When we think about the most famous images of WWII several instantly come to most people’s minds: the photographs of the Marines lifting the flag at Iwo Jima (which was later used for the design for the Marine Corp War Memorial in Arlington), and the sailor kissing the woman in Times Square on V-J Day, Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter on the cover of Saturday Evening Post, and of course, J. Howard Miller’s Westinghouse poster of a female war worker.
Although the woman in Miller’s poster wasn’t technically named Rosie or even seen by the general population until decades after the war ended, this image has come to exemplify Rosie the Riveter, and has become the model for many of the memorial statues dedicated to all the hard-working female workers of WWII. The now iconic figure of a determined woman in the “Rosie pose” is one for posterity.
Although the Congressional Medal of Honor was not awarded to the Rosies for recognition of their service to our country during WWII until December of 2020, they have been memorialized by community groups, cities, and, of course, the American Rosie the Riveter Association for many years. Below is a chronological list of all the statues and exhibits which feature Rosie statues in America.
(Photo above courtesy of Back to the Bricks)
2000 – Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, OK
Photo courtesy of Tinker AFB Heritage Foundation
This bust was dedicated to the female workers at the Tinker AF base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the over 10,000 Rosies that worked at the Douglas plant located nearby.
As the men left for duties overseas women were called upon to fill their shoes at the various jobs there. The Douglas plant, now building 3001 on the base, was 50.6 percent female workers. They helped produced 5,354 C-47 Skytrains for the war effort.
Many women also worked on the military base itself as part of the Women’s Army Air Corps, where their duties included riveting for sheet metal repairs on planes returning from oversea missions. Also, an all-women engine crew performed maintenance on aircraft including B-17, B-24, and B-29 bombers.
This bronze sculpture by female artist, Faustine Garbrecht, was donated by the Tinker AFB Heritage Foundation and dedicated March 23, 2000.
2011 – Vancouver National Historic Reserve, Washington
Photo courtesy of RoadsideAmerica.com
Rosie’s sister – Wendy the Welder stands tall! The 10-1/2’ tall statue, located on the banks of the Columbia River, was dedicated in 2011 to all the women who worked in the West Coast shipyards producing Liberty ships and other vessels.
Prior to the war few women worked at the shipyards, beyond those working in the offices, but by 1944 there were 10,000 women working at Kaiser’s Vancouver shipyards alone.
During WWII there were 18 American shipyards that built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941-1945 (an average of 3 ships every 2 days), along with aircraft carriers and other vessels.
The statue was created by members of Women Who Weld, a non-profit organization that teaches women to weld and helps them find employment in the welding industry.
The six Women Who Weld artists who designed her wanted the sculpture to represent the women of all races who worked in the shipyards. The cubist-designed figure depicts a female welder leaving her home. She is surrounded by a partially assembled Liberty ship and half-built aircraft carrier with tiny workers positioned on ladders as they work to assemble the steel vessels. Made using stainless steel and sprinkled with glass and ceramic, it creates a powerful and purposeful image of the WWII workers.
2012 – Wood-Ridge, NJ
Photos courtesy of RoadsideAmerica.com
Wood-Ridge, NJ and nearby Paterson, New Jersey were home to the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Company. During WWII the men and women working here produced thousands of engines for the B-17, B-25, and B-29 bombers. In 2001, decades after the factories closed, developers announced plans to tear down the 2 million square-foot facilities and created a pedestrian-friendly community located on a new commuter line.
In 2012 John Gianotti was commissioned to commemorate the many women who worked at the Curtiss-Wright factory during WWII. His creation, made of bronze and granite, includes a 6’2” statue of a Rosie holding an industrial rivet gun, alongside a granite block, with text and photos of real Rosies, where a lunch pail and coke bottle rest.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
2016 – National Harbor, Maryland
Created by prolific sculptor Ivan Schwartz in 2016, this sculpture is part of the National Harbor, Maryland, American Way project. (This art promenade also includes Schwartz’s sculptural version of the famed-photo V-J Day in Times Square, as well as the America’s Team sculpture, his tribute to all the branches of the military which was dedicated on Veteran’s Day 2018).
This life-like statue of Rosie is included in National Harbor’s interactive art scavenger hunt that enables you to hear Rosie sing her version of the Rosie the Riveter song on your cell phone.
2017 – Kelley Park, San Jose History Museum, California
Photos courtesy of Hamilton Historical Record
Rosie proudly welcomes visitors to San Jose’s History Park Located at the south end of Kelley Park in San Jose, History Park contains 32 original and reproduction homes, businesses, and landmarks that help tell the story of Santa Clara Valley’s past.
Can Do! was created by prolific sculptor Seward Johnson, who is best known for his lifelike bronze statues, as well as his 25-foot tall, monumental scale sculptures, such as Embracing Peace, based on the award-winning photograph of the 1945 V-J Day in Times Square. The sculpture overlooks the San Diego harbor.
This Rosie sculpture, on loan to the Spirit of ’45 organization and hosted by History Park, honors the many women who worked in the Santa Clara Valley and is unique, as it also travels to different venues in the Bay Area. Most recently, in December 2022 it was taken to Oak Hill Cemetery as part of a funeral service for a 102-year-old Rosie.
Photo courtesy of wtaw.com
2017 Brazos Valley Veteran’s Memorial Park, College Station, Texas
On Dec. 7, 2017 this statue of Rosie the Riveter was dedicated at the Brazos Valley Veteran’s Memorial Park in College Station, Texas. Rosie is the first female statue to be installed in the Veteran’s Park. Three local Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution worked with the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial to raise funds for this statue.
Created by J. Payne Lara, this bronze sculpture is dedicated to the women of Brazos Valley who worked in the defense industry during WWII.
January 2021 – Bishop Airport, Flint, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Debra Wake
During WWII Flint was one of Michigan’s automotive hubs that converted to defense production and became an important part of FDR’s Arsenal of Democracy.
Photo courtesy of Flint Women’s Forum
This Rosie statue is the first female statue to join the Automobile Heritage Collection of statues that stand in the baggage claim area of Bishop Airport. In 2018 the Flint Women’s Forum partnered with the Back to the Bricks group to raise the funds for this important project.
In 2021, in a very subdued unveiling due to Covid restrictions, the bronze statue was dedicated. Created by local artist, Joe Rundell, Rosie joined 9 nine other Rundell creations, which include Flint icons Louis Chevrolet, Albert Champion, David Buick and GM’s co-founders, Billy Durant and Charles Stewart Mott.
September 2022 – Ashland Park, Clarksville, Indiana
The most recent dedication of a statue honoring Rosie took place September 16th of last year in Clarksville, Indiana, the former home of Rose Will Monroe. While working as a riveter at the Ford Willow Run factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Rose was discovered by actor Gregory Peck and went on to appear in war bond films that were shown in theaters across the nation prior to the feature film.
Monroe’s daughter, Victoria Croston, who attended the dedication recalls her mother as a “real ball of fire.” Victoria tells how her mom had wanted to learn to fly and help by ferrying planes from factories, but because she was a widow with children she was turned down. After the war, Monroe moved to Clarksville, where she eventually founded the Rose Builders Construction Company and earned her pilot’s license.
The Clarksville Historic Preservation Commission raised nearly $130.000, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign and matching grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s Placemaking Indiana Initiative, to create this memorial to Monroe and other local Rosies who worked to win the war. (Your author was honored to attend and is photographed with Vicki and her husband Merwyn Croston).
Most Important Museum Exhibits featuring Rosie Statues
Rosie the Riveter Memorial and Rosie the Riveter National Park, Richmond, California
Artist Susan Schwartzenberg and landscape architect Cheryl Barton first designed the Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Richmond, California after the city and the Richmond Redevelopment Agency commissioned the work in the 1990s.
Although the Memorial doesn’t contain a statue of Rosie, it does include a timeline and quotes from women workers. The sculpture, which looks like the unfinished hull of a ship, includes images of Rosies working in the shipyards and other area industries during WWII.
Located near the Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, which includes several realistic “Lifecasts” of Rosies, this memorial and the National Park are a must see.
Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington D.C.
Another important exhibit that includes a statue of Rosie is in our country’s most celebrated museum – the Smithsonian. Rosie is proudly represented in the Smithsonian American History Museum. It includes an interactive display that challenges guests to see how quickly they can rivet.
Known Future Rosie Memorial
Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial
Ground-breaking took place April 7, 2021, where full-sized models of Rosie and eight others created by local artist, Larry Halbert, were revealed.
No dedication date has been announced.
The search continues…Who have we missed? We want to know!
As we continue to compile a list of Rosie statues, if you know of existing or planned future outdoor/indoor statues or museum exhibits, please email me at ddwake01@gmail.com. Please no temporary exhibits, cut-outs, or Rosie dressed mannequins. Help us preserve the Rosie legacy!