[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 22, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ROSIE THE RIVETER/WORLD WAR II HOME FRONT NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 22, 2000

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing 
legislation to create the ``Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front 
National Historic Park'' in Richmond, California--a feature of our 
National Park system that will recognize and salute the role of the 
homefront during World War II and particularly the significant changes 
in the lives of women and minorities and the major social changes that 
resulted from this era.
  The images of Rosie the Riveter and Wendy the Welder, and the films 
of giant Liberty and Victory ships sliding into the water are all 
familiar to millions of Americans. These features of home front life 
during the war, and the demographic changes and social institutions 
that evolved during the 1940s, significantly shaped the nature of post-
war American life for the remainder of the 20th century. Richmond was 
ground zero for the dizzying home front innovations and stresses that 
marked the period, and is a perfect place to educate future generations 
of Americans about the experiences of our people during World War II.
  The House passed my legislation in the last Congress (H.R. 3910, 
section 505) to authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a 
feasibility study to determine if Richmond was a suitable place for 
designation as an NPS affiliated site and whether to provide technical 
assistance to the City of Richmond for interpretive functions related 
to the park, including oral histories from former workers.
  That report has now been completed and finds, as we had hoped, that 
Richmond ``played a significant role during the Home Front years.'' In 
fact, many of the dry docks, buildings and related infrastructure 
constructed and operated during the war remains in place, evoking even 
today a sense of the enormous commitment of the nation to industrial 
war production. In 1941-42, four shipyards were built in Richmond with 
a total employment eventually reaching 98,000. Overall, Richmond housed 
56 war-related industries, more than any other city in the United 
States, producing everything from ships to uniforms and vegetable oil 
for the war effort. The four Kaiser Yards in Richmond were the largest 
shipyard construction site on the West Coast and produced 747 ships, 
more than any other facility in America, including the S.S. Robert E. 
Peary which was constructed in 4 days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes.
  Tens of thousands of men, women and children poured into this city on 
San Francisco Bay and the population of Richmond grew from 24,000 to 
over 100,000 in just a few short years. These immigrants imposed 
enormous demands for housing, education, child care, health care and 
other vital services, and in response, local officials and employers 
developed innovative approaches for meeting
  Large numbers of women and minorities sought jobs in the yards in 
positions formerly occupied by skilled craftsmen, creating both new 
employment opportunities and labor tensions. By 1944, over a quarter of 
all those working at the Kaiser yard were women, including over 40 
percent of welders and 24 percent of all other craft employees. The 
racial composition of the area was significantly altered by the wartime 
economy, with the black population in Richmond rising from about 1 
percent to over 13 percent during the decade of the 1940s. Southern 
whites encountered often for the first time black men and women who 
demanded equal treatment and equal rights.
  The effort to preserve the remaining structures and to build a 
memorial to the Rosies and Wendys who labored on behalf of the war 
effort has very much been promoted by local leaders including Mayor 
Rosemary Corbin, Councilman Tom Butt, Donna Powers, Donna Graves, Sy 
Zell and many others. Significant local funds have been raised and the 
city has committed more than $600,000 for the memorial. I want to 
recognize the contributions already made by the City of Richmond, as 
well as Kaiser Pemanente, Ford Motor Corporation, Chevron, and others 
who are strongly committed to this project. My bill builds on these 
local efforts by providing assistance both for Richmond and to 
coordinate Home Front sites throughout the country, but we do not 
acquire property or assume the major responsibility for restoring or 
managing the exhibits.
  Under this legislation, Richmond will not alone be selected to 
represent the Home Front during World War II/Instead, the major 
facilities still existing will be preserved and staffed to serve as a 
means of linking other sites including the Charlestown Navy Yard 
(Boston) and Springfield Armory National Historic site to assist help 
historians, interpreters, caretakers and the public to more fully 
appreciate the role this and other communities played in winning the 
war and in transforming the nature of post-war America.
  We must act now to save the remaining buildings, drydocks, and other 
facilities that bring this picture to life for future generations of 
America. Many of these artifacts are aging, in need of restoration, and 
threatened by sale or deterioration which will obliterate their 
historical value. I am hopeful the Committee on Resources will act 
swiftly to review the Rosie the Riveter Feasibility Study that we 
commissioned by law in 1998 and then holding hearings on this 
legislation so that it can be enacted by the Congress this year.

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