One of a Kind WWII Artifact Donated

On April 28, 2020 a donation to the National Museum of Americans in Wartime was made by Caroline Kilgore, a World War II Rosie Riveter, and received by Jim Bish, a representative of the Museum. The donation is an aileron wing structure made of materials from an American World War II aircraft.

It has clear anodized rivets with an aluminum finish which was standard for that time. Setting the rivets required two very skilled workers. One person used the pneumatic rivet gun and the other used the rivet set or “bucking bar” as they continuously communicated. Riveting was an art form that took craftsmanship. Any metal with scratches or dents from the rivet gun was deemed unacceptable.

The aileron wing was made by Dave Fulcher and gifted to Caroline Kilgore in honor of her service as a Rosie. Dave’s mother, Ruth, was also a World War II Rosie. She worked in the famed Ford Motor Company River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Dave and his brother Kin own a business, Highway Chopper, in Glendale, Arizona.

This donated World War II era aircraft wing was signed by over twenty Rosies from the Sun City, Arizona Chapter of the American Rosie the Riveter Association before a clear glaze finish completed the historic one of a kind piece. Nine of these Rosies have been interviewed by the National Museum of Americans in Wartime Voices of Freedom project. They are, Frances Ellis, Caroline Kilgore, Arkie Huffman, Mary Jo McCully, Corinne Kellar, Eileen Blackler, Erlinda Avila, Marie Brannan, and Eileen Berger.Their interviews can be viewed on the Museum’s website at www.nmaw.org.On the back of the aileron wing, some daughters of Rosies, called Rosebuds, have also signed.

Until the Rosie signed aileron wing gets a permanent place in the museum, it will be on temporary exhibit with many other artifacts in the Voices of Freedom’s mobile recording studio, which also serves as mobile museum. The mobile recording studio is driven to museum and military events every year in the eastern United States.

This piece along with numerous other artifacts, tanks, and various other operating military vehicles will be on display at the museums annual open house scheduled for August 29 and 30 in Nokesville, VA.Visit our website at www.nmaw.orgfor more information and directions to the event.