Making Silk For Parachutes, Wiring Airplane Cockpits, And Marrying A Navy Man: The Story Of An American Rosie The Riveter

During World War II, over six million American women took paid employment in defense industries, while another estimated ten million women volunteered to support the war effort. They worked in factories, shipyards, munitions plans, mills, on farms, and on railroads. They were welders, cutters, riveters, laborers, secretaries, drivers, nurses, pilots, and plane spotters, as well as USO, Red Cross, and Canteen volunteers. Many women were working for the first time, often doing jobs that had been typically reserved for men. After the war, many returned home, unceremoniously released from their jobs, their contributions being forgotten for generations. Over time, however, their wartime service began to change perceptions of the type of work that women could do. They did their bit for their country and the war effort, and without them the Arsenal of Democracy would have suffered. Romaine Smith was born in January 1925 and grew up in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Her family came from Poland and her grandmother’s brother arranged his sister’s marriage. Romaine grew up during the depression and her family was poor. Her mother was a homemaker who canned food and ensured all the children were fed using mostly rice and soups. She was the third oldest of twelve, seven boys and five girls. Several of her siblings served in the military during the war. Her father was a coal miner who sometimes worked for a farmer, and he served in the National Guard. He died at the age of 52 from black lung disease. World War II started when she was almost 17, and she graduated from high school in 1942. She remembers a German lived next door, and the FBI came to question Romaine’s family about their neighbor. She initially took a job in a silk factory that had converted to making war material like parachutes. She describes the giant spools of silk and the huge looms. If a thread broke, it was a very laborious process to get the looms working again and she did not like that. She then took a job working for Brewster Aircraft near the Philadelphia Naval Air Station in Willow Grove. She was installing tubing for wires connecting the radio boxes in the cockpit of the Corsairs, and she worked with three men. She remembers the patience of the man who taught her. She also describes midgets who were hired to work in the tail of the planes. She lived with her older stepsister and her husband, and they all went to work together. They rented a room in an old farmhouse. The owners were both pilots who ferried bombers to Europe, and the caretakers were an elderly couple. They were allowed to use the kitchen and Romaine’s sister cooked for them. When her brother-in-law wanted a change, they began working at the Budd Manufacturing Company and Romaine became a spot welder. Before the war, Budd made automobile wheels and after the war they retooled to make auto parts. At Budd, Romaine welded cargo planes on the night shift from 7pm to 5am. Throughout her employment, she never remembers being mistreated, and even describes the owners visiting to encourage the workers. She describes the wartime rationing, especially sugar and butter, noting the horrible margarine replacement for butter. At home, dad had a garden and raised chickens. She remembers blackouts in Philadelphia for security. In her free time, she liked to roller skate and dance to live bands. On December 1, 1943, she was at a department store and saw two Sailors who suggested she and a friend go to the movies. That was the night she met her husband, Robert. They were married in June 1944. He made 10 trips across the Atlantic bringing war material to Italy and the Persian Gulf. She describes his 80-ship convoys and the concerns about German subs. After the war, she had a baby girl and lived with her mother. Robert was in the Naval Reserves and took a job driving for a furniture company. His family had a 600 acre farm, but he did not want to be a farmer. They eventually moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and later St. Paul, Minnesota, where Robert spent 30 years driving truck, mostly doing auto transport and hauling boats and jet engines. She worked as a manager at J.C. Penney and later became a bank teller. Later she volunteered at her local parish, cooking for the priests and visiting folks at a nursing home. Reflecting on her wartime work during World War II, she says, “I did put in some effort,” and “we were all concerned about our boys over there.” We are grateful that Dr. Yvonne Fasold helped us connect with several “Rosies” in Oregon.