for helen lyson, it was astonishing. >> something i did 72 years ago.they'd bring it up now. >> reporter: what helen lyson, and the 30 other women who flew in from detroit did, had as much t do with winning world war ii as the fighting at the front. >> the fellas were gone. someone had to make these planes or we'd have lost the war, that's for sure. >> reporter: helen jedele went to work at the ford willow run plant in ypsilanti, michigan, which at its peak was turning out one new bomber per hour. what did you do? >> i was a riveter. >> reporter: is rivetting a tough job? >> no. >> reporter: no? >> it's a heavy gun that you hold. but i grew up on the farm, drove the tractor, did many things heavy. >> reporter: immortalized in this wartime poster as "rosie the riveter," these women changed america. not just helping to win the war, but setting off a seismic shift in the role of women, out of the home and into the workplace. but back then, they were just teenagers. >> we didn't think about the war. teenagers don't think about those things. >> reporter: but

for helen lyson it was astonishing. >> something i did 72 years ago. >> reporter: what helen lyson and the 30 other women that flew in from detroit did had as much to do with winning world war ii as fighting at the front. somebody had to make the planes or we would have lost the war for sure. helen jedele went to work at the ford willow run plant in ypsilanti, michigan at its peak turning out a bomber an hour. >> what did you do? >> riveter. >> a tough job? >> no, that is a heavy gun that you hold. i grew up on the farm. drove the tractor, did many things heavy. >> reporter: immortalized in the war time poster, rosie the riveter. these women changed america. not just helping to win the war but setting off a seismic shift in the role of women. out of the home into the work place. but back then, they were just teenagers. >> we didn't think much about the war at the time. teenagers don't think of those things. >> reporter: they did think about the money. $1.10 an hour for helen lyson willow run. >> that was good pay. >> reporter: born in poland she was desperate for a job, she changed the