WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- The Whiteman Air Force Base Sisters in Arms hosted the Women’s History Luncheon on March 26, 2019 at the Mission’s End Club on base.
Leah Winchester, the granddaughter of Naomi Parker Fraley who was the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter, was the guest speaker for the event and she spoke about a variety of things including the lessons she learned from her grandmother and her current involvement with the 131st Bomb Wing.
Master Sgt. Rayna Scott, a human resources remote with the 131st Force Support Squadron, started the lunch with a short introduction. A video about Fraley played detailing how she became one of the most recognizable faces in America and the formerly mistaken identity behind the famous World War 2-era poster.
Winchester thanked the Sisters in Arms for the invitation to tell her grandmother’s story after the video ended.
She said it was humbling to represent her grandmother and that it was exciting because Fraley left behind a legacy that was bigger than herself.
“In an effort to honor my grandmother’s ‘We Can Do It’ attitude, I have recently become involved in an exciting new initiative meant to bridge the gap between community members and the 2,000 Airmen and Soldiers serving at Jefferson Barracks Air National Guard Station in St. Louis,” said Winchester.
Winchester will continue to volunteer her time with the 131st Bomb Wing and the Missouri National Guard as her way to support the military even though she doesn’t serve.
Winchester joined members of Team Whiteman for photos, autographs and further discussion after the event.
“The event went really well,” said Scott. “I was pleased with the turnout and the support from both bomb wings.”
Winchester also thanked Team Whiteman and the military.
“I thank you very much for being here, thank you for your service,” said Winchester.
Winchester continued saying she really appreciates the men and women who serve.
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Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries during World War II – and has become perhaps the most iconic image of working women.
Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious character, the strong, red bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history.
American women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers during the war, as widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force. Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent. By 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home.
More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, making up 65 percent of the industry’s total workforce (compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years). The munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as illustrated by the U.S. government’s Rosie the Riveter propaganda campaign.
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