Nonagenarians share their stories of pitching in for the war effort

Clad in blouses reminiscent of the polka-dot bandana worn by a woman flexing her arm in the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster, Mae Krier and Marian Wynn shared their stories with Hawaiian Airlines employees of their days spent working at factories and shipyards during World War II.

“When World War II was declared, we just dropped everything. Every man, woman and child dropped everything to save our country. And it wasn’t a matter of your job, my job. It was our job,” said Krier, 95, of Philadelphia.

At a meet-and-greet at the Hawaiian Airlines hangar with women who work at the airline as mechanics, engineers and support teams, Krier and Wynn, also 95, of California, discussed days spent working during the war, as employees listened intently.

Tammy Brumley, a docent at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park at Richmond, Calif., said, “The Rosies were part of the puzzle during World War II. They helped supply the military might for our soldiers to be able to win the war.”

Hawaiian Airlines flew Krier and Wynn to Hawaii to attend the ceremonies at Pearl Harbor today to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the attack.

As young men enlisted in the military after President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and with Germany and Italy in turn declaring war on the U.S. days later, women joined the war effort as well.

Originally from North Dakota, Krier, then 17, traveled to Seattle where she underwent two weeks of training and worked as a bucker and riveter at a Boeing factory in Seattle in May 1943. She earned 90 cents an hour building B-17 and B-29 warplanes

“I remember climbing into the wings of the B-17s. We had to climb in to buck the rivets in the B-17s. I look at the planes out here now. The wings are so narrow. I look at them and think how did I ever get in there,” Krier said as attendees laughed. “You couldn’t be claustrophobic and get in there. I tell you, it was such a great experience for us.”

Krier was instrumental in lobbying for a measure to award the Rosies with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2020, then-­President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law.

She also pushed for the National Rosie the Riveter Day, which is celebrated on March 21. For decades, Krier said she worked to get recognition for the contributions of the women who worked during World War II.

“It took us so long to get here,” she told attendees at Monday’s meet-and-greet. “We opened the doors but you are the ones doing it.”

The woman depicted in the iconic 1943 Rosie the Riveter “We Can Do It” poster is believed to be the late Naomi Parker Fraley, who worked in a machine shop during the war. The poster depicts a woman flexing her arm in a blue shirt and red bandana with white polka dots.

Wynn, originally from Minnesota, worked as a pipe welder in an area called West Storage in California, where she earned $1 an hour welding pipes for ships.

These days, Wynn volunteers as a docent at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park educating youth about women’s contributions in the war and giving girls the confidence that they can achieve goals on their own.

Hawaiian Airlines structures engineer manager Eli Oki, who was at the meet-and-greet, described Krier and Wynn as amazing.

“We’re just so honored to have the two ladies come and join us. They opened up the door for all the women in aviation, including myself and all of my other teammates,” said Oki, whose eyes brightened as she spoke about Krier and Wynn during an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after the event. “I’m just really inspired.”

After they shared their stories, employees received red face masks sewed by Krier in the distinctive Rosie the Riveter polka-dot print. Krier began sewing the masks last year to help people protect themselves from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.