Mae Krier
Born: March 21, 1926Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries during World War II, the strong, bandanna clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history and the most iconic image of working women in World War II. Women who worked to produce tanks, ships, planes, and other weapons during World War II called themselves “Rosies.”
Ms. Mae Krier, an original Rosie the Riveter, worked at Boeing aircraft in Seattle, producing B-17s and B-29s for the war effort from 1943 to 1945. She worked alongside Gold Star mothers that lost sons and widows who had lost their husbands and she was humbled by them, they did not quit. They kept working despite their terrible loss, doing what their Country needed of them.
One of Mae Krier’s proudest moments was on May 12, 1944, when she signed her name on the 5000th B-17 Flying Fortress to leave the Boeing factory since the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was signed inside and out by the men and women who constructed her.
Mae recalls, how the men went off to fight, and the women went to the factories to build everything they needed. When the war was over, Mae says “The men came home to parades; we got a pink slip.” Mae succeeded in getting March 21 recognized as a Rosie the Riveter Day of Remembrance. Inspiring a “We Can Do It!” attitude among young women everywhere. Congress also awarded Mae the Congressional Gold Medal for her service.
Born: March 21, 1926Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries during World War II, the strong, bandanna clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history and the most iconic image of working women in World War II. Women who worked to produce tanks, ships, planes, and other weapons during World War II called themselves “Rosies.”
Ms. Mae Krier, an original Rosie the Riveter, worked at Boeing aircraft in Seattle, producing B-17s and B-29s for the war effort from 1943 to 1945. She worked alongside Gold Star mothers that lost sons and widows who had lost their husbands and she was humbled by them, they did not quit. They kept working despite their terrible loss, doing what their Country needed of them.
One of Mae Krier’s proudest moments was on May 12, 1944, when she signed her name on the 5000th B-17 Flying Fortress to leave the Boeing factory since the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was signed inside and out by the men and women who constructed her.
Mae recalls, how the men went off to fight, and the women went to the factories to build everything they needed. When the war was over, Mae says “The men came home to parades; we got a pink slip.” Mae succeeded in getting March 21 recognized as a Rosie the Riveter Day of Remembrance. Inspiring a “We Can Do It!” attitude among young women everywhere. Congress also awarded Mae the Congressional Gold Medal for her service.