Hey friends, welcome. Welcome to our new series, How Women One World War Two.

For the next few weeks, we're going to explore the incredibly varied and complex world's

women stepped into during our last world war. No, of course, they were not GI's. We're

not claiming that they were the tank drivers who beat back Hitler's army. They didn't land

on the beach at Normandy, but without a doubt. The roles they performed shaped the way

the war was both fought and won. While our tendency is to connect women's work during

World War Two with the image of Rosie the Riveter, women weren't only tackling manufacturing

jobs at home while the men were drafted into the military, women both in the US and in

allied Europe filled key positions that resulted in the allies winning the war. Those positions,

only of them were top secret. I'm Sharon McMahon, and here's where it gets interesting.

In early 1943, a catchy new tune rang out over the nation's airwaves. The song was

written by two popular American composers, Red Evans and John Jacob Lowe, after they

read a newspaper article about a 19 year old woman named Rosalind Palmer. Rosalind worked

as a Riveter on Corsair fighter planes and was known for her speed and reliability on

the assembly line. She was also known for her gumption. She vocally advocated that the

women make a fair wage while they worked. Inspired by Rosalind, the song writing duo

composed a song that they dedicated to the women who stepped in to do war work in the wake

of America's Declaration of War with Germany and Japan. The song was called Rosie the

Riveter, and you can hear just how catchy it was when it was recorded by the four vagabonds.

The tune became a hit. An anthem even that bolstered the confidence, pride, and spirit

of working women throughout the nation. Although conveniently, they part about fair wages.

God left out. Newspapers around the country ran stories about Rosalind. This real rosy

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