NEW ORLEANS – A hero’s welcome greets 18 women at the National World War Two Museum . Staff and museum visitors line a plaza, waving American flags and cheering as the women arrive, adorned in the red and white polka dot scarfs that are a signature of Rosie the Riveters.
They’re here to be honored as Congressional Gold Medal recipients. But first, each Rosie gets a personal tour of the museum, starting in the home front exhibit.
“Look at the women welders, now that’s a familiar job,” says Jane Tucker , now 97. She left rural Lineville, Alabama in 1943, with her mom and sister to work in a shipyard.
“I worked in Savannah, Georgia building Liberty ships, and I learned to become a welder when I was just 16,” Tucker says. “It was all top secret. Loose lips will sink ships.”…