From the initial concept of Rosie the Riveter, featured in the song, the phrase “Keeps a Sharp Lookout for Sabotage” simply could not convey half of the trust demanded from the women who worked in factories and shipyards. Men may have developed and used the military weapons to win World War II, but Rosies like Constance Bowman Reid built the means to transport such weapons. And although it may have been out of desperation and necessity as the war went on, the fact remained: women knew the size and scale of the war’s largest secrets. They felt the burden of keeping such secrets from their families and friends in order to protect the mission of servicemen abroad. They were not simply growing victory gardens, waiting for men to come home to restart their lives. Instead, they were a fundamental piece of the puzzle to preserve liberty and democracy. It’s true that “there’s something true about, red, white, and blue about…Rosie…The Riveter,” but far more than anyone could have anticipated.
Reid, 78.
[1] Ibid.
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