See how Bucks County's Mae Krier became advocate for nation's 'Rosie the Riveters'
Editor's note: This is Part 2 of 2 looking at Mae Krier's historic contributions to women's rights Mae Krier’s epiphany arrived on a wintry day in 1980. It was 35 years after World War II. She was at home in Morrisville when her kids asked about her past. She started reminiscing. Her son and daughter were stunned. “I’ll never forget that moment,” Mae recalled. “They said, ‘We didn’t know that!’” Who did? Even the nation had forgotten.
As a teenager in Seattle, Mae was a riveter creating wings and engine housings for giant B-17 and B-29 bombers. She was among roughly 5 million women who replaced men in defense factories when they marched off to war in 1942. Characterized by the news media as “Rosie the Riveters” in overalls and red bandanas with white polka dots, this “hidden army” built 300,000 planes, 100,000 tanks, 88,000 warships, artillery shells and 44 billion rounds of ammunition to overwhelm the enemy. Yet as the years passed, public knowledge of what the women accomplished faded. Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and other observances came and went with no recognition.
An estimated 19 million American women made up the World War II workforce. Of them, about 5 million like Mae worked in war factories. Nearly all wanted to keep their jobs after the war but were furloughed. It was an era in which working women suffered bias, a situation my friend Wynne could relate to. As a United Airline flight attendant in the 1950s, she lost her job because she got married. It was against company rules ― for women.
On that cold day in 1980 in Morrisville, the thought of Rosies being ignored gnawed at Mae. “The men came home to parades and jobs; we got pink slips,” she told her children. She began a letter-writing campaign, eventually connecting with Phyllis Gould in Richmond, Calif. During the war, Phyllis became a welder at the local Kaiser shipyard. The duo became ersatz West Coast Rosie and East Coast Rosie. Their goal: getting lawmakers to establish a National Day of Recognition for Rosie the Riveter. They were relentless. “I wrote to anyone who would listen about the role American women played during World War II,” Mae explained. Being so close to the nation’s capital, she visited Congress often to coax lawmakers. “Most would thank me for our duty to our country. That would be it. But I never gave up.”
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Whenever in D.C., she distributed Rosie bandanas. By the mid-1990s, a newspaper publicized the Rosie campaign. The female war poster “We Can Do It!” also became popular. Still, lawmakers took no action until 2017 when they approved March 21 as Rosie the Riveter Day. Next step was getting Congress to authorize a Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal. The bipartisan bill passed in 2020. Bucks County Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was prime sponsor in the House; Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, led the Senate effort.
Mae, 98, carries on without Phyllis who passed at age 99. During the pandemic, Mae stitched and distributed thousands of red and white polka dot masks. In 2022, Boeing outfitted its Rosie the Rocketeer mannequin in one of them and flew it to the international space station. Mae later lifted off for the first time in a B-17 from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Currently she’s campaigning to get a Rosie statue added to the World War II Memorial in Washington. She’ll be in Washington on April 10 to receive the Gold Medal that Mae helped design on behalf of all Rosies. The medal ― the highest civilian honor from Congress ― will be enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum.
Mae remains an inspiration to women. In a talk with Boeing, she stressed the importance of girls achieving distinction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “I like to speak to young girls in school because boys may think they can do better. I try to make the girls realize that they’re just as capable. If they decide on something they want to do, it’s not a man’s world anymore. So go for it, I tell them.”
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She yearns for the unifying spirit of 1942. “Everyone ― man, woman and child ― pitched in. That’s missing today and I’m very worried about our country.” Her mantra of perseverance is timeless. Before saying our goodbyes, Wynne joined Mae in striking the pose. Rolled up sleeves, flexed arm, smiles and a curled fist while proclaiming, “We can do it!”
Sources include “Statistics on Women in the World War II Era Workforce” published by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Carl LaVO can be reached at carllavo0@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Mae Krier, Levittown's Rosie the Riveter, an icon for women worldwide
