Park to honor American women in home-front World War II work force

July 17, 2000
Web posted at: 2:12 p.m. EDT (1812 GMT)

RICHMOND, California (CNN) -- A national memorial is planned to salute the contributions and sacrifices of American women who joined the home-front work force by the millions as increasing numbers of men went into the military during World War II.

A bill that has cleared the House and is under consideration in the Senate would establish the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, California, near San Francisco.

The name comes from "Rosie the Riveter," the famous figure in a poster whose flexed muscle embodied the fighting spirit of millions of America's working women during World War II.

Richmond was chosen for the park because it played a key role in the domestic war effort. Its four shipyards produced 747 ships between 1941 and 1945.

One of them, the cargo ship Red Oak Victory, is still afloat as volunteers work to preserve it.

VIDEO Real-life 'Rosie the Riveters' tell their stories to CNN's Don Knapp QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD I was a mainstream feminist

CNN Specials: The 20th Century
  • Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter Memorial
Red Oak Victory
americanrosies
Group E: Rosie the Riveter and other Women World War II Heroes

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.