"Rosie The Riveter" Passes Away
Jan 22, 2018
When Naomi Parker Fraley was 20 years old in 1942, she was photographed in her work uniform performing her job duties at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California. She began work there right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor where her duties included drilling, patching airplane wings and riveting. Unknown to her until very recently, that picture was used for the poster "Rosie the Riveter" that was distributed throughout the country during that war. Ms. Fraley was not identified as the young woman used for the famous poster until 2016 by Dr. James Kimble, associate professor of communication and the arts at Seton Hall University here in New Jersey, Ms. Fraley passed away on January 20 ,2018 at the age of 96.
Rosie the Riveter symbolizes what women can achieve in the work place if given the opportunity. When she was asked in an interview how she felt to be known publicly as Rosie the Riveter, she was heard to exclaim, "Victory! Victory! Victory". Our firm is proud to say that we have displayed her poster in our conference room since we opened our doors. We salute Naomi Parker Fraley---although she is hopefully now resting in peace, her spirit lives on. Long live Rosie the Riveter! For a full description of identifying Ms. Fraley as the model for Rosie the Riveter, click on the New York Times article here.