Spotting Airplanes Near Philadelphia And The Jersey Shore: 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. Dolly Marshall was born in June, 1929, and grew up in Palmyra, New Jersey. During the Great Depression, Dolly recalls, her mother was “very clever with food.” She grew up with a younger brother. Her mother was a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) telephone operator and her father was a topographer who did war work for RCA. Two of her uncles helped build submarines. Her father also served as an Air Raid Warden. She recalls the beginning of World War II and describes Roosevelt’s declaration of war as “horrifying.” She remembers writing letters to servicemembers and seeing evidence of the Battle of the Atlantic when “blobs of oil” washed up on the Jersey shore. There were concerns of Germans striking at the American homeland. In high school, she joined the Civil Air Patrol and learned to march at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. She also received two weeks of training in plane spotting, including learning to identify aircraft silhouettes and engine sounds (for nighttime spotting). As a spotter, she reported to the Army Aircraft Warning Services. Working shifts as an airplane spotter, she and another volunteer sat in their high school football field press box and if they heard or saw an airplane, they logged it on a form and reported it higher via a red phone. They were 60 miles from the coast, but Ft. Dix and Philadelphia were likely nearby targets. She reflects on life on the home front and wartime shortages, especially sugar and butter. They used ration stamps to get what they needed and they canned or froze extra produce that grew in their Victory Garden. In her free time, she enjoyed going to the movies, riding horses, and dancing with Soldiers. Many of the boys in her high school left for the service, and her dad was in the Reserves. She remembers the excitement when the war ended, but says “we stayed out of Philly.” When the service members returned from the war and began college, it was “exciting,” but “we didn’t know about post traumatic stress back then.” After the war, she married a guy who was in the Navy but later switched to the Army. When she was 53 years old, she went to Ecuador with the Peace Corps to introduce solar appliances to the people. Later she was arrested for civil disobedience for protesting nuclear testing in the 80s. She was raised a Quaker and pacifist, but is proud of her wartime service, stating “What I did was protection, not contributing to the fighting.” Reflecting on being a “Rosie,” she notes, “Back then I never talked about it,” but now the reaction is “overwhelming.” She received a “Thank You” from the Army and the Congressional Gold Medal. We are grateful that Dr. Yvonne Fasold helped us connect with several “Rosies” in Oregon.