National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation

the idea of the memorial

When I was in 5th grade I watched A League of Their Own. And then I watched it again. And again. And pretty much every Saturday night my parents would let me. I became obsessed with the story of these women. I checked out every library book I could find and I learned way more about these women than I did about the war itself. While I had heard of Rosie the Riveter, I really had no idea how important these women were to the war efforts and how vast their responsibilities were. When my 5th grade teacher assigned me a project to build a model monument in Washington, DC for someone who wasn't already being honored, it was an easy call. That was twelve years ago, and I've been trying to get the monument built since. This is not a quick or easy process, but I think it's an important one. I love watching the WWII vets come to my home town of Washington, DC on tour buses to view their own memorial. I love seeing these men, with a clapping cheering audience, stand in front of their rightly-deserved WWII memorial.

I think the women who helped on the home front and were so instrumental in the war deserve the same recognition. The National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation will help with that endeavor while also increasing our understanding and appreciation of the contribution that these women made.  

Raya Kenney

Raya Kenney, with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, discussing placing a National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front in Washington, DC.