Former ‘Rosie’ from Dawson, ND, continues advocating for recognition of World War II women

JAMESTOWN — A woman born and raised in Dawson, North Dakota, continues to advocate for the recognition of the women — often known as “Rosie the Riveter” — who worked in the defense industries during World War II.

Mae Krier, who will be 100 years old on March 21, was born as Anna Mae Burkett when she grew up in Dawson. She now makes her home in Pennsylvania and has lived an active life of work and advocacy for women and veterans.

“I’ve worked for over 50 years for recognition of the women and what they did,” she said. “The women were the ones who made the airplanes and the landing craft.”

She earned her title as a “Rosie” at the Boeing factory in Washington during World War II.

“I was just a teenager when Pearl Harbor got bombed,” she said. “My sister and I had been in Steele (North Dakota) for the matinee and came home to find our parents listening to the radio coverage of the Japanese attack.”

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. declared war on Japan the next day and entered World War II.

When school ended in the spring of 1943, Krier, her sister and a friend went to Seattle for the summer and stayed for the duration of the war.

“We were happy with the work,” Krier said. “They trained us well. Trained us in drilling, placing the rivets and bucking the rivet.”

Bucking a rivet requires two people. The gunner operates an air hammer on one end of the rivet while the bucker holds a small anvil against the other end. The result is a rivet with a head on both ends that holds metal pieces firmly together.

Krier worked bucking rivets on the B-17 and later the B-29 as part of the war effort. On May 12, 1944, Krier and the rest of the crew signed their names to the 5,000 B-17 Flying Fortress built at the Boeing factory after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Krier took pride in the work that she and the other Rosies did, producing the tools of war. She also feels the women were ultimately shortchanged when it came to recognition by society.

“The men came home to parades,” she said. “We got a pink slip.”

It is this injustice that she has worked for decades to correct.

Through the efforts of Krier and other advocates, March 21 has been observed annually as Rosie the Riveter Remembrance Day since 2019.

In 2020, the Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act passed Congress and was signed into law. The medal, which Krier helped design, was presented to her on April 10, 2024.

The medal honors the millions of women who worked in defense factories during World War II. The original medal is housed at the National Museum of American History.

Bronze replicas of the medal are available through the United States Mint.

Families of Rosies can register with the American Rosie the Riveter Association for inclusion in the records maintained by the organization. Krier hopes more North Dakota women will be recognized.

“I want North Dakota women to realize they were important,” she said, referring to the efforts on the home front of WWII. “Everything was important … When the men left, the women stepped in.”

Recently, a children’s book about Krier’s life was published. The book — “We Can Do It!” by Dave Winters and friends — targets readers between ages 8-18.

Proceeds from the book benefit The Black Dagger Military Hunt Club in assisting recovering veterans and the WWII Women’s Memorial Foundation in its effort to build a permanent memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C.

The WWII Women’s Memorial Foundation hopes to raise $17 million in private funds for the construction of the memorial. The memorial would honor the estimated 18 million women working in all fields during WWII.

Krier said she is living an interesting life and wants to promote the lives of women of all ages.

“I hope to promote women and young girls,” she said. “They don’t know their own strengths.”