The Woman Behind Rosie the Riveter Has Indiana Roots
One iconic Americana image has a deep connection to the Commonwealth and the Hoosier State.
When most people picture Rosie the Riveter, their minds jump to a bright red bandana and a defiant bicep flex under the words "WE CAN DO IT!" But behind the iconic wartime image was a real woman with real roots in Kentucky and Indiana. Her name was Rose Will Monroe.
Rose Will Monroe Built Bombers Before She Became Rosie
Born in Kentucky in 1920, Monroe later moved north to Michigan at the age of 22. A soldier's widow with two young children, she took a factory job building B-29 and B-24 "Liberator" planes for the U.S. military at the Willow Run assembly plant during World War II. She was one of the millions of women who stepped in to fill industrial work roles while the men went off to war, but Monroe's story is a bit different.
...an estimated 5 million civilian women who worked in the defense industry and elsewhere while men were fighting overseas. - NPR
How a Factory Worker Became the Face of the War Effort
When Hollywood producers needed a real female riveter to appear in promotional films encouraging Americans to purchase war bonds, Monroe was chosen. She went on to become the face and hands of the government’s Rosie the Riveter campaign. While the painted poster version was a fictional composite created by J. Howard Miller, Monroe was the real thing.
The history of Rosie the Riveter begins when Monroe became the nation’s poster girl for women joining the labor force during World War II. The term “Rosie,” taken from her first name, came to symbolize all women who continued to fill what had previously been men’s factory jobs, maintaining the company’s labor force as thousands of men fought overseas. During peak production at Willow Run assembly plant, up to one third of the workforce consisted of women. - Ford Motor Company
Read More: Look Inside an Abandoned Indiana WWII Ammunition Plant
The Real Rosie the Riveter Spent Her Final Years in Indiana
After the war, Monroe eventually settled in Clarksville, Indiana, where she lived for decades until her passing in 1997. Her legacy didn’t fade with time. Clarksville is now home to a life-size statue honoring Rose Will Monroe as “The Real Rosie the Riveter.” Visitors stop to take photos and pay tribute to the legacy of Rosie the Riveter at the statue located in Calrskville's Ashland Park, alongside the Ohio River, and directly across from downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
Rosie the Riveter Became a Symbol of American Grit
Rosie has become a symbol of grit, independence, and the strength of women, reminding us that we, too, can do it... whatever it happens to be.
LOOK: 100 years of American military history
More From My WJLT 105.3
