Candice Miller Honors the “Original Rosies”
This Women’s History Month, we seize the opportunity to remember women whose stories have been told throughout history, while honoring the women who continue making history for future generations.
Congresswoman Candice Miller of Michigan honors a special group of women whose rigorous work and patriotism sustained America during war times. Their stories will forever be etched into our nation’s history and continue to resonate with America today.
These women, known as the “Original Rosies”, became positive disruptors during WWII when the labor force was predominately occupied by men.
Congresswoman Miller is a trailblazer herself — she currently serves as the Chair of the Committee on House Administration. In her latest op-ed published on Military.com, she talks about how the Rosies irrevocably changed Americans assumptions about work and who was qualified to do it:
“These women — personified in the iconic “We Can Do It!” poster of Rosie the Riveter — made victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan possible.
…The phenomenon of women assuming traditionally male occupations was not some kind of deliberate gender equity initiative. It was a simple imperative of all-out war.
When 6–8 million American women were pressed into service in armament and manufacturing industries, the only thing that mattered was whether or not they could do the job.
…In a tribute placed in the congressional record on the first of this month, Women’s History Month, I asked our fellow citizens to remember that America’s Rosies “played an invaluable role in the war effort and victory. (Their) rigorous work and passionate love of our great country is arguably what sustained the American people, at home and abroad, during a volatile time of war and uncertainty.”
Recently, dozens of “Original Rosies” flew (courtesy of the Talons Out Honor Flight, Ford Motor Co. Fund, and the Yankee Air Museum) from Detroit to Washington D.C. where I, along with other members of Michigan’s congressional delegation, welcomed them to the nation’s Capitol and thanked them for their service and contribution to the war effort.
America’s Rosies built the armaments that led the world to peace in the 1940s, and expanded the horizon of prosperity and self-determination for generations to come.
They were, and are, true American heroes.
Click here to read her full op-ed.
