WASHINGTON — Seven decades after their “we can do it” attitude proved invaluable to the Allied victory in World War II, about 30 “Rosie the Riveters” were honored Tuesday with a visit to Washington.
Wearing honor flight red cardigans, the women — now in their 80s and 90s — who had jobs helping the war effort traveled from the Detroit area to the nation’s capital. There, they posed for group photos with the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, had lunch at a Library of Congress building and visited the National World War II Memorial.
“They have those signs: ‘We can do it.’ They should say: ‘We did it,’” said Helen Kushnir of Dearborn, who also said she felt “like queen for the day” after volunteers took a formal photo of her before she boarded the plane.
As women worked during the war at jobs traditionally done by men, such as churning out bombers at Ford Motor Co.’s Willow Run plant in Michigan, one of them was the inspiration for the Rosie character that came to symbolize female empowerment and the “we’re-in-this-together” spirit of the American homefront.
“You incredible women are such an inspiration,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told the women during the luncheon. “You opened the doors wider for (women),” Dingell said.
When the four-bus convoy ferrying the women around town arrived at the WWII Memorial, they were met by throngs of supporters lining their route, drawing cheers and applause.
Sylvia Tanis of Holland, Michigan, was one of the first ones through, waving to the crowd, grasping people’s hands, posing for snapshots and stopping to embrace a Girl Scout who had come out to greet the women.
“This is great. I can’t imagine it being any better,” Virginia Basler of Ypsilanti said while looking out at the memorial.
The honor flights provide one-day trips for veterans to visit Washington’s monuments and memorials. The Ford Motor Company Fund has sponsored 10 such flights, but Tuesday’s was the first designed specifically for Rosies, said Jim Vella, the fund’s president.
Mallie Mellon, 96, said she couldn’t sleep Monday night.
“I was so excited thinking about my trip,” said Mellon, who now lives in Belleville, but during the war worked as a riveter making B-29s at a plant in Detroit.
On the flight, chaperones Lyn Watson and Stephanie Hagaman sat next to each other and realized that Watson’s mother, Beth Fordyce, and Hagaman’s grandmother, Refugio Garza, were sitting next to each other a few rows ahead of them. Fordyce turned 94 on Monday, and Garza turns 97 on Wednesday.
They also learned that each Rosie carries the nickname “Cookie.”
“We both have Cookies in first class,” Hagaman said, laughing.
When the plane arrived, dozens of flag-waving, sign-toting well-wishers greeted the women. A children’s choir sang patriotic songs and the onlookers cheered as each woman emerged.
“This is soooo overwhelming!” Tanis exclaimed, while Kushnir cried as she took in the adulation.
Former Rosies, Clara Doutly, left, and Pat Duncan, strike the Rosie the Riverter pose on the Capitol grounds on Tuesday in Washington.
