During World War II, Rosie the Riveter was the star of a U.S. government campaign to recruit housewives to the workforce. 

Across the nation, Rosie the Riveters were encouraged to take jobs working in manufacturing plants that built bombers and tanks – and to fill the void left by the enlistment of over 16 million American men.

African American, Hispanic, White and Asian women came together to accept work in primarily male dominated trades. In addition to their full-time employment, many of the women had young children at home.

While their husbands were fighting in the war overseas, the enlisted ladies would help each other with the cooking, cleaning, and babysitting. Some of the women even shared apartments to save time and money, as well as assist with the raising of their families.

“Can you use an electric mixer? Then, you can learn to operate a drill.”

Statements like these were just some of the government-led propaganda used to recruit young homemakers.

Between 1942-1945, the U.S. had recruited 3 million “housewives” who were new to the workforce. Another 16 million women were given promotions at their current job, where they filled in for the men while they were overseas.

Nearly 19 million women, eager to help wherever they could, filled in when it was needed. After the war ended, the empowered ladies did what our nation expected them to do – they completed their services and returned to their household duties.

“Rosie the Riveter” was not one person, but a representation of millions of hard-working women. 

In 1942, Redd Evan and John Jacob Loeb penned the term “Rosie the Riveter” in their song by the same name. It was recorded by many different artists – but it was the famous swing bandleader James Kern “ Kay” Kyser that made the song a hit in 1943.

As HERstory tells it, there were many women who could’ve been the inspiration for “Rosie”.

According to Wikipedia, some of the women associated with the song’s name and idea were:

• Rosie Bonavita, a Convair worker in San Diego, California.
• Veronica Foster, a Canadian poster girl for “Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl”.
• Rosalind P. Walter, a philanthropist who “came from old money and worked on the night shift”.
• Rose Will Monroe, a riveter in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Norman Rockwell’s painted his own idea of “Rosie the Riveter”. The illustration features a muscular woman on her lunch break, a rivet gun on her lap, and below her feet is a copy of Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf.

On May 29th, 1943, the Saturday Evening Post published Rockwell’s image of “Rosie the Riveter” on their Memorial Day cover. Posed to look like Michelangelo’s 1509 painting of Prophet Isaiah from the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the model was a 19-year-old telephone operator, Mary Doyle from Vermont.

Although, it is now a symbol of modern feminism – the “We Can Do It!” poster was rarely used in promotions during war times.

It wasn’t until the feminist movement of the 1980’s, that the illustration would receive mass circulation. Thirty years after the war had ended, the mystery as to who was really the inspiration for “Rosie” began.

In early 1942, Westinghouse Power Company had asked artist J. Howard Miller to create a series of moral-boosting posters for wartime propaganda.

Inspired by a newspaper photograph of a young, female factory worker – Miller began work on his most famous poster. The finished piece was a strong-armed lady wearing a blue shirt, and a red bandana.

Fifty years later, in 1994, the Smithsonian featured Miller’s “We Can Do It!” illustration on their cover. Geraldine Hoff Doyle, from Michigan, mistakingly identified herself as the woman in the wartime photograph. After some consideration by World War II historians, Doyle was recognized nationally as the famed “Rosie”. The National Historical Park honored her by naming the newspaper photo “Geraldine”.

Then, twenty years later, Naomi Parker-Fraley was visiting the Rosie the Riveter/ World War II Home Front National Historical Park with her sister when she noticed something odd. The photograph of “Geraldine” wasn’t Geraldine Hoff Doyle; but it was a photograph of Parker-Fraley. The notorious photograph of the young factory worker, was taken at the Naval Air Station where Parker-Fraley worked at as a Riveter in Alameda, California, and published in the local newspaper.

“I couldn’t believe it because it was me in the photo, but there was somebody else’s name in the caption: Geraldine.” she told People magazine in 2016. “I was amazed.”

Although it took a bit of convincing, with the help of James J. Kimble, a professor of communications at Seton Hall University in New Jersey – Naomi Parker-Fraley cemented her place in history.

“The women of this country these days need some icons,” Parker-Fraley said. “If they think I’m one – I’m happy about that”.

Parker-Fraley died in Longview, Washington on January 20th, 2018 at the age of 96.