Facts about "Rosie"
Adapted from various sources including Military Trader Magazine, June 2015.
- The original “Rosie” was a petite model named Mary Doyle Keefe who posed for Norman Rockwell’s May 29, 1943 painting. He later apologized for “beefing” up her body. Mary never riveted. She passed away in April 2015.
- The term “Rosie the Riveter” was first used in a 1942 song written by Redd Evans and John Loeb. The song was performed by many bands and became a national hit.
- “Rosie the Riveter” wasn’t just one woman. Rosie was an iconic image representing the war time sacrifice and contribution of American women.
- The name “Rosie” is said to be a nickname for Rosie Bonavita who worked for Convair in San Diego, California.
- The perhaps more iconic picture of “Rosie the Riveter” was painted by J. Howard Miller, hired by Westinghouse and showing a young woman rolling up her sleeve above the words “We Can Do It.” However, this picture was never known as “Rosie the Riveter” during the war.
- The idea of “Rosie” may have been borrowed from Canada’s “Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl” of 1941. She was actually Veronica Foster.
- From 1940 – 1945, the female workforce increased in percentage from 27% to 37% as six million women answered the call to replace men.
- In 1943, the U.S. aircraft industry employed more than 310,000 women, making up 65% of the industry’s total workforce. Only 1% of women worked in this industry in pre-war years.
- In January 1942, President Roosevelt called for accelerated industrial production. He asked women to join the effort, forming the War Manpower Commission (WMC) and the Office of War Information (OWI). The WMC and OWI intensified their employment efforts by creating the Women in Necessary Service and Women in War campaigns, in preparation for the June 1944 D-Day campaign.
- A year after World War II ended, 3.5 million women had voluntarily or involuntarily left the labor force.
Adapted from various sources including Military Trader Magazine, June 2015.
