WEBVTT 00:00:01.834 --> 00:00:08.701 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪♪ 00:00:08.701 --> 00:00:12.467 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ While other girls attend their favorite cocktail bar ♪ 00:00:12.467 --> 00:00:16.567 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ Sipping dry martinis, munching caviar ♪ 00:00:16.567 --> 00:00:20.100 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ There's a girl who's really putting them to shame ♪ 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:24.133 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ Rosie is her name ♪ 00:00:24.133 --> 00:00:27.734 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ All the day long whether rain or shine ♪ 00:00:27.734 --> 00:00:31.501 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ She's a part of the assembly line ♪ 00:00:31.501 --> 00:00:35.501 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ She's making history, working for victory ♪ 00:00:35.501 --> 00:00:40.501 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ Rosie the Riveter ♪ 00:00:40.501 --> 00:00:46.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Roosevelt: December 7, 1941, 00:00:46.801 --> 00:00:52.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% a date which will live in infamy. 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.133 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% The United States of America 00:00:55.133 --> 00:00:58.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% was suddenly and deliberately attacked 00:00:58.734 --> 00:01:05.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. 00:01:05.801 --> 00:01:08.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: World War II dramatically changed the lives 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and attitudes of American women. 00:01:10.968 --> 00:01:14.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% At a time when millions of men were leaving the home front 00:01:14.033 --> 00:01:16.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% for the battlefront, American industry 00:01:16.334 --> 00:01:18.267 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% was forced into high gear 00:01:18.267 --> 00:01:23.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% producing war materials, equipment, and supplies. 00:01:23.334 --> 00:01:26.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The nation was strapped for manpower. 00:01:26.701 --> 00:01:28.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% A staggering number of workers were needed 00:01:28.901 --> 00:01:32.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% for what were traditionally male jobs. 00:01:32.434 --> 00:01:34.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The government along with corporations 00:01:34.901 --> 00:01:38.667 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and the trade unions began actively recruiting women. 00:01:38.667 --> 00:01:40.200 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ Pardon me, Jane ♪ 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.367 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ America's gone to war ♪ 00:01:44.367 --> 00:01:46.000 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ You can't waste your life ♪ 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.968 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪ Sitting under the apple tree ♪ 00:01:48.968 --> 00:01:54.701 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% I think the majority of the people that did work for Boeing, 00:01:54.701 --> 00:02:02.868 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% the women, heard of it through the radio or by the newspapers. 00:02:02.868 --> 00:02:05.901 align:middle line:80% position:50% size:90% Announcer: More and more men are being called into the Armed Forces. 00:02:05.901 --> 00:02:09.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Their jobs must be filled and filled now, 00:02:09.033 --> 00:02:12.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and who can fill them? You. You women. 00:02:12.434 --> 00:02:14.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% You're the ones who must fill them, 00:02:14.133 --> 00:02:16.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% who can give our boys what they need. 00:02:16.868 --> 00:02:20.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I just felt that the fact that my brother -- oldest brother 00:02:20.434 --> 00:02:26.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% was in the service that I could help out in that respect. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And then when my twin went in the service, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:29.968 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% why, that was more incentive. 00:02:29.968 --> 00:02:33.200 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% Well, my husband was a Quartermaster on a submarine, 00:02:33.200 --> 00:02:35.501 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% and he was sent overseas, 00:02:35.501 --> 00:02:39.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and we lived by the -- Indian Island, 00:02:39.267 --> 00:02:42.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the Bangor submarine depot, and we went to work. 00:02:42.601 --> 00:02:45.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Everybody just went to work at the -- 00:02:45.133 --> 00:02:47.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% for civil service for the war effort. 00:02:47.033 --> 00:02:51.801 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% All of us felt like we had to do something to help the effort 00:02:51.801 --> 00:02:54.100 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% and bring our guys home safely. 00:02:54.100 --> 00:02:58.200 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% I fudged my age so I could go to work. 00:02:58.200 --> 00:02:59.701 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% They needed people so bad, 00:02:59.701 --> 00:03:02.000 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% they kind of looked the other way. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.501 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% I'd never really worked before, 00:03:04.501 --> 00:03:07.033 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% and it was my sister that got me the first job 00:03:07.033 --> 00:03:09.734 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% because they were so short of help, and she asked me to -- 00:03:09.734 --> 00:03:12.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% why don't I come up and work and I said, "Oh, I don't know." 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% My husband was against a woman working. 00:03:14.567 --> 00:03:16.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% But my mother said, "Well, you're -- the children 00:03:16.267 --> 00:03:17.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% are here with me." And at that time, 00:03:17.834 --> 00:03:20.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% we only lived just a few blocks from the shop. 00:03:20.067 --> 00:03:22.767 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% I decided to volunteer for defense, 00:03:22.767 --> 00:03:26.200 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% and I was one of the first women to do that at Boeing. 00:03:26.200 --> 00:03:29.300 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% And went down to the Washington State Employment Office, 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:32.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and the man interviewed me, and I told him I had 00:03:32.901 --> 00:03:36.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% gone to night school and taken artistic metal work. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:41.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "You'll make a better mechanic than I would." 00:03:41.267 --> 00:03:43.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: These lassies days are learning their industrial 00:03:43.634 --> 00:03:46.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% ABCs in special government-conducted schools, 00:03:46.868 --> 00:03:48.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and when graduated, they'll take their place 00:03:48.968 --> 00:03:51.334 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% in our expanding defense plants. 00:03:51.334 --> 00:03:54.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And they seem to catch on very fast, too. 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:58.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Virginia: The government paid companies to train you. 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:02.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So we all went to -- I can't remember the number of weeks, 00:04:02.167 --> 00:04:04.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but I'm going to say three weeks, 00:04:04.133 --> 00:04:08.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I went to training to learn to do these things. 00:04:08.067 --> 00:04:10.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The War Production Board came out, 00:04:10.567 --> 00:04:12.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and then they decided that we had to go to school 00:04:12.901 --> 00:04:14.367 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and learn how to instruct. 00:04:14.367 --> 00:04:16.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% It was only a course of about three days. 00:04:16.834 --> 00:04:18.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I was the only girl. 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The rest were all men that in the class, 00:04:20.334 --> 00:04:23.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I had to -- either had to go or I couldn't have my job 00:04:23.567 --> 00:04:27.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% as an instructor, and it was very helpful. 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:30.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The fellow started out by putting a part together, 00:04:30.567 --> 00:04:33.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I watched it. And then he turned around 00:04:33.067 --> 00:04:34.868 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and had me instruct him, 00:04:34.868 --> 00:04:36.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% which was kind of nerve-wracking. 00:04:36.434 --> 00:04:38.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I was milking cows so my husband could go 00:04:38.968 --> 00:04:43.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to the welding classes at the school 00:04:43.367 --> 00:04:46.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% at Mount Vernon. And he came out and he said, 00:04:46.634 --> 00:04:48.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% "Mary, I think you ought to go to school 00:04:48.968 --> 00:04:51.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and learn how to weld." and I said, "I don't want to 00:04:51.734 --> 00:04:54.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I can think of three things that would stop me. 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% First place, I'm scared spitless of the electricity." 00:04:57.634 --> 00:05:00.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% He said, Well, come up and see what it's like. 00:05:00.200 --> 00:05:02.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% There's some other women doing it." 00:05:02.601 --> 00:05:05.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So I went up to see what they did. 00:05:05.267 --> 00:05:06.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I said, "I didn't come to do this." 00:05:06.934 --> 00:05:09.334 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I said, "I came just to watch," 00:05:09.334 --> 00:05:13.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So he said, "Well, let's see what you could do." 00:05:13.334 --> 00:05:15.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So I made a bead, just a straight line 00:05:15.601 --> 00:05:18.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% just under his, just what he had done. 00:05:18.200 --> 00:05:21.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "Oh, you've done that before." 00:05:21.434 --> 00:05:25.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I said, "No. I haven't, and I didn't want to do it." 00:05:25.200 --> 00:05:27.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% But the first thing I know, I'm in class. 00:05:27.901 --> 00:05:29.267 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% You just kind of went out 00:05:29.267 --> 00:05:33.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and watched to sailors make a grommet, 00:05:33.834 --> 00:05:37.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and then four of them got on -- the sailors got on the line 00:05:37.167 --> 00:05:40.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and made two grommets and interwove them together. 00:05:40.868 --> 00:05:44.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And that was it. That was a half a day's training. 00:05:44.934 --> 00:05:47.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I really didn't have any instructions. 00:05:47.033 --> 00:05:54.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I -- they just told me to put the bar on the rivet and bucket. 00:05:54.801 --> 00:05:57.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Virginia: There were riveters and there were buckers. 00:05:57.701 --> 00:06:01.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Buckers were the girls that stood inside the plane 00:06:01.868 --> 00:06:04.033 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% to hit the backside of the rivet 00:06:04.033 --> 00:06:08.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because you had to have both sides flat, and we were warned, 00:06:08.167 --> 00:06:11.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% you know, if that skin on that plane didn't fit up tight, 00:06:11.067 --> 00:06:14.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the wind would get under there, pull it off, and our guys 00:06:14.834 --> 00:06:17.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% would go down in the sea or something. 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:19.901 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% So, man, were we cautious. 00:06:19.901 --> 00:06:22.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% You had these various bucking bars, 00:06:22.167 --> 00:06:24.133 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and they had different angles. 00:06:24.133 --> 00:06:26.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The riveter on the outside tapped 00:06:26.501 --> 00:06:28.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% wherever they wanted to place a rivet. 00:06:28.567 --> 00:06:30.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And according to the number of taps, 00:06:30.267 --> 00:06:32.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% you knew what part of the bucking bar 00:06:32.334 --> 00:06:37.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% you were supposed to press up against this sound. 00:06:37.601 --> 00:06:40.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Margaret: This is a code we had -- hit it once 00:06:40.634 --> 00:06:45.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% if it's okay, twice if you need it hit more, 00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:49.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and three times, take it out. [ Chuckles ] 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:51.200 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪♪ 00:06:51.200 --> 00:06:54.734 align:middle line:80% position:50% size:90% Narrator: As the Armed Forces continued to increase their demands for men, 00:06:54.734 --> 00:06:58.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% even more women were recruited into war jobs. 00:06:58.367 --> 00:07:02.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% By 1943, women made up more than one-third 00:07:02.067 --> 00:07:04.868 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% of the American labor force. 00:07:04.868 --> 00:07:06.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: In the sprawling aircraft factories 00:07:06.601 --> 00:07:08.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% on the west coast, teams of women 00:07:08.801 --> 00:07:11.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% flush the rivets that hold together 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the aluminum skin on the wing of a B-24. 00:07:15.968 --> 00:07:19.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% This is like punching holes in a tin of scouring powder. 00:07:19.534 --> 00:07:21.434 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Instead of cutting out dresses, 00:07:21.434 --> 00:07:24.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% this woman stamps out the patterns of airplane parts. 00:07:27.167 --> 00:07:28.801 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% They are taking to welding 00:07:28.801 --> 00:07:30.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% as though the welding rod were a needle 00:07:30.968 --> 00:07:33.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and the metal, a length of cloth to be sewn. 00:07:33.467 --> 00:07:34.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Well, it's working on a grommet line, 00:07:34.934 --> 00:07:38.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% which is -- grommets are big circles of wire 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:40.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% probably as big around as your thumb, 00:07:40.200 --> 00:07:42.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they're 60-feet long, and there are two women 00:07:42.534 --> 00:07:45.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% on one grommet, and you weave it in and out and you make 00:07:45.133 --> 00:07:49.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% a big net, and it -- they roll it up on a big roller thing 00:07:49.367 --> 00:07:52.200 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and it's 100 -- 00:07:52.200 --> 00:07:54.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% when they get done, it's 100-feet deep 00:07:54.334 --> 00:07:57.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and 600-feet across. And then they take that out 00:07:57.868 --> 00:08:00.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and put it in all of the inland waters, 00:08:00.133 --> 00:08:02.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% so submarines couldn't get in on our coastal waters. 00:08:02.734 --> 00:08:04.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% That's what that is. Mm-hmm. 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:08.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% It was the B-17s that I started in on, 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:10.200 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and I worked the tail section 00:08:10.200 --> 00:08:15.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% where the tail wheel on the 17s was, 00:08:15.934 --> 00:08:20.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and that -- all the time that I was with Boeing, 00:08:20.133 --> 00:08:23.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that's the area that I worked in. 00:08:23.067 --> 00:08:28.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And so I became -- it was my baby. [ Laughs ] 00:08:28.734 --> 00:08:32.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: The B-17 -- the fortress that flies. 00:08:32.334 --> 00:08:35.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Julia: Some parts we made was for the B-17s. 00:08:35.267 --> 00:08:38.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The boss had the toolmaker put the dye in the machine 00:08:38.033 --> 00:08:40.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to stamp out parts, and then he'd sit there 00:08:40.467 --> 00:08:43.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and he'd run parts for a while, and then he asked me 00:08:43.167 --> 00:08:46.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% if I felt that I could take over, and I'd take over. 00:08:46.300 --> 00:08:48.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And then when I felt that I could instruct a girl, 00:08:48.734 --> 00:08:51.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I would instruct a girl to run the machine. 00:08:51.434 --> 00:08:53.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Sometimes if you did have two or three men, 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:56.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I had one in my department, they kind of resented a woman 00:08:56.334 --> 00:08:58.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% being an instructor and teaching. 00:08:58.934 --> 00:09:03.701 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪♪ 00:09:03.701 --> 00:09:07.067 align:middle line:80% position:50% size:90% Narrator: No matter how well-trained they were, women war workers 00:09:07.067 --> 00:09:10.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% had to overcome many obstacles, not the least of which 00:09:10.801 --> 00:09:13.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% was that they were basically interlopers in a world 00:09:13.300 --> 00:09:15.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that had previously been exclusively male. 00:09:18.601 --> 00:09:21.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Eleanor: My foreman, I thought he was very nice, 00:09:21.133 --> 00:09:25.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but he was married of course, and he was friendly to me, 00:09:25.968 --> 00:09:28.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and he said that I could have my B rating 00:09:28.634 --> 00:09:34.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because I was a C mechanic to start, at $0.625 an hour. 00:09:34.033 --> 00:09:38.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said I could get my B rating if I would 00:09:38.167 --> 00:09:41.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% go out with him in his soft-cushion Chrysler. 00:09:41.300 --> 00:09:44.634 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And the following afternoon, 00:09:44.634 --> 00:09:47.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and just take the afternoon off and go out with him. 00:09:47.467 --> 00:09:51.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I told him, I said, "I want my B rating when I'm worth it." 00:09:51.968 --> 00:09:55.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So the next day, there was a girl in the shop 00:09:55.701 --> 00:10:00.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that bleached her hair blond and she was missing from the shop 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:01.934 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and so was the foreman. 00:10:01.934 --> 00:10:05.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And the day they got back, she got her B rating. 00:10:05.400 --> 00:10:08.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% It took me about two weeks, I got mine. 00:10:08.834 --> 00:10:13.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I had no problems with the fellows that I worked with. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:16.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They were all very nice and accommodating. 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:20.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And one thing I can say, too, about that group 00:10:20.634 --> 00:10:22.901 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% was there was no swearing. 00:10:22.901 --> 00:10:24.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They had to curb their bad language 00:10:24.901 --> 00:10:28.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% in front of us young people. So they had a game 00:10:28.968 --> 00:10:32.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and if someone heard the other one say a bad word 00:10:32.133 --> 00:10:36.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% or something, cuss, they'd put a bolt in their pocket. 00:10:36.133 --> 00:10:37.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Well, some of those poor old guys 00:10:37.634 --> 00:10:39.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% could hardly keep their pants up. 00:10:39.033 --> 00:10:43.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They were so loaded with bolts by the end of the day, 00:10:43.601 --> 00:10:48.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I never noticed anybody looking down on any woman 00:10:48.534 --> 00:10:51.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% who could do her job. That was the only criteria, 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:52.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I've found that throughout my life. 00:10:52.567 --> 00:10:54.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% If you could do your job, you're okay. 00:10:56.767 --> 00:11:00.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: Still, many employers refuse to hire women. 00:11:00.868 --> 00:11:03.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% According to the men in charge, women did not 00:11:03.267 --> 00:11:06.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% have the physical strength or mechanical ability 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:09.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to do high-paying, skilled factory jobs. 00:11:09.701 --> 00:11:11.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Well, we came over to the Navy yard 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:12.601 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and put in our applications. 00:11:12.601 --> 00:11:15.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And the man came and took our papers 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:17.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and took them back and studied them a little while. 00:11:17.767 --> 00:11:21.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "You've made a mistake in your papers." 00:11:21.434 --> 00:11:23.033 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And I said, "What's that?" 00:11:23.033 --> 00:11:25.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% He said, "Well, you call yourselves welders. 00:11:25.534 --> 00:11:28.200 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And I said, "Well, we are." 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:29.601 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And he said, "Look, lady, 00:11:29.601 --> 00:11:31.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% there's been no woman welding long enough 00:11:31.534 --> 00:11:33.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to be a welder in this yard. They're attackers 00:11:33.767 --> 00:11:36.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and helpers, but they're not welders." 00:11:36.868 --> 00:11:39.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I said, "Well, I am. I said, "Open your baby blues 00:11:39.934 --> 00:11:42.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and take a good look because here stands two of us, 00:11:42.968 --> 00:11:45.267 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% not one but two of us." 00:11:45.267 --> 00:11:47.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So they went back, and then he came back, 00:11:47.467 --> 00:11:49.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and he just in the snottiest voice, 00:11:49.434 --> 00:11:52.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% he said, "Exactly what do you think you could do 00:11:52.167 --> 00:11:54.334 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% with the Navy test?" 00:11:54.334 --> 00:11:56.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I said, "Well for your information, 00:11:56.033 --> 00:11:58.567 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I'll pass the damn thing." 00:11:58.567 --> 00:12:00.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They were all sneaking up behind you, 00:12:00.133 --> 00:12:03.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% looking through a glass to see whether or not you could weld. 00:12:03.434 --> 00:12:06.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And they'd say, "Oh, my gosh, Mary, you really can weld." 00:12:06.834 --> 00:12:09.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I said, "Well, that's what I've been trying 00:12:09.267 --> 00:12:11.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to tell you guys for a long time." 00:12:11.534 --> 00:12:17.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Women generally didn't have their own tools for the job. 00:12:17.167 --> 00:12:20.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So they had two cribs and your were given a ring 00:12:20.934 --> 00:12:23.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% with a lot of little tags on it. 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:27.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So if you needed a drill, you went to the tool crib, 00:12:27.033 --> 00:12:28.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% give him a ticket with your number, 00:12:28.501 --> 00:12:31.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they'd give you the tool to do the job. 00:12:31.634 --> 00:12:34.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Eleanor: They required that we buy a tool box 00:12:34.234 --> 00:12:39.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and $25 worth of tools. I was pinched on the $25 00:12:39.167 --> 00:12:42.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because we were only making $0.625 an hour, 00:12:42.067 --> 00:12:44.067 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and I had to rent a room 00:12:44.067 --> 00:12:48.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and pay my room and board and clothe myself. 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:51.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And as I say, I borrowed $5 to get 00:12:51.300 --> 00:12:56.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% a few items of clothing that I could use in the plant. 00:12:56.968 --> 00:13:03.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% But I really dressed cute because I had little jackets, 00:13:03.901 --> 00:13:08.133 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and I wore t-shirts 00:13:08.133 --> 00:13:11.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that were striped and multi-colored stripes 00:13:11.767 --> 00:13:15.667 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and pants to match the jacket, and some people said 00:13:15.667 --> 00:13:18.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% they wished they could dress that way, you know. 00:13:18.701 --> 00:13:20.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Julia: Any girl running a machine had to wear hair nets, 00:13:20.834 --> 00:13:23.701 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and they all wore slacks. 00:13:23.701 --> 00:13:28.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They'd just started really just before that wearing slacks. 00:13:28.300 --> 00:13:30.834 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I saw in a magazine recently 00:13:30.834 --> 00:13:32.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% where the women would wear kerchiefs 00:13:32.801 --> 00:13:35.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to tie their hair up. We were not allowed to do that. 00:13:35.968 --> 00:13:38.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% We had to wear what they called a snood, 00:13:38.234 --> 00:13:42.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% which was kind of a wide-holed netting 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:44.434 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% that went around your head, 00:13:44.434 --> 00:13:48.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and sometimes they'd have ribbons on them and things, 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but we all went to work in snoods. [ Laughs ] 00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:58.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Since I already had jeans and bib overalls, 00:13:58.501 --> 00:14:00.334 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% that's what I wore. 00:14:00.334 --> 00:14:03.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% When my husband came home from overseas, he came in, 00:14:03.434 --> 00:14:05.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% excuse me, on an aircraft carrier. 00:14:05.968 --> 00:14:10.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And Commander Turner -- and you hated to get this signal, 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:13.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% "Commander wants to speak to so and so," 00:14:13.033 --> 00:14:14.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because it pulled you off the line. 00:14:14.934 --> 00:14:17.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Pulled me off the line, and I was scared 00:14:17.734 --> 00:14:20.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% something had happened to Dad, you know. 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "You have the day off. 00:14:22.400 --> 00:14:24.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The barge is coming to get you to get your hair fixed. 00:14:24.868 --> 00:14:27.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Your husband's coming in on the next shift." 00:14:27.334 --> 00:14:29.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So, and they didn't give you days off then, 00:14:29.567 --> 00:14:32.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% you worked, so you know, so... 00:14:32.567 --> 00:14:35.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% But he -- they did realize that you wanted to look nifty 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:37.334 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% when your old man came home. 00:14:37.334 --> 00:14:39.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: Once the male domain, 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% now it's got that feminine touch you've heard about. 00:14:42.567 --> 00:14:46.667 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Yes, sir, these gals believe in preparedness, alright. 00:14:46.667 --> 00:14:50.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I came out and went to the restaurant 00:14:50.734 --> 00:14:53.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% with my hard hat and everything on, 00:14:53.067 --> 00:14:57.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and the dishwasher says to the Chef, 00:14:57.801 --> 00:15:00.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% "Chef, there's a man here to see you." 00:15:00.267 --> 00:15:02.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he didn't know me, and he knew me well 00:15:02.567 --> 00:15:05.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because I'd worked with him the night before. 00:15:05.067 --> 00:15:11.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "There's a man here to see you." 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So the guy came around -- the chef came around the corner 00:15:13.467 --> 00:15:15.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and he said, "Yes, can I help you?" 00:15:15.501 --> 00:15:18.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I said, "Well, I don't need any help." 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:25.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And he said, "Mary? Mary? Mary? For God's sake, Mary." 00:15:25.033 --> 00:15:26.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I said, "Well, that's what I look like 00:15:26.968 --> 00:15:29.434 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% when I get through welding." 00:15:29.434 --> 00:15:33.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% These women are working around the clock, around the calendar. 00:15:33.400 --> 00:15:36.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They do a man's job, and they can draw a man's pay. 00:15:36.734 --> 00:15:39.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And they're doing it safely. 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:41.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They're safer here than in their own homes. 00:15:41.801 --> 00:15:45.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I lost part of my finger on one the machines stamping a part. 00:15:45.267 --> 00:15:48.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The girl came, it was 4:20, and she asked me 00:15:48.501 --> 00:15:50.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% if she could have a relief to go to the bathroom. 00:15:50.701 --> 00:15:52.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So I says, "I'll run your machine for you." 00:15:52.968 --> 00:15:55.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% When she come back, she says, "I'll take over." 00:15:55.033 --> 00:15:57.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I says, "Oh, we've only got five minutes more, 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:59.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% you stack the parts, and I'll run them through the machine." 00:15:59.968 --> 00:16:04.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And the brake slipped and repeated itself 00:16:04.734 --> 00:16:07.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and took part of my one finger off. 00:16:07.334 --> 00:16:10.434 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I had to take a rivet out. 00:16:10.434 --> 00:16:13.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I was looking on the other side 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:22.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to see what had to be done, and my drill was still running, 00:16:22.501 --> 00:16:28.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but it had slowed down. And it caught my bandana 00:16:28.367 --> 00:16:32.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and pulled about a inch and a half hair long 00:16:32.801 --> 00:16:38.534 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and about half an inch wide out. 00:16:38.534 --> 00:16:40.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% One of my best friends lost an eye 00:16:40.601 --> 00:16:43.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because you have these big wrenches, 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:45.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and you're winding these through, and this wrench 00:16:45.300 --> 00:16:48.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% flew out, and the wire came and got her in their eye. 00:16:48.267 --> 00:16:50.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So, you know, it was a dangerous job. 00:16:50.734 --> 00:16:52.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% You didn't have masks, you didn't have anything 00:16:52.601 --> 00:16:55.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to guard you, you know. 00:16:55.234 --> 00:16:58.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% We got a taste of what men go through all of their lives. 00:16:58.133 --> 00:17:01.167 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Hazardous work. 00:17:04.434 --> 00:17:07.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: Off the job, women war workers did double duty 00:17:07.467 --> 00:17:09.634 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% as housewives and mothers. 00:17:09.634 --> 00:17:12.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Although a few employees built childcare centers, 00:17:12.634 --> 00:17:15.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% most working mothers relied on relatives or neighbors 00:17:15.834 --> 00:17:19.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to take care of their children. Women relied on each other 00:17:19.601 --> 00:17:23.300 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% for moral support, as well. 00:17:23.300 --> 00:17:24.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Well, there was one woman in the neighborhood, 00:17:24.934 --> 00:17:28.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I think watched seven kids from infants 00:17:28.567 --> 00:17:33.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to 5 and 6 years old, and she was a marvel. 00:17:33.033 --> 00:17:36.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Without her, the grommet line wouldn't have gotten done. 00:17:36.300 --> 00:17:39.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Yeah, they all helped each other out and all together 00:17:39.801 --> 00:17:43.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Many of them lost their husbands, their children. 00:17:43.067 --> 00:17:45.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Peggy: I had a dear friend who lost her husband. 00:17:45.167 --> 00:17:48.200 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% He was in the Army, 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.901 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they called her off the line and it was a sad thing. 00:17:52.901 --> 00:17:55.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% In fact that day, Commander Turner turned 00:17:55.133 --> 00:17:57.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the whole line down because we were all sobbing. 00:17:57.067 --> 00:17:58.234 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% We couldn't work. 00:17:58.234 --> 00:18:02.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Some of the girls have their fiancés overseas, 00:18:02.067 --> 00:18:05.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and sometimes there'd be one that I felt 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.300 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% that was wasting a lot of time, 00:18:06.300 --> 00:18:08.801 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I would tell her I said, "You know, if it was me, 00:18:08.801 --> 00:18:11.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I had someone over there, I'd worked so hard, 00:18:11.100 --> 00:18:13.667 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% if I dropped at the machine to get them home quicker. 00:18:16.133 --> 00:18:17.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: Regardless of what they had to deal with, 00:18:17.968 --> 00:18:21.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% most women were determined to succeed. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They were enormously proud of their skills and abilities, 00:18:24.234 --> 00:18:26.467 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and they had every reason to be. 00:18:26.467 --> 00:18:28.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% During the four years of the war, 00:18:28.367 --> 00:18:30.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% production levels were phenomenal. 00:18:30.767 --> 00:18:32.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% War materials were turned out at a rate 00:18:32.868 --> 00:18:36.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that would have been impossible without women's help. 00:18:36.067 --> 00:18:39.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Many women also initiated changes that made their jobs 00:18:39.367 --> 00:18:42.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% more efficient and work environments safer. 00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:47.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: Once upon a time, there were beauty parades. 00:18:47.701 --> 00:18:50.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% All the girls needed was youth and culture. 00:18:50.968 --> 00:18:55.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% But this is war, today's beauty contests are in the shipyards 00:18:55.234 --> 00:18:58.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% on the assembly lines. Here at Marinship, California, 00:18:58.234 --> 00:19:00.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% women welders have a lunchtime contest. 00:19:00.567 --> 00:19:04.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Men workers vote on each girls' job record and attendance. 00:19:04.467 --> 00:19:08.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% For now, Miss America is at work. 00:19:11.534 --> 00:19:14.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% The winner is expert welder, Mrs. Gladys Griffin, 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% mother of two, and Mr. Griffin's in the service. 00:19:18.701 --> 00:19:21.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% You were supposed to vote one person in your plant 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that you thought was doing a good cause for the war. 00:19:24.300 --> 00:19:25.834 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% When the votes were all counted, 00:19:25.834 --> 00:19:28.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I had all but one vote out of the 125. 00:19:28.267 --> 00:19:30.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And that's when they came to take a picture 00:19:30.100 --> 00:19:32.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% of who was elected in each plant. 00:19:32.367 --> 00:19:33.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And that's why I have that picture today. 00:19:33.968 --> 00:19:36.200 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I just -- I kept it. 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:38.567 align:middle line:80% position:50% size:90% Announcer: The call for better, faster production methods goes out, 00:19:38.567 --> 00:19:40.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and in the shops, the men and women 00:19:40.534 --> 00:19:42.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% who are giving their time and their muscle, 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.000 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% they give their ideas, too. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Eleanor: I was working on an electrical saw 00:19:46.133 --> 00:19:50.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I saw that by designing a new part, 00:19:50.934 --> 00:19:56.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I could avoid the operator flipping her hands 00:19:56.634 --> 00:20:00.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% into the saw blade while it's moving and being injured 00:20:00.868 --> 00:20:05.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% or maybe tipping some tubing into the machinery 00:20:05.734 --> 00:20:08.734 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% while it was still revolving. 00:20:08.734 --> 00:20:12.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% So they took my blueprints and they manufactured it, 00:20:12.334 --> 00:20:17.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they applied it to the saw, and that was that. 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:19.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I was real happy to do that. 00:20:19.868 --> 00:20:22.234 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Oh, it made me feel very good 00:20:22.234 --> 00:20:25.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to get my rating. It was the top rating. 00:20:25.968 --> 00:20:29.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I think one reason why I probably got it was the fact 00:20:29.834 --> 00:20:35.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that that I was using the 25-pound squeeze. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% They sent a man down to help me out. 00:20:39.868 --> 00:20:43.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And when I saw the work he was doing, his weld 00:20:43.300 --> 00:20:48.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% was just full of pinholes, and he said, "That's alright, 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Mary, because the pin holes on this side 00:20:50.234 --> 00:20:52.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% won't coincide with the pin holes on the other side, 00:20:52.734 --> 00:20:54.067 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% so we won't have any leak anyway." 00:20:54.067 --> 00:20:58.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I said, "Pack up your gear and get off this job. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:20:59.634 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% And you tell the lead man 00:20:59.634 --> 00:21:02.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% if he wants to come and talk to me, he can, 00:21:02.300 --> 00:21:03.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but I'm not going to have my name 00:21:03.934 --> 00:21:06.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% printed on this job and have it look like that 00:21:06.734 --> 00:21:09.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because you won't find a pinhole in my work." 00:21:09.467 --> 00:21:13.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I worked on C-47s for Douglas, 00:21:13.100 --> 00:21:19.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and when I'd finish a job, a plane, they were on hoists 00:21:19.601 --> 00:21:23.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that would move down the line, you know, for finishing touches. 00:21:23.701 --> 00:21:27.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I always would write notes and stick them, oh, behind 00:21:27.300 --> 00:21:33.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the fire extinguishers or under the seats or any place 00:21:33.100 --> 00:21:36.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because it probably would have been my job if I'd got caught. 00:21:36.734 --> 00:21:39.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And I'd just give the guys messages, you know, 00:21:39.634 --> 00:21:43.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% "Give us one for us," and "Come home safe," 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:44.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% or "We all love you," or... 00:21:44.767 --> 00:21:47.767 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪♪ 00:21:47.767 --> 00:21:51.601 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: As 1945 began, the peak of industrial mobilization 00:21:51.601 --> 00:21:55.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% in America was over. Slowly the jobs 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.133 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% in defense industries declined. 00:21:57.133 --> 00:22:00.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Before the year ended, millions of men would return 00:22:00.701 --> 00:22:02.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% from the battlefront to the home front. 00:22:04.968 --> 00:22:08.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: A day of days for America and her allies. 00:22:08.567 --> 00:22:10.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Crowds before the White House 00:22:10.100 --> 00:22:12.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% await the announcement from the President 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% that the Japs have surrendered unconditionally. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I deem this reply a full acceptance 00:22:18.534 --> 00:22:22.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% of the Potsdam declaration, which specifies 00:22:22.167 --> 00:22:25.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the unconditional surrender of Japan. 00:22:25.267 --> 00:22:28.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: Washington is jubilant, and in Chicago, 00:22:28.133 --> 00:22:30.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% more than a million sing and dance in the streets. 00:22:30.634 --> 00:22:32.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I'll never forget the day the war ended, 00:22:32.300 --> 00:22:35.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they were saying the people downtown were just going wild. 00:22:35.934 --> 00:22:38.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Announcer: Seattle let lose all the pent-up emotions 00:22:38.267 --> 00:22:40.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% of three years and eight months of war. 00:22:40.300 --> 00:22:42.701 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Joy is unconfined. 00:22:42.701 --> 00:22:44.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% We went down there and, my lands, 00:22:44.534 --> 00:22:47.400 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% the street, you couldn't even get through. 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:49.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Everybody was grabbing one another 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.267 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and hugging them and crying. 00:22:51.267 --> 00:22:53.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% In fact, somebody grabbed me, some sailor, 00:22:53.334 --> 00:22:55.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and gave me a big kiss on my cheek, 00:22:55.234 --> 00:22:58.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and he was crying, so excited that the war was over. 00:22:58.701 --> 00:23:01.100 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And that was a scene I'll never forget. 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:04.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I was in the hospital when the war ended, 00:23:04.234 --> 00:23:07.267 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and they were dancing in the streets and celebrating, 00:23:07.267 --> 00:23:09.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I couldn't dance in the streets and celebrate 00:23:09.634 --> 00:23:13.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% because I'd had my second child, Melody. 00:23:13.634 --> 00:23:16.767 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I blamed her for that. 00:23:16.767 --> 00:23:20.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% She's never gotten over the fact that I blamed her for that. 00:23:20.033 --> 00:23:24.033 align:middle line:00% position:50% size:90% ♪♪ 00:23:24.033 --> 00:23:26.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Narrator: More than 2 million American women war workers 00:23:26.567 --> 00:23:29.734 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% were laid off. Although some women plan to work 00:23:29.734 --> 00:23:32.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% only for the duration of the war, the majority of women 00:23:32.868 --> 00:23:34.634 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% hoped to keep their jobs. 00:23:34.634 --> 00:23:37.701 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% About two-thirds of them continued working, 00:23:37.701 --> 00:23:40.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but most were shifted to so-called "female" work 00:23:40.868 --> 00:23:44.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% where there was less pay and less chance for promotion. 00:23:44.567 --> 00:23:49.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Others left willingly to raise their families. 00:23:49.234 --> 00:23:51.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% At the end of the war, they offered 00:23:51.767 --> 00:23:55.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to find a place for me, but I told them, 00:23:55.367 --> 00:24:01.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I says, "We have done what we came here to do." 00:24:01.634 --> 00:24:06.167 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And so I says, "I just want to go on with something else." 00:24:06.167 --> 00:24:08.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% After the war, I really didn't want to work full-time. 00:24:08.934 --> 00:24:12.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Dad came home and got a GI loan, bought a house. 00:24:12.968 --> 00:24:15.667 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% He went to work, and he went to work at the Indian Island 00:24:15.667 --> 00:24:17.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% where I had worked and became fire chief there. 00:24:17.968 --> 00:24:23.434 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I didn't have to -- really have to work, and so I wasn't -- 00:24:23.434 --> 00:24:25.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but when we -- when the boss sold everything out, 00:24:25.934 --> 00:24:29.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% why, the bookkeeper and several of us, we had jobs 00:24:29.467 --> 00:24:31.934 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% to go to the new places that bought the machinery. 00:24:31.934 --> 00:24:34.367 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I worked for 15 years, and then I decided 00:24:34.367 --> 00:24:36.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I was going to do something different, 00:24:36.467 --> 00:24:41.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I went to Alaska, out on the -- 00:24:41.767 --> 00:24:47.501 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% out on the peninsula, and I cooked in a hotel. 00:24:47.501 --> 00:24:51.133 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% My husband was in the paratroops then, 00:24:51.133 --> 00:24:55.300 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and although I didn't know him, but he found my notes. 00:24:55.300 --> 00:25:02.534 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And then a few years later, we met at church 00:25:02.534 --> 00:25:04.868 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and at a bingo game, 00:25:04.868 --> 00:25:08.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and we got to talking, and here it turned out, 00:25:08.567 --> 00:25:12.334 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% he was the one that got my notes and read them. 00:25:12.334 --> 00:25:17.000 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And we started dating, and now we're married 54 years. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:22.467 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I felt much more capable of doing things knowing 00:25:22.467 --> 00:25:25.634 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% that I had been able to do 00:25:25.634 --> 00:25:31.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% what I needed to do at Boeing's during the war. 00:25:31.567 --> 00:25:35.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I look back and I think, I know I was kind of timid and shy 00:25:35.634 --> 00:25:37.100 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% and little by little, I got 00:25:37.100 --> 00:25:41.767 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% so that I could face things a lot easier than I did. 00:25:41.767 --> 00:25:46.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% I wasn't scared of anybody, not a one that wouldn't matter. 00:25:46.567 --> 00:25:48.033 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% I thought that was a challenge, 00:25:48.033 --> 00:25:49.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and I like anything where you can use 00:25:49.868 --> 00:25:53.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% reasoning ability and use your intelligence. 00:25:53.033 --> 00:25:59.868 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% And so, but I think I should have been a songwriter 00:25:59.868 --> 00:26:02.834 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% a long time before I became one. 00:26:02.834 --> 00:26:06.767 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% [ Laughs ] 00:26:06.767 --> 00:26:09.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% Did I ever feel that I didn't want to keep going? 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:11.734 align:middle line:93% position:50% size:90% Many, many times, 00:26:11.734 --> 00:26:16.200 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but you know, you wake up in the morning, 00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:21.567 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and the sun's out or the rain's coming down or the bird sings, 00:26:21.567 --> 00:26:22.968 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% and you kind of say to yourself, 00:26:22.968 --> 00:26:27.234 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% "God, I want to be part of this," so you keep going. 00:26:27.234 --> 00:26:29.634 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% That's a pretty simplistic way to look at life, 00:26:29.634 --> 00:26:32.033 align:middle line:87% position:50% size:90% but that's kind of where it is for me. 00:26:32.033 --> 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