and so maybe this is the place to close. let's think our panel very much and both of ourladies and gentle

honorable johnson, speaker of the united states, house of representatives. thank you. well welcome. welcome to you all this beautiful day. we're so grateful. have you here. the people's house. to my colleagues, congress, friends, family and. of course. our rosies. it's my honor to welcome you here to the capitol. today's historic occasion, the congressional gold medal, the highest award this body can award to any group or any individual. and you may not know this, but fewer than 200 gold medals have been issued. our country's nearly 250 year history. but today, pursuant to h.r. 1773, i have distinct honor of presenting this medal to rosie

the riveter. the women who worked or volunteered in support of the war efforts during world war two. that's an applause line. it was during the first year of the war that president roosevelt went on a visiting factories and plants where ships and tanks and planes were being built. and during one of those visits, the story goes the president observed that as would walk down the middle aisle of the factory it would chiefly be the men who look up and leave their workstations. the men would stand up and debate whether or not the man in the straw hat walking by actually the president. but the women in the factories kept their down and continued to do the work. that's right. they never let anything interrupt their duties.

and it did matter that the president was there. these were not going to waste one minute. they busy, riveting and inspecting and assembling and doing what their duty called for. and when you talk to the children of rosies, you'll hear them use words like true grit and patriotism, love for family that were the things that motivated their mothers. the rosies exemplified. what the image of the proverbs 31 woman is. it says in part in the scripture she about her work vigorously. her arms are strong for her tasks. that's right. they work 12 and 14 hour days, six days a week, and they knew what it was like to be so tired. they couldn't eat. i have the diary of one such rosie. this is the diary of augusta clawson in my hand. she was a welder. and on one rare occasion in may 1943, she got a whole off of work. and she in her diary, it says

this two days off in succession. i feel like a retired banker. that's what she wrote before today. we are so honored to have more than two dozen real life roses, two dozen ladies of the war. i don't really believe that, though, because they all look so young. i can't believe you actually did that. but these are the women that built our ships and our bombs. these are the invisible warriors here on the home front. some took multiple busses to get to plants. many picked up and moved across the country. we recognize these roses and millions more because all sacrifice time away from home and. they use their god given gifts and talents. the good of our nation and for military victory. against the axis powers. that's right.

but even as we saw victory, these women fought for double victory. really? when you think about it it was victory from tyranny. but it was also victory from prejudice because all they although they now welcomed at our voting booths, they were not yet welcome on the usual lines. they all changed. that all changed because of these roses. they they did what needed to do. they quietly fought to be treated as individuals, made in god's image, endowed with inestimable dignity regardless of their gender or the color of their skin. and it is. that's right. that's right. it's my privilege to welcome you all here to, meet you ladies and to extend our gratitude for all that you have done for our country and all that you've done for generations of women, since thank you all for being here.

ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation. the colors by the united states armed forces color guard the of our national anthem by the united states army band pershing's own brass quintet and the retiring of the colors of.

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ladies and gentlemen, please remain for the invocation. delivered by the reverend dr. margaret grund kitchen, chaplain of the united states house of representatives. would you pray with me. eternal god in whom we live and move and have our being we give thanks you on this special day for revealing to us in the iconic picture the muscular bandanna and determined every woman. we celebrate that in there is nothing we can't do. we only take the time to look around us and discover the diversity, the talents, the drive and the opportunities you. call us each to employ for the benefit of the common good. and so we ask your blessing over the ceremony as we pay tribute

to those who did just that and honor the can do spirit of these mothers daughters, aunts and sisters that was so vital to the war effort and essential to ensuring the integrity of our country in its most critical moments with our ears attuned to the marvelous stories, millions of rosies who labored in shipyards and, aviation maintenance facilities, fashioning b-17s liberty ships open our hearts to appreciate personal courage and commitment that such labor, such unfamiliar environments required. with her eyes fixed on these of service and sacrifice inspire in us, the same indomitable and selfless spirit as we celebrate the legacy of these amazing women. instill in all of us the desire to honor their contributions and

to join them in the effort to serve you this country and their memory faithfully and our day and the strength of your name we pray. amen amen. please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable susan collins, united states senator from maine. good afternoon, warrior. and honored is participate in this congressional gold medal ceremony for rosie the riveter.

these are enterprise sing and patriotic answered the call to serve on the home during world war two. and for ever changing the role of women in the workforce. at a time of great peril for freedom both here at home and around world and estimated. 16 million women. step to learn new skills and to produce the muni nation's battleships. war planes and equipment required by our troops to win the war. mothers wives. sisters. daughters answered our nation's call to action by tirelessly in

factories. farms shipyards, aircraft. plants and steel mills in support of our armed. the can do spirit of has inspired tired generations women ever since a few years ago i had the pleasure of meeting otto of caliber, and yet one of the a reds and our rosies. shortly the attack on pearl harbor this single mom with an infant son learned how to operate a rivet gun and began at an aircraft plant. with the exception of a brief hiatus immediately after the war, eleanor remained on the job and till she reached the age.

of 95. that likely made our longest working rosie the riveter the contribution made by the roses of great state of maine to the war effort. we're also extraordinary during war in maine, shipyards, more than 1300 ships, nearly 2000 range remarkable women were among the workforce at bathtime words that produce one destroyer every 18 days. think about. with 3700 women working as welders, mechanics and crane operators. south portland, maine produced

hundred 74 liberty ships. among that extraordinary workforce was albina babineau of old orchard beach. upon turning eight years of age, she trained to add some welder and help the shipyard uphold motto of down the ways in fewer days. during this time, she met a young soldier named, arthur, and they wed before was deployed to combat in europe. they were married for nearly 79 years until her passing last june. she will always be remembered as someone who loved her faith. her family and her country just like the women we honor here in

person today. i can't tell you how proud i am to have coast sponsored this by parties and by cameron to. honor these heroes with. congress's highest civilian award. this recognition is long overdue. but in end. by today, congress has finally bestows this honor on deserving patriots. may god bless these and their families. may god, the united states of

america. thank you. ladies, gentlemen. the honorable jackie speier, former united. representative from the 14th district of california new. mr. speaker leader jeffries to congress members. fitzpatrick, huffman and and to our senator collins and casey and to our rosies and their families. i am thrilled to be here to honor the roses. it's really one of the greatest honors that i've had in congress

to this legislation and we are truly in the presence of greatness. you know, seeing the 24 roses here is much like meeting the veterans. the 75th anniversary of normandy who had stormed omaha beach. we are here to the millions of, women, millions of women who heeded the call to, build planes and tanks and jeeps and and rockets. they were high school grads uis. they were housewives. they were mothers turned war heroes. they were with guts, persistence

and patriotism. the roses proved that women could work in jobs historically reserved for men. african-american women challenged and discrimination to join the war effort. well. the roses needed childcare. and guess what happened? the u.s. government and companies came together to give them child care. one idea. the roses didn't just help to win war. they transformed the workforce and the culture this country forever. an interesting side story, the iconic rosie the riveter poster was only distributed at the westinghouse factories and

wasn't really unheard worth until the 1980s, when the national archives show a series of propaganda posters. the model, that particular poster was naomi parker fraley. so whether it's mae krier is here, stand up may. who was a high school grad, quit working at boeing building b-17. i can say something about maybe bringing her back to work. to phyllis gold, who have lost. who is a welder in richmond in

the richmond shipyards and was one of the first women in the boilermakers. or mary and who is here? who was her sister. whereas marion. marion, you stand. she was a 17 year old draftsman at the richmond shipyards. or betty reid soska in the oldest national ranger who was an african american who couldn't be a rosie but worked as a clerk at the boiler makers union. she is now 103 years old. they are all inspired us and brought their can do attitude from world war two to the halls

of. congress. to make the rosie the riveter congressional gold medal. a reality they hammered members. they cajoled members, but thankfully never had to tell them to the legislation during world war two. they were called women workers and these were called wild band nanas that you could purchase for 375 for a dozen. so all i can say now is wow. thank you for what you have done. ladies, gentlemen, the honorable brian, united states representative from the first

district of pennsylvania. good afternoon. it's not very often we can say we're in the presence of living legends, but, boy, are we in the presence of living legends today. god bless all of you. today marks a truly occasion as we gather here to honor and celebrate a group of extraordinary and special women. they are trailblazers. they are heroes. and they are some of the finest americans our has ever seen and ever known. they are rose's. to this day, the iconic image of rosie the riveter conjures feelings, immense pride, immense patriotism and immense courage. the real rosie's, some of whom are with us today, embody the essence, the can do american spirit. and there is greater call in

life for, each and every one of us, than serving our community and serving our country. and during world war two, 6 million brave women did exactly that. they rolled up their sleeves. they took on the mighty challenge of building building weaponry and building ammunition. to protect our troops beyond these invaluable contribute, they're indomitable. we can do spirit became a beacon of hope inspired our entire nation. reignited and re-energized our nation's fervor. a legacy has continued to inspire generations of americans and american soldiers. more than seven decades later and we unveiled the ruby rosie the riveter, congressional gold medal. i'm and proud, along with my colleagues here, to have had a vital role in playing in bringing east versus west with with rosie, with our original rosie mae krier levittown. john, who the way started this with another levittown zone, a

former by the name of mike fitzpatrick. my brother who's no longer with us but rosie know he's smiling down on heaven today for you and all the work that you've. and to my colleagues, representative speer, representative sussman huffman, representative dosanjh, senator casey, senator collins, senator murkowski and all of our collected efforts, we have all of you to thank as well. and additionally, my sincere thanks to the rosie the riveter for your tireless work advocacy for all you've done in designing this beautiful medal that you see here today and bringing this special day to fruition. the trust did an amazing and thank you for that. and of course. we want to thank our rosie themselves and families of rosie's here today for outstanding service and sacrifice to the greatest country that god's ever created. and i'm also incredibly proud to

have several of our constituents here today. i want to thank all those from bucks of montgomery county mae krier mae been an unrelenting champion and advocate the rosie's and was instrumental the efforts to gain support for this bill working along with our bob casey. we would not have gotten to this point without mae's tireless advocacy and her fellow rosies, who had helped us get here today and i'm proud to call me a friend. a role and an idol. mae. they, thank you for your continued service to our your service to our nation. thank you for all you did for something many people know. during covid, me self handmaids thousands of masks with the rosie the riveter theme. one of which is in outer space today on the international space station. she continues to to amaze and allow all of us in america. so today and always ask you to

join me in applauding, honoring and thanking the remarque of all selfless sacrifice, bravery and courage and contributions to our country and our nation. these special women, these living legends that were so honored to be just amongst your presence today. so we thank you for all of your work. congratulations. congratulations to all of our rosies. congratulations to your families. this is a day that's long overdue but it is here and you ought to be so of yourselves and your families. god bless. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable robert casey united states senator from pennsylvania. thank you very much. we gather today to pay tribute to remarkable americans. have several of my colleagues made reference to answer the

answered the call to answered the call to contribute to the war effort answered the call to sacrifice to leave what they doing to help their country. i'm reminded of some of the words america the beautiful or beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years. that's dream of the roses. they knew that their contribution would make it possible for us as a nation to see beyond those years, to realize and to ensure the promise of freedom. so i'm so grateful as an american, as a pennsylvanian, to join in this tribute today. of the roses. we all know that their contribution to the war effort for a long time when unheralded for far too many years even decades. but today today we celebrate with them and celebrate for them

and formally recognize their uncommon and consequential service to our nation. now, you've heard the name mae krier today, but i'm going to talk about me again because representative fitzpatrick, with whom i was grateful to work with on this this effort over many years, along senator collins in the senate and so many others in the house and senate. but representative knows me better than i do, but i know me well by now. she is fierce advocate. but you heard of her story. it's great. american story. it's a story of. service and sacrifice. it's a story of putting forth effort on behalf of our country at a at a perilous time and in so many ways may, story is the story of all the roses, all

their contribute actions. so when i speak of me, i, i'm speaking in a larger sense to all the roses. but here's part of just a little snippet of my story. in 1943, at just the age of 17 years old, mae worked at the boeing aircraft facility in seattle, washington where she helped to build b-17 and bombers that used during world war two. after the war may move to and then ultimately became a constituent for a fitzpatrick's and mine. it was in those years after the war that embarked on a mission. i think that word might be an understatement. a passionate mission to make sure that history remembers the critical contributions of all of the rosie's, including the work that she did.

i'm humbled and really honored today to be part of this celebration. we're joined here by all these and all their families and their communities supporting this today. and may i just want to you know, how much of pleasure it was working with you. and if we ever have a tough of legislation to pass. i'm calling may. thanks, everybody everybody. ladies and gentlemen, that united states army band pershing's own brass quintet performing the song rosie the riveter. all day long, rain or shine.

she's a part of the assembly line. she's making history, working to meet rosie there. he's look out to sabotage sitting up there on the fuselage that they're afraid can do more. the men do, rosie. they're in rosie. he's got a brother, charlie he charlie, he's marine. rosie is protecting charlie working overtime on their evenings as she when they gave her up her -- cheney, she was asked pound has to go up and be there. something true about red white and about rosie the riveter.

the. everyone's down to see rosie. i'm gonna be 19. she's made me navy me rosie. they're here to do what? angry doing up here very openly. she's she. he's de love to hang around rosie the riveter buys a lot of war that really chance where she could purchase more bonds.

but the guys international saturday jones who is in the know how to these words on the radio we'll hear about out here about rosie they're here rosie but the riveter. ladies and gentlemen the honorable hakeem jeffries, democratic leader of the united states house of representatives. good. that army band is a tough act to follow. but speaker johnson, speaker emerita pelosi, senator casey, senator collins, of course, and

representative fitzpatrick representative speer, former representative george miller, members of congress, of course, the mae krier who will be represent the rosies until all of the amazing rosies who are here to, your families and those assembled. thank you for your presence during this incredible occasion. it's a high honor and a distinct privilege to be able to offer to our deepest and our respect on behalf of house democrats to the iconic and the heroic rosies. these incredible women like dorothy against one of the first african american clerical typists in, the war department. or dolly who was a plane spotter when she was 14 years old. the. poor delores leonard, who

collected milkweed pods and would donate her earned income back to the war effort and so many others who advance the cause of freedom and help america prevail by building airplanes and ships, bucking rivets, labor wing and shipyards and and so many extra ordinary ways. in 1945, president franklin d roosevelt said that the of world peace cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation. it must be a peace with rest on the cooperative efforts of the whole world. that means think that every gender, race and free nation must be fully engaged, fully

engaged in bending the arc of the moral universe in the right direction. no. embody that collective effort. more results resolutely than the roses. than the roses. around. 6 million women entered the workforce during world war two, serving everywhere from the defense industry to the commercial sector and some industries women rose to make up 65% of the workforce compared to just 1% in the prewar years. 3 million women volunteered with the red cross, 350,000 women.

served at home and abroad. and including on the front lines with more than 1600 nurses were decorated. their bravery under fire is extraordinary. every women. is extraordinary. women. our nation's needs. they rose to the occasion and they made us stronger country, as we might say in brooklyn. the rose's got it going on on. they exemplify exemplify. they exemplify the best of the greatest generation. they galvanized our nation with their motto of we can do it. these roses were passionate, patriotic and persist and americans who inspired

generations of women and girls to serve our great nation. they did whatever it took to preserve and freedom and ensure that evil would not prevail. playing an invaluable role in fighting the horrors of the nazi and helping and the free world secure a decisive victory. thank you. thank you. thank you. our nation and the world are forever indebted to your service with this congressional gold, we celebrate your story. thank you. and them for their service and reaffirm our commitment to honoring the rosies for all that has been done to make country's

future as bright as possible. god bless all of you. god bless the legacy of the amazing rosies. and may god continue to bless the united states of america. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mike johnson, speaker of the united states house of representatives. well, what a great ceremony. we'll get to the moment we've all been for here in just a moment. i wanted to tell you this. during the war before a crowd of about 6000 people at royal albert hall, winston churchill famously said this. he said, quote, one would have thought in the days of peace the progress of women to an even share in the life and work and guidance, the community would have grown and that under the

violence of war it would be cast back. but actually the reverse. true. war is the a hard stirrer efficient teacher. 80 years removed from the war, we now get to look and appreciate the lessons that the roses teach us, the lessons we should have already known, but which we were taught by necessity during the war. we remember women like mary edwards and charlotte combs who left their homes work at higgins shipyards in my home state of louisiana in new orleans. they built ships that allowed infantry exit through a front ramp directly on to the open beach. higgins was the first workplace in new orleans to be racially integrated, and that paid all people, according to their job function, regardless of their sex or their skin color. and there in louisiana, men and women, black and white alike, were coming together for one common cause. and it was that place. higgins shipyards that general

eisenhower said won the war for. today is in the 1940s. we continue to come together to preserve our american experiment by joining hands as one people, one nation and one united heart. and thanks to so many who are commemorating accomplishments of rosie the riveter, the women who joined the ranks at the plant in the shipyards, and who helped us achieve victory in world war two, are to be commended. senator collins and kc representatives speer fitzpatrick have done so much, but perhaps no one has done more than mae krier. and phyllis gould that's right. miss may was a riveter in seattle, washington. and miss phyllis was a welder in richmond, california. where the rosie the riveter museum stands today. that's right. it it was phyllis and mae who in recent years would walk the halls of congress passing out

handmade red and white polka dot bandanas, trying to members on board for this important cause. we'll have the pleasure from hearing from mae in just a moment. but we mourn the fact that miss phyllis is no longer with us. while she worked valiantly to see this day, we can see her legacy live on now through her sister marian, a fellow rosie and her daughter, laurie, and i believe marian laurie. laurie are here today. would you all stand there? they are. they are here. right here. thank you. if you go to the in richmond, you'll see marion's words. you enter. it's there on the wall. it says, quote i specifically didn't do anything great, but i partici painted in something that was great. that's very well said. and it was great. and so, so great that today we finally to award their efforts with a congress final gold

medal. that's right. so now i ask if miss may crier and leader jeffries or senator collins and casey resident representatives speer and fitzpatrick will all join on stage so that we can formally present the medal. the. we're going to we're going to do it on the floor instead of make it easier. is that okay? sorry. i called an audible here.

ladies and gentlemen, miss mae krier rosie the riveters. i look at all of you. senator casey brian fitzpatrick the spirit of susan. we couldn't have done it without you. and all you people on the audience. you've been wonderful. you're such great support. thank all of you. this is such a honor for me. i did the symbolically.

except the gold medal for all of roses. but for those of you who are here. thank you. and i'm glad to be part of this program for all of those who are gone by the wayside. we're sorry for all of those who couldn't be here. we're sorry. i mean, it's a such a nice honor, and i'm so proud to be able to symbolically accept this medal for all of you. i think it's wonderful. because this wrote this medal, the millions of american women who went to work during world who said, we helped our country win the war we also helped save world and i think that's outstanding. up until 1941, it was a man

world. they didn't know how capable. they. left their footprint into the sand. i think those outstanding. we're proud. they're so proud of the women and young girls who are following in our lead. think that's one of the greatest things we left behind of what we've done for women. i think that's important to all of. as do all of the roads. it's everywhere we've gone down in history. isn't that great? i love that. my last look is, remember these four little words we can it.

ladies and gentlemen, miss k lynn berry, superintendent of the rosie the riveter world war two, home front, national historical park. i'm not sure where i can against having to after one of our beloved rosie's. i guess i'm in the right spot for it. i work in a national historical park, and like all units of the national park service, we have a response ability to care for and share with the world some of the

most significant elements of our national heritage. at rosie the riveter, world war two, homefront, a national historical park located in the boom town at wartime of richmond, california. we preserve thank. we preserve and interpret the wide array of places and legacies our nation's response to world war two in the home front. these are stories, places and legacies that inspire the inspiration comes from all of the home front workers, women and men, some of whom overcame significant barriers to their full and equal participation in the workforce. it comes from families grew victory gardens and industries who retooled for the wartime needs. and of course, from the millions

of roses who leaned in to their new purpose and claimed their empowerment, we've learned from the rosies that their work was incredibly meaningful to them and they were grateful to be connected to something larger than their individual selves. rosie's as you receive this well-deserved recognition, and i hope you know, as certainly as we all do, that your legacy resonates far beyond the factories in the shipyards of the home front and your accomplishments will continue to inspire generations to strive for excellence. it is my hope that at your national park we will forever be your partners in that endeavor and in making room for each new generation of rosies who will

claim your history as their own and ask what can we do to help? what can we do to answer the call of time? you know, sometimes history itself is a good thing. if today we some lessons from the history of the home front and some of the grit that these rosies possessed and apply that to the issues that our nation faces today. i think we'd be glad with the result. in fact, i think can see some of that rosie spirit working already at the park when of the young women of our rosies corps learns about welding and carpentry and other trades embracing her own personal power which can her to a career in the trades or anywhere else she sets her mind to history repeats itself when the students.

when the students who visit our park for educational programs learn that they can take action to improve the water quality in the san francisco bay or tackle other environmental issues. history repeats itself. and all of the visitors to our park reflect on the work that these rosies did and decide that they too can step up and take action. history repeats and that is good thing. may we all continue to draw inspiration from the rosies and may we always cherish and uphold the values of equality, opportunity, determination and solidarity that they so impressively embodied.

their history is worth repeating. thank you all and congratulations. ladies and gentlemen. please stand for the benediction delivered by the reverend dr. margaret rudkin, chaplain of, the united states house of representatives. would you pray with me. holy god. send forth from this profoundly ceremony with deeper appreciation for the tireless efforts and untold sacrifices these remarkable demonstrated when called to step into the breach. made this auspicious celebration have shined a light on extraordinary life.

stories that were written in factories, shipyards, lumber and, steel mills. may also have served to give long awaited and you honor to the multitude of women who willingly stepped out of social norms and into dungarees and work skirts who with unequaled purpose and patriotism. dedicated their god given skills to the preservation and defense of the common virtues of and democracy for all americans, blessed than the roses and the mays and the phyllis's, as well as all the sung and unsung heroes whose stories go our recorded in the annals of our nation's history. grant them the reward of your own. well done for their vital accomplishments and for their role in demonstrating what can do. sure of your favor on these

women. we commend this ceremony to their faithful service to this nation. and we pray that we would be inspired to do our part for the common good, wherever and whenever we are called. so to serve the strength of name, we pray. amen. lay ladies and gentlemen, this concludes ceremony. thank you for attending and enjoy the rest of your day.