A Riveting Tale of Women Vets

by

Header with a photo of Mari K. Eder on the left, the text "Ret. Major Gen. Mari K. Eder. Author, Speaker, Consultant at Benson's ReView" in the middle. And two book covers (The Girls Who Stepped Out Of Line and The Girls Who Fought Crime) on the right.

In November 2021, I was invited to participate in the American Veterans Center (AVC) Veterans Conference & Honors.

This was the 24th annual event, which is comprised of a conference, a youth leadership summit, and a major event to commemorate Veteran’s Day. “American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes.”

Four women standing side by side against a black background. From left to right: the first woman has white hair, wears a navy blue blazer over a beige pair of pants, and has a red scarf with white polka dots tied at her neck. The second woman has light gray hair, wears a navy blue blazer with red details and a matching red scarf with white polka dots, and sports a button on her lapel. The third woman has brown hair, is wearing a black coat over a patterned shirt, and her posture suggests she may be in mid-motion. The fourth woman has red hair, wears a black and white patterned blazer over black pants, and has her arm linked with the third woman.

L-R  Earline Gaither, Mae Krier, MK Eder, Elinor Otto – at the American Veterans Conference in Washington, D.C.

While various events associated with the AVC’s conference took place at locations across the nation’s capitol, I was privileged to take part in the Speaker Sessions, held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

My role was to serve as a panel moderator for a special group of ladies. This was the “We Can Do It!” panel, featuring three of America’s own ‘Rosie The Riveters. These feisty women were:

Earline Gaither. Earline grew up in Mississippi and built B-24 Liberators at the Willow Run Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Mae Krier. Mae built B-17 and B-29 bombers in Seattle from 1943-1945. She played a major role in advocating for the ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Congressional Gold Medal Act, passed in 2020. When Covid attacked America in 2020, she swung into action, sewing thousands of ‘Rosie the Riveter’-themed masks for distribution around the world.

Elinor Otto. Elinor built planes starting in 1942. She enjoyed the work and, following the war, returned to a C-17 factory in Long Beach, CA. She worked the assembly line until the age of 1995 and refused to say she was retired. “I was laid off!” she would exclaim.

It was a pleasure to listen to these three women talk about their experiences and the pride they took in the work they did.

All three of them were a little bit hard of hearing, but none wanted to wear hearing aids for their time on stage. They might not have heard all of my questions, but they didn’t need any encouragement to talk.

They told stories of their efforts, how women could crawl far into a plane’s wingspan to wield that rivet gun, securing those rivets into place. Elinor reported how when the song “Rosie the Riveter” was released in 1943, she and her fellow Rosies would play the record for motivation – to get them ‘razzed up’ to go to work on the factory floor.

Earline didn’t wield a rivet gun. She worked the ‘finishing line,’ making certain the completed plane was ready to go. She oiled the guns, installed the flying instructions manual and the window curtains for night flying.

Earline was one of the youngest Rosies on the line. She’d married at sixteen and she and her husband (who had a medical condition so he was ineligible to serve in uniform) both worked in the factory in Ypsilanti.

four individuals on the stage; from left to right, there are three women and a man holding a microphone. The first woman is wearing a black and white chevron patterned jacket, the second is in a black dress with sparkling embellishments, and the third is dressed in a light-colored outfit with lace details. The man on the far right is dressed in a dark suit and tie. All individuals are facing towards an unseen audience, and there appears to be a column partially obscuring the view of the third woman.

Elinor, Earline, and Mae talk with host Rob Riggle, at the American Valor Salute on Sept 11, 2021.

In fact, women who worked on ships or in other types of factories associated with the production of war materials all called themselves Rosies.

By the end of the war, American industry had produced about 300,000 airplanes, 100,000 tanks, 90,000 ships and 44 billion rounds of ammunition. This is what the Rosies were part of—the American ‘Arsenal of Democracy.’

Mae Krier was a Boeing employee during the war. She started out in 1943 as a summer worker but loved it so much that she stayed. Mae has continued to serve – as an advocate for the “Rosie” can do spirit—that American idea of service and ‘get ‘er done!”

When the war ended thousands were suddenly laid off. Their service ended but their pride never did.

Today, the company RRiveter makes bags and purses, primarily by military spouses, from all across the country. One is now named “The Otto,” in honor of Elinor. She was also recognized by the Air Force Association, the first civilian to receive their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elinor passed away in November 2023. “When I go to heaven, I hope God keeps me busy,” she would say. I’m certain that she is.

an iconic World War II-era poster featuring Rosie the Riveter. The image shows a strong female figure with her hair wrapped in a red and white polka-dot bandana. She is flexing her right bicep, which underscores her physical strength and determination. She wears a blue work shirt with a rolled-up sleeve and a collar button featuring an emblem. The background is a vibrant yellow, and atop the image, bold blue letters read "We Can Do It!" The bottom of the poster has a small logo and the words "War Production Co-Ordinating Committee."

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