'Rosie The Riveters' Honored For Work During WWII
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A group of women in their 90s are hoping to start a movement to show the younger generation what it really means to come together for your country.
These ladies learned their lesson first hand during World War II.
"In retrospect, I am very proud of the work we did, I am proud of the women that I worked with," said June Robbins.
She is one of about a half dozen women who were honored Thursday at Wesley Enhanced Living on the Mainline.
Honored for the work they did seven decades ago, when millions of women, known as "Rosie the Riveters," went to work so the men could head to the battle field during the Second World War.
"We were school girls, we were homemakers, we were farmers' wives," said Robbins. "We didn't know anything about this work, but we learned."
Robbins was a drafter and later a welder at the U.S. Navy Yard in Baltimore. Her mother was a Rosie too.
She organized today's luncheon to bring together other Rosies and thank them for their service.
"It makes me feel good that I did that. I am proud," said Ruth West.
She was just 18 when she became a machinist at the Frankford Arsenal.
Florence Thompson worked as a secretary at a shipyard in Chester.
"I learned how to drive and at that particular time, most women didn't drive," she said.
She believes the war effort changed her generation.
"Regardless of if you were black or white, we worked for this country," said Thompson.
Now these Rosies are sharing their stories as part of the American Rosie Movement, hoping to inspire a new generation.
"Our young people need to learn the stories. They need to learn what we did and learn to pull together and work together like we did," said Robbins.
To end divisions, through bridges together, for the good of their country.
