Joyce Parker World War II Personal History

The Joyce Parker World War II Personal History is a small collection consisting of an autobiographical narrative by Joyce Parker who worked as a "Rosie the Riveter" at the Boeing Company during World War II, as well as two photographic portraits.

The story, which is four handwritten pages in a spiral-bound notebook, explains how teenage girls and women were recruited to work toward the war effort. Parker initially worked as a messenger for the Office of Civilian Defense. Then, she was hired as a bucker for the Boeing Company. As a Tacoma, Washington resident, she and others were bussed to the company's plants in the Seattle area. After graduating from high school she was able to become a riveter. Parker worked on "5 Grand," the 5000th B-17 built by Boeing, and signed her name inside the plane. Parker initially wrote her personal history in response to a call for stories to be featured at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in 2005. A photocopy of a typed copy of the story is also present.

Two small (2x3.25-inch) black-and-white portraits of Parker from the 1940s are also present in the collection.

Digital Materials: This collection has been digitized in its entirety.