Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth knows first-hand the sacrifices of going to war and being a working mother. The Iraq war veteran and mother of two is using Women’s History Month to push for new legislation to establish a monument in the country’s capital to honor the nearly 18 million. women who worked on the inner front during World War II.
“We know all about the Rosie the Riveters, but I think most people are surprised to hear that we haven’t honored them,” Duckworth told CBS News in an exclusive interview.
The Illinois Democrat sent a letter Friday to West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, urging him to “move the bill forward” quickly. She re-introduced bipartisan legislation last May, known as the World War II Memorial Act on Women Working on the Inner Front.
“These women, many of whom had no expectations of working outside the home, responded to the call during a global crisis to work as pilots, engineers, taxi drivers, postmen, code breakers, manufacturers and more,” she said. letter. “It’s time to dump her and move on.”
Duckworth acknowledged this as a “proper bill” during Women’s History Month, adding: “There is no better time than now to code for permission to create a memorial work in honor of these women. brave “.
The idea for the monument came from Raya Kenney, who was a fifth-grader when she first designed a model of the monument for a school assignment inspired by the movie “A League of their Own.” Kenney, now 20, has defended the memorial ever since.
“It was the first time I saw women playing a role that a man had previously held and that a woman had never held.” Kenney told CBS Evening News in 2020.
Kenney has continued to put pressure on Congress and met with senators for support. He worked with DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton on accompanying legislation in the House. It was overwhelmingly passed in the House last December by a 425-1 vote.
“I am very excited that Senator Duckworth is working on our behalf,” Kenney said Thursday. “We’re trying to get into the calendar. That’s our next step.”
The two women hope that the committee will soon take the step that could pave the way for a full vote in the Senate. If approved, it would authorize the Kenney Foundation, Women Who Worked on the Home Front, to begin work on the project. This would include fundraising and finding space for the memorial.
“There’s always been a sense of urgency with this project as these women get older with each passing day,” Kenney said. “Especially reading about the Rosias who are no longer with us every day because we want them to see it raised as much as possible.”
The percentage of women in the labor force increased from 27% to almost 37% between 1941 and 1945, boosting the U.S. economy during the war. Duckworth describes the lack of a monument in honor of women workers in World War II as a “flagrant omission.”
“With my two daughters, my four-year-old and my seven-year-old, I want them to know,” Duckworth said. “I want them to celebrate these women who took a step forward.”
- In:
- Second World War
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