Geraldine Hoff Doyle, a.k.a. “Rosie the Riveter”, passed away on Sunday. She was 86.
The famed image of Doyle’s flexed muscle would become a call to arms for women to enter the workforce during the Second World War to help manufacture munitions, aircraft, boats, jeeps and other goods. It would later serve as an inspiration to future generations seeking equality for women.
Ironicially, Doyle herself was unaware of the poster until 1984.
Only a couple of days before her passing, plans were announced to build a visitors center at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park which opened in Richmond, California in 2003. The visitors center could open as early as the fall of 2011.
While there were battles to be won in Europe and in the Pacific these battles could not have been won without help from “Rosie the Riveter” and millions of other women here on the homefront. Their efforts were indispensable to the war effort.
