[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 21, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 NATIONAL ROSIE THE RIVETER DAY: A TRIBUTE TO THE LONG BEACH ROSIE THE 
                              RIVETER PARK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALAN S. LOWENTHAL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 21, 2017

  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud co-sponsor of House 
Resolution 162, which will designate March 21, 2017, as National Rosie 
the Riveter Day. This honor has special significance for the City of 
Long Beach, California which I represent.
   Long Beach is one of two locations in the nation that has a park 
dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history and legacy of the 
working women, including volunteer women, of World War II.
   The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Park was dedicated in March 2006. 
It is a 3.2 acre park that is just steps away from where tens of 
thousands of women worked at Douglas Aircraft Company during WWII, 
assembling the planes and bombers that helped our brave service members 
win the war. It is also located near what was the Long Beach Airfield 
(now the Long Beach Municipal Airport), where during WWII Women 
Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), commanded by 24-year-old Barbara 
Erickson, flew the finished warplanes to military bases around the 
world.
   The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Park was inspired by former Long 
Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, author of the book ``Rosie the 
Riveter in Long Beach,'' and designed by public artist, Terry 
Braunstein. It features a rose colored walk-way that winds through the 
park so that visitors can see photographs depicting the work and 
efforts of these women. Visitors can access a narrated tour via cell 
phone and hear the song by the Four Vagabonds--``Rosie the Riveter'' 
that gave these women their collective and affectionate name.
   At both ends of the park are a ``compass rose'' that have been 
etched and painted into concrete, marking the location of the park.
   At the north end of the park are both a military memorial and wall 
with plaques commemorating the lives of those who have served our 
country in so many ways and outlined with a rose garden in the shape of 
a ``V'' for victory. The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Park displays one 
of only two bas reliefs sculpted by Raymond Kaskey, who designed the 
same for the National World War II monument, here in Washington, D.C.
   Last year, C-SPAN, in its ``Cities Tour,'' featured the Long Beach 
Rosie the Riveter Park because of its role in honoring the women who 
contributed on the home front during WWII.
   As we celebrate ``National Rosie the Riveter Day,'' let us continue 
our efforts to recognize and preserve the history and legacy of working 
women, including volunteer women during World War II, as a way of 
promoting cooperation and fellowship among all American women and their 
descendants.

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