98-year-old Pa. woman who built planes for Boeing in WWII marking Rosie the Riveter Day
LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - It's Rosie the Riveter Day, a day to honor the contributions of American women during World War II. This year, one woman in the Delaware Valley has a bigger reason than ever to mark the occasion.
Mae Krier, who lives in Levittown, Bucks County, is an original Rosie.
"For me, I was excited," Krier said. "I was a tomboy at the time. And I loved it. It just was great."
The year was 1943. At 17 years old, Krier had just moved to Seattle with her sister and friend, intent on landing a job to help her country during World War II.
"The way it turned out," Krier said, "we all ended up being Rosie the Riveters during the war."
Krier made planes for Boeing for two years.
"They take you downtown, put a piece of sheet metal in a vice, and they teach you how to drill holes and how to rivet and buck," she said. "And then two weeks later, they take you right into the factory, and you're working on the huge, huge bombers."
Krier worked on B-17 and B-29 bombers.
"We realized how important our job was," she said.
Krier and millions of other Rosies would become immortalized as Rosie the Riveter, a strong woman with a "We Can Do It" spirit. They were trailblazing women who entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers and filled roles previously held by men.
"It wasn't a man's world anymore," she said. "I mean, women showed how capable they were. People come up to me and say, 'You women opened the doors for us.'"
For decades, Krier has made it her mission to ensure no one forgets.
"I just knew the women needed to be recognized," she said. "The men got all the credit after the war. And they couldn't do it without us."
Through countless appearances and advocacy, Krier helped establish Rosie the Riveter Day, observed on March 21.
She also spearheaded the effort that led Rosies to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Not even a pandemic slowed her down.
"I said I just turned in my rivet gun for a sewing machine," Krier recalled.
She made 6,000 Rosie-inspired masks. One of them even reached space in the International Space Station.
"It was such a thrill," Krier said. "I never in my lifetime thought I would go that far."
This Rosie the Riveter Day, on March 21, Krier is turning 98 years old, and she's not slowing down. Next month, she plans to travel to Washington, D.C. to accept the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of all Rosies. The ceremony is set for April 10.