57;23 People were suddenly recognizing this significant event
00;03;57;23 - 00;04;00;19 that she'd been a part of, this westward migration,
00;04;01;04 - 00;04;04;21 all these people coming together around this common cause.
00;04;04;21 - 00;04;08;01
And the story was kind of largely slipping away.
00;04;08;01 - 00;04;08;29 And the idea
00;04;08;29 - 00;04;12;00 that people wanted to hear about it and that she was going to get to go to
00;04;12;08 - 00;04;15;28 Washington to talk about it was something she was very excited about.
00;04;16;04 - 00;04;19;18 She traveled to Washington, D.C., along with her granddaughter, Jessica,
00;04;19;18 - 00;04;23;01
where her advocacy efforts proved fruitful.
00;04;23;26 - 00;04;26;29 Legislation was passed shortly after, and the national park
00;04;26;29 - 00;04;30;01 was officially founded in October 2000.
00;04;30;15 - 00;04;32;02 LUDIE MITCHELL: I was so proud to
00;04;32;02 - 00;04;35;19 just go to Washington and be the teeny token
00;04;36;18 - 00;04;38;21 of all the women across America
00;04;40;02 - 00;04;43;01 who stepped up at a crucial time
00;04;43;01 - 00;04;46;09 and gave it the old one-two,
00;04;46;09 - 00;04;49;06 and did it good.
00;04;49;15 - 00;04;52;26 I'm so grateful that the park service recognized right away
00;04;52;26 - 00;04;56;11
that just focusing on the Rosie, ‚We Can Do It!‚ icon
00;04;56;11 - 00;05;00;09 would be just a small sliver of this incredible, amazing story of the home front
00;05;00;09 - 00;05;01;20 and the transformation of our country.
00;05;02;10 - 00;05;06;25 The ‚We Can Do It!‚ iconic Rosie the Riveter side of the story is very important,
00;05;07;06 - 00;05;09;26 but there were so many people that contributed in different ways
00;05;10;00 - 00;05;11;28 to the home front story.
00;05;11;28 - 00;05;14;10 That's why it's important to keep that park name solid.
00;05;14;26 - 00;05;16;18 During the early years of the park,
00;05;16;18 - 00;05;19;28 The staff worked to collect as many homefront stories as possible
00;05;20;04 - 00;05;24;09 to add to the layered history of those known as Rosie the Riveters.
00;05;24;19 - 00;05;26;03 Margaret
00;05;26;13 - 00;05;29;16 worked in yard three.
00;05;29;20 - 00;05;31;25 Welder.
00;05;32;26 - 00;05;34;06 TUCKER: Did you enjoy working there?
00;05;34;06 - 00;05;34;22 Oh, yes.
00;05;34;22 - 00;05;36;16 I enjoyed working there.
00;05;36;16 - 00;05;39;01 First job I had that paid me money.
00;05;39;11 - 00;05;42;25 One of literally the very first stories that I personally received
00;05;43;04 - 00;05;46;11 was Margaret Archie's. And then it accompanied the picture
00;05;46;11 - 00;05;50;26 with a welding hat on and then a fancy dress with pearls.
00;05;51;11 - 00;05;55;27 This was a baby shower, and she was so proud of being a welder.
00;05;56;03 - 00;05;57;19 She insisted on
00;05;57;19 - 00;06;01;16 being a very elegant, feminine woman, but she put her welding helmet on.
00;06;01;26 - 00;06;03;26 And this is like this really iconic picture.
00;06;03;26 - 00;06;05;28 And we ended up using that picture a lot.
00;06;05;28 - 00;06;08;10 And some of was very first tours where we were trying to,
00;06;08;10 - 00;06;11;22 you know, spread the story of what even the National Park Service is here for,
00;06;11;22 - 00;06;15;03 what we can do and how we can partner with the city of Richmond, the county
00;06;15;03 - 00;06;16;25 and the private owners of these structures.
00;06;16;25 - 00;06;17;26 So convince them
00;06;17;26 - 00;06;20;27 it is worth saving this history and celebrating the city of Richmond.
00;06;20;27 - 00;06;24;19 The park's visitor center opened in 2012 and began
00;06;24;19 - 00;06;27;17 to attract an increased number of visitors to the park.
00;06;27;17 - 00;06;31;13 Adding to the visitor experience, a core group of women who had worked in
00;06;31;13 - 00;06;36;24 the shipyards during World War II began to regularly participate in park events
00;06;36;24 - 00;06;40;17 and share their stories with the public as volunteers:
00;06;41;08 - 00;06;44;25 Marian Sousa, who was hired at Kaiser Shipyard number three
00;06;44;25 - 00;06;48;25 after she completed a six week engineering drawing class at UC Berkeley.
00;06;49;13 - 00;06;51;24 Marian made adjustments on ship blueprints.
00;06;52;22 - 00;06;53;28 Agnes Moore
00;06;54;20 - 00;06;59;03 who was determined to do something for the war effort and support her young child.
00;06;59;03 - 00;07;02;12 She became a certified welder and worked the graveyard shift.
00;07;02;19 - 00;07;06;07 Before her shift, Agnes would drop off her young daughter
00;07;06;07 - 00;07;09;08 at a round-the-clock childcare development center.
00;07;09;15 - 00;07;13;17 Marian Wynn, who left Minnesota to join her father in Richmond.
00;07;13;17 - 00;07;17;23 Marian got a job as a pipe builder and worked in the west storage area
00;07;17;23 - 00;07;20;11
where pipes were brought for her to weld.
00;07;22;01 - 00;07;24;20 Kay Morrison, who traveled with her husband from Chico, California,
00;07;24;26 - 00;07;27;07 and found housing in San Francisco.
00;07;27;07 - 00;07;31;19 This meant a ferry boat ride for the graveyard shifts where they worked together.
00;07;31;21 - 00;07;35;04 He was a shipwright and she was a journeyman welder.
00;07;35;13 - 00;07;39;08 Priscilla Elder, who, with a young son to care for and her husband off to war
00;07;39;08 - 00;07;43;08
joined her sisters in Richmond as an electrician.
00;07;43;17 - 00;07;49;07 and Mary Torres. After saving up money from her summertime job in Donora, Pennsylvania,
00;07;49;13 - 00;07;50;11 She packed a bag
00;07;50;11 - 00;07;55;01 and bought a one-way ticket to California after leaving a note for her parents.
00;07;55;06 - 00;07;58;29 After a stint at McClellan Air Base, she became a journeyman welder
00;07;58;29 - 00;08;00;17 at Moore‚ Shipyard in Oakland.
00;08;01;04 - 00;08;06;18 TUCKER: It was just a huge part of our park offering for our interpretive services
00;08;06;18 - 00;08;09;14 because people really wanted to reach out and touch history.
00;08;09;26 - 00;08;13;19 and here were the actual women who had worked there in these shipyards,
00;08;13;20 - 00;08;15;25 being able to pass on their story.
00;08;15;25 - 00;08;18;06 BRUMLEY: One day there was a gentleman that came in
00;08;18;20 - 00;08;21;21 and he had seen a story about the Rosies in the newspaper.
00;08;21;28 - 00;08;24;03 And it turns out he was a home front worker.
00;08;24;03 - 00;08;28;12 And we honor those home front workers as well, whether they're men or women.
00;08;28;12 - 00;08;34;08 And so, Bob Hines would come in and also share his story with us every Friday.
00;08;34;18 - 00;08;38;23 Robert Hines was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and his expertise
00;08;38;23 - 00;08;42;16 in shipbuilding was deemed so essential to a wartime production,
00;08;42;16 - 00;08;44;22 that he was asked to work on the home front.
00;08;44;22 - 00;08;49;00 Bob first helped build the launching ways at Moore Shipyards in Oakland,
00;08;49;05 - 00;08;53;17 and later built boats for the Army Transport Service at Hunts Marine in Richmond.
00;08;53;17 - 00;08;57;26 In 1943, he officially joined the Army Transport Service,
00;08;58;05 - 00;09;01;20 first as a tugboat captain and later as a fire boat captain.
00;09;01;20 - 00;09;04;10
MATHER-THRIFT: Each Rosie is such an individual human being,
00;09;04;10 - 00;09;08;10 and the stories they carry with them are absolutely priceless.
00;09;08;29 - 00;09;12;06 They, from our perspective, are living primary sources.
00;09;12;15 - 00;09;16;13 They experienced the war years. They had their own stories
00;09;16;13 - 00;09;17;11 and their own experiences.
00;09;17;11 - 00;09;23;02 I loved to watch the audience as they were listening to the Rosie's stories.
00;09;23;02 - 00;09;25;24 And I could see so many different emotions on their face.
00;09;25;24 - 00;09;29;01 SOUSA: Meeting the people who came to see us and hear
00;09;29;01 - 00;09;31;06 our stories at the park
00;09;32;17 - 00;09;33;25 was was pretty moving.
00;09;33;25 - 00;09;36;05 Sometimes people would just be crying.
00;09;37;18 - 00;09;40;06 And then we would have
00;09;40;06 - 00;09;44;15 women who came and said, ‚Thank you so much for making it possible
00;09;44;15 - 00;09;46;22 for me to be a welder, or for me to be
00;09;47;16 - 00;09;50;11 in all of these
00;09;50;11 - 00;09;52;22 professions now that are open to women.
00;09;52;22 - 00;09;58;01 I love it because there's so many people that come and they're so happy to hear, to learn.
00;09;58;07 - 00;10;00;08 It feels wonderful.
00;10;00;08 - 00;10;02;12 I'm glad we can do it. It's an honor.
00;10;02;22 - 00;10;07;05 They just think it's amazing how we
00;10;09;03 - 00;10;11;22 the job we did
00;10;11;27 - 00;10;15;05 and we don't think it was anything.
00;10;16;29 - 00;10;19;11 We just think anybody would have done it,
00;10;20;03 - 00;10;22;18 and, and they would have.
00;10;22;23 - 00;10;25;17 I actually saw an elderly man crying.
00;10;26;18 - 00;10;29;11 He couldn't believe that we were 18 years old.
00;10;29;27 - 00;10;31;29 ENGLISH: We are talking about kids,
00;10;32;18 - 00;10;34;23 young men and women who today we would consider kids.
00;10;35;01 - 00;10;38;21 There were some that lied about their age and went in as teenagers, as 16,
00;10;38;21 - 00;10;39;17 17 year olds.
00;10;39;17 - 00;10;43;16 I find that that realization resonates very strongly
00;10;43;21 - 00;10;45;11 with middle school and high school students.
00;10;45;11 - 00;10;47;09 You know, these school kids would come in
00;10;47;09 - 00;10;49;26 sometimes, not really knowing, being dragged on a field trip
00;10;50;06 - 00;10;53;06 and they would sit in the classroom and you would just see kind of the, awe,
00;10;53;07 - 00;10;57;08 come over them when they realized we're sitting in front of real history.
00;10;57;09 - 00;10;59;25 Oh, this is the stuff our teachers were trying to tell us about
00;10;59;25 - 00;11;01;03 and they got to ask questions.
00;11;01;03 - 00;11;04;25 So I saw the transformation on some of those kids faces and also,
00;11;05;09 - 00;11;06;29 you know, to be able to take pride in their city
00;11;06;29 - 00;11;09;26 because Richmond is not often honored in the Bay Area.
00;11;10;14 - 00;11;14;14 BRUMLEY: The Rosies soon enough became very popular outside of the park,
00;11;14;14 - 00;11;17;21 so we were getting phone calls that people wanted them to come to their events.
00;11;17;27 - 00;11;20;15 In doing so, we were able to reach a lot more people
00;11;21;02 - 00;11;23;24 that maybe didn't even know that the park existed.
00;11;24;17 - 00;11;29;14 Rosie Ambassadors were invited to and attended a myriad of speaking engagements.
00;11;30;02 - 00;11;31;03 They participated
00;11;31;03 - 00;11;32;10 in parades,
00;11;32;10 - 00;11;35;25 attended San Francisco Giants games as special guests,
00;11;36;29 - 00;11;39;27 were honored at a San Jose Earthquakes game,
00;11;41;23 - 00;11;45;07 Supported veterans in the Wounded Warrior Valor Games,
00;11;48;01 - 00;11;50;26 met with service members at Travis Air Force Base,
00;11;50;26 - 00;11;55;05 and even traveled to Pearl Harbor during anniversary commemoration ceremonies.
00;11;55;18 - 00;12;00;15 BRUMLEY: What really stands out is the audience‚ reactions to seeing the Rosies.
00;12;00;16 - 00;12;04;09 They understand the concept of Rosie the Riveter, but when they find out
00;12;04;09 - 00;12;06;06 that there's real Rosie the Riveters there,
00;12;06;06 - 00;12;09;12 then they usually get up and give them a standing ovation.
00;12;10;04 - 00;12;14;07 HARRINGTON: I guess I didn't expect them to be so lively still and
00;12;14;29 - 00;12;18;17 I assumed that age would have gotten the best of them,
00;12;18;17 - 00;12;21;12 but that was not
00;12;21;12 - 00;12;23;18 what I got when I met them.
00;12;23;18 - 00;12;25;28 They were...they were beautiful.
00;12;26;18 - 00;12;28;17 And then you can just feel their spirits.
00;12;28;17 - 00;12;31;06 It's like they were still alive. They're still here.
00;12;31;15 - 00;12;34;07 And they are excited about telling their stories.
00;12;34;08 - 00;12;37;11 One of the most memorable trips for some of the Rosie Ambassadors
00;12;37;11 - 00;12;39;24 came about due to the relentless efforts
00;12;39;24 - 00;12;44;20 of Marian Sousa‚ sister, Phyllis Gould, and it was completely unexpected.
00;12;44;20 - 00;12;47;23 Phyllis had been a World War II Rosie as well.
00;12;48;05 - 00;12;51;27 In fact, she was one of the first six women to be hired as welders
00;12;51;27 - 00;12;54;01
in the Kaiser Shipyards.
00;12;54;01 - 00;12;55;19
Beginning in the year 2000,
00;12;56;02 - 00;12;59;27 Phyllis began sending countless, handwritten letters to the White House
00;12;59;27 - 00;13;02;24 in the hopes of being invited so she could lobby
00;13;02;24 - 00;13;05;13 for a nationally recognized Rosie the Riveter day.
00;13;05;27 - 00;13;10;19 Though her letters went unanswered year after year, she was undeterred.
00;13;11;07 - 00;13;16;05 In 2013, she wrote to President Obama, and a couple of months later
00;13;16;05 - 00;13;18;28 followed it with a letter to then-Vice President Biden.
00;13;18;28 - 00;13;22;03 GOULD: I said my fantasy was to have my picture taken
00;13;22;03 - 00;13;24;20 in the Oval Office with
00;13;25;08 - 00;13;26;27 the two of them,
00;13;27;20 - 00;13;31;14 and I wanted a big hug, a big Biden hug.
00;13;32;11 - 00;13;33;24 A few months later,
00;13;33;24 - 00;13;37;04 Phyllis had the invitation she had been waiting years to receive,
00;13;37;23 - 00;13;41;02 and she and a small group of Rosie Ambassadors were on their way
00;13;41;02 - 00;13;45;13 to Washington, D.C., and had a week long tour of the nation's capital.
00;13;45;13 - 00;13;47;28 Among the highlights were a visit to the Pentagon,
00;13;48;14 - 00;13;51;13 meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell,
00;13;51;13 - 00;13;54;06 as well as Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
00;13;54;06 - 00;13;57;22 Last but not least, they had their visit to the White House.
00;13;58;08 - 00;14;00;19 BRUMLEY: So they had us sitting in the Roosevelt Room
00;14;00;19 - 00;14;03;27 waiting for then Vice President, Joe Biden.
00;14;04;17 - 00;14;07;02 And they were all very nervous about it,
00;14;07;02 - 00;14;09;26 and they couldn't even believe that they were there in the White House.
00;14;10;07 - 00;14;13;08 And pretty soon we heard, ‚Where's Phyllis?‚
00;14;13;17 - 00;14;15;11 and in walks Joe Biden.
00;14;15;11 - 00;14;18;17 And and just the women were just bowled over.
00;14;18;27 - 00;14;21;24 SPENCER: If I may ask you, in Phyllis‚ letter, she said,
00;14;22;08 - 00;14;24;14 P.S., I better get a Biden hug.
00;14;24;27 - 00;14;26;21 BIDEN: Oh, are you kidding me?!?
00;14;27;27 - 00;14;29;24 I’m the one who wanted a hug.
00;14;29;24 - 00;14;33;03 BRUMLEY: We were so enthralled with Vice President Biden that we just had a great time.
00;14;33;03 - 00;14;36;07 They had a great time visiting with them and talking with them.
00;14;36;16 - 00;14;39;04 And pretty soon, the door opened up.
00;14;39;19 - 00;14;40;04 [Indistinct chatter]
00;14;40;10 - 00;14;40;25 OBAMA: Oh!
00;14;41;20 - 00;14;43;04 Which just floored all of us.
00;14;43;04 - 00;14;43;24 So, so.
00;14;43;24 - 00;14;45;07
OBAMA: So nice to see you. I'm doing great.
00;14;45;07 - 00;14;46;18
MOORE: And it's wonderful to see you.
00;14;46;19 - 00;14;48;15 OBAMA: It is wonderful to have you all here.
00;14;48;15 - 00;14;49;26 MORRISON: And I...I want a hug.
00;14;49;26 - 00;14;52;01 OBAMA: Oh, absolutely.
00;14;53;06 - 00;14;55;00 Let‚ see...you don't have a name tag.
00;14;55;00 - 00;14;56;02 So you got you gotta tell me...
00;14;56;02 - 00;14;57;21 MORRISON: I‚ Kay Morrison. OBAMA: Good to see you, Kay.
00;14;57;22 - 00;14;59;01 BIDEN: Kay‚ trouble.
00;14;59;01 - 00;15;00;23 OBAMA: You can tell.
00;15;01;01 - 00;15;04;28 My response when I heard about that was...yeah, that's my grandma.
00;15;05;00 - 00;15;07;29 Of course, she jumped up and kissed the president on the lips.
00;15;08;05 - 00;15;11;11 Just another example how she just went after whatever she wanted.
00;15;11;25 - 00;15;14;10 And the thing is, she actually used to kiss everybody.
00;15;14;11 - 00;15;17;16 So it was I'm not surprised, but we're all still...
00;15;17;16 - 00;15;20;14 it was, like, shocking and it was delightful and wonderful.
00;15;21;00 - 00;15;24;03 WYNN: That was so unreal
00;15;24;03 - 00;15;27;17 to be on in the Oval Office, getting my picture made
00;15;27;17 - 00;15;31;01 with the president and the vice president and all the Rosies.
00;15;31;20 - 00;15;32;22 It's unbelievable.
00;15;34;13 - 00;15;35;28 But it happened.
00;15;35;28 - 00;15;38;15 SOUSA: That was amazing. Just amazing.
00;15;38;21 - 00;15;41;19 And the circumstances of getting there
00;15;42;07 - 00;15;44;17 and representing
00;15;44;20 - 00;15;47;22 all of the millions of women who worked on the home front
00;15;47;22 - 00;15;51;04 and didn't expect to be acknowledged.
00;15;52;01 - 00;15;53;11 We didn't.
00;15;54;02 - 00;15;56;15 TUCKER: You know, we have to credit Phyllis, with getting those Rosies
00;15;56;15 - 00;15;58;26 to the White House because she never gave up...
00;15;58;26 - 00;16;01;24 ...after the park service and the Trust to, you know, make this happen.
00;16;01;24 - 00;16;03;09 And it happened.
00;16;03;09 - 00;16;06;20 As the Rosie Ambassadors continued to share their stories
00;16;06;20 - 00;16;10;01 beyond the national park, they began to realize their impact
00;16;10;01 - 00;16;13;26 not only within the United States, but well beyond.
00;16;14;06 - 00;16;18;04 BRUMLEY: In 2019, our Rosie Ambassadors went to Normandy, France,
00;16;18;04 - 00;16;20;07 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
00;16;20;21 - 00;16;22;29 And one of the main reasons for that was
00;16;22;29 - 00;16;25;25 so that Marian Wynn could visit her brother's grave.
00;16;26;17 - 00;16;30;03 WYNN: I knew my brother was gone and I knew he was buried,
00;16;30;03 - 00;16;33;07 and I have a picture of the cemetery,
00;16;33;27 - 00;16;36;08 but it wasn't like being there.
00;16;36;08 - 00;16;37;26 I’m finally here.
00;16;37;26 - 00;16;40;13 Yeah. He's happy to see you.
00;16;40;25 - 00;16;42;22 Very happy.
00;16;42;22 - 00;16;44;12 I‚ waited a long time.
00;16;46;09 - 00;16;48;18 WYNN: It was something I couldn't believe.
00;16;49;00 - 00;16;51;15 They had flowers already on the ground.
00;16;52;16 - 00;16;56;25 And it was beautiful cemetery.
00;16;56;25 - 00;16;59;11 That was very moving for all of us.
00;17;01;09 - 00;17;07;02 She held up pretty good, but she's that kind of a person, you know?
00;17;07;23 - 00;17;09;29 I'm emotional and she's not.
00;17;10;25 - 00;17;14;14 They were treated so special,
00;17;15;01 - 00;17;17;16 and they honored them.
00;17;17;16 - 00;17;20;23 They're just so, so appreciative of America.
00;17;21;05 - 00;17;25;29 And oftentimes, I don't think that our own children,
00;17;26;13 - 00;17;29;00 they're not learning all of that history.
00;17;29;10 - 00;17;35;07 And that's one thing that I think the Rosie park is really providing for people.
00;17;35;07 - 00;17;38;15 So it's so important.
00;17;38;15 - 00;17;40;16 Our country wouldn't be what it is today
00;17;40;16 - 00;17;43;28 without the women and all the people that worked on the home front.
00;17;44;04 - 00;17;48;18 So telling those home front stories and sharing what the Rosies did
00;17;48;29 - 00;17;53;24 is absolutely essential to understanding our country and where we are today.
00;17;54;01 - 00;17;58;07 Getting to work with the Rosies is unquestionably one of the highlights
00;17;58;07 - 00;17;59;18 of my park service career,
00;17;59;18 - 00;18;03;01 and part of it is because I know that tomorrow is not promised.
00;18;03;05 - 00;18;06;15 I think that we're very realistic about the fact that we have been fortunate
00;18;06;15 - 00;18;08;24 to have the Rosies for as long as we've had them,
00;18;09;04 - 00;18;11;29 but that we also have to begin to chart out
00;18;11;29 - 00;18;15;10 how we keep telling the story once we no longer have them.
00;18;16;04 - 00;18;20;07 You know, as the lead ranger, I had a front seat
00;18;20;14 - 00;18;25;13 to getting to watch these women represent their country
00;18;26;00 - 00;18;30;19 and tell their stories and help us remember this important part of history,
00;18;30;19 - 00;18;32;10 and I will be forever grateful.
00;18;32;10 - 00;18;36;01 The national park and the stories that our Rosie Ambassadors shared
00;18;36;01 - 00;18;40;19 help visitors understand that these women are more than just a poster,
00;18;40;19 - 00;18;45;01 and who made their own personal sacrifices to bring an end to World War II.
00;18;45;01 - 00;18;48;26 MITCHELL: My leather pants and ugly shoes and
00;18;49;17 - 00;18;50;18 leather jacket,
00;18;50;18 - 00;18;56;03 and big mittens and goggles and my monster hood...
00;18;57;09 - 00;19;00;09 ...fire coming out of my hands.
00;19;00;09 - 00;19;01;13 I did it.
Description
A moving documentary that explores the passion and determination behind the WWII Home Front women who, as "Rosies", became the ambassadors for the "We Can Do It!" story and worked at the forefront of the creation and success of the national park in Richmond, California.
Duration
21 minutes, 4 seconds
Credit
NPS/Rosie Trust
Copyright and Usage Info