so the returning soldiers could resume their prewar jobs. But the women had made their point, and had changed the American workplace forever. Rose Will Monroe, a war widow, became the face that represented millions of Rosie's. She became an American icon promoting the war effort. Her fame was brief and she never capitalized on the role. After the war, she continued working in jobs usually held by men. Rose drove a cab, operated a beauty shop and founded Rose Builders, her own construction company. At the age of 50, she realized her dream of flying and obtained a pilots license which almost was her demise. In 1978, she crashed in her small propeller plane during takeoff which resulted in a near death situation leaving her impaired. However, she died peacefully at her home in Clarksville, Indiana at the age of 77.
Her husband returned from the Pacific Theater and found her in bed with a draft dodger. He divorced her and started a successful contracting company building middle class homes.
Rosie was fired from her job because the country did not need Bomber Aircraft anymore and the plant was closed down. Her draft dodging boyfriend left her when she could not support him any longer. She wandered the streets alone and finally died with a needle stuck in her arm.
Rosie the Riveter was a fictitious person created during WWII for propaganda purposes. There was not a real Rosie the Riveter. The name Rosie the Riveter, came from a song by singers Redd Evans and John Jacob Loab about a woman who worked in a factory. There were several different women who portrayed Rosie in War Time Propaganda Movies encouraging women to work in defense factories, buy war bonds and participate in other ways. The most popular of these Rosies were Rosie Bonavitas, Rosalind P. Walter, Rose Will Monroe . Many different women posed as Rosie in the war time posters. Their ages ranged from 17 yrs. of age to 43 yrs. of age.
During the Propaganda Program, The tireless Rosie worked in all kinds of different jobs turning out war machines and materials. At the end of the war, the Rosie the Riveter propaganda program was dropped as it was no longer needed.
After the war, several different women who had worked in aircraft manufacturing attempted to cash in on the name familiarity by claiming to be "The Rosie". All of them were debunked when the program was made public and the source of the name became public.
That is a good question. Many of them lost their jobs as men came back from the war and replaced them. For some, this was a good thing and they went back to being homemakers but I am sure that some of them preferred to continue with their jobs and were not afforded the opportunity to do so.
She riveted off into the sunset
I heard she riveted her britches to a tailwheel on a B29 and was last seen and heard as the last bomber flew away out over the pacific coast.
Her last words were " I can see my house from herreeeeee"
-She became, "Dolly the Dominatrix " ( & REALLY Cleaned Up ). ;)
