“What else did these amazing women do during World War II?” Washington, D.C., fifth-grader Raya Kenney thought as she watched the movie A League of Their Own. Raya was in awe of the women who became professional baseball players to boost morale while the men fought in Europe and the Pacific. 

Captivated by how these women boldly stepped outside their traditional roles, Raya began to dig deeper. She soon discovered Rosie the Riveter — the iconic symbol of an estimated 18 million American women who took on vital roles in agriculture, medicine, aviation and manufacturing, mastering jobs like welding, riveting and operating heavy machinery.

“Wow, these women are incredible,” Raya thought. But as she walked through the National Mall in Washington, D.C., something struck her: There were so few monuments honoring women.

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“This isn’t right,” Raya thought, her heart breaking. “These women deserve more.” As if on cue, her Social Studies teacher, Kathryn Roth, gave the class a challenge: create a monument honoring someone who hadn’t yet been recognized.

“That’s it — I’ll build a memorial to honor all the ‘Rosies’ of World War II!” Raya said to her mom. Inspired and determined, they headed to a hardware store to pick up concrete mix and faux grass. Raya carefully constructed a model featuring 20 stone columns — each one symbolizing a different job women held during the war — arranged in the shape of a V for “victory.”

“You should get it built!” Raya’s teacher said, clearly impressed — but she had no idea that Raya would take those words to heart — and make it her life’s mission to see it through

Finding purpose in honoring military heroines

As Raya moved on to middle school, her passion didn’t fade—she emailed every female member of Congress, urging them to sponsor legislation for a Rosie the Riveter memorial in Washington, D.C.

She also connected with members of the American Rosie the Riveter Association and met many living “Rosies” in their 80s and 90s. Determined, Raya partnered with a law firm that helped her lobby lawmakers. And by the time she was 15, Raya had founded the official nonprofit organization WWII Women’s Memorial Foundation.

Now 23, Raya has graduated from Kenyon College and leads her nonprofit in raising funds. In 2022, President Biden signed a bill authorizing the memorial, and Raya hopes it will be completed within five years. “The Rosies did it for us, so now, it’s our turn to do it for them,” Raya told her audience during a recent heartfelt speech to raise awareness and support for the monument.

The final design for the memorial is still being decided, but the project is estimated to cost up to $15 million — funded entirely by donations from individuals and corporations. Some of the very companies that employed Rosies during the war, including Boeing, have now stepped up as proud supporters.

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A place of honor for WWII heroines

The best part of her decades-long journey, Raya says, has been meeting countless Rosies and their descendants. Raya also discovered that many women who worked during that time didn’t realize they were Rosies — because their jobs weren’t in factories, but in farming, bus driving and other vital roles. Raya finds that these women are always deeply touched to be recognized.

The Rosies in Raya’s life have left a permanent mark on her heart and continue to inspire her — especially Mae Krier of Levittown, Pennsylvania. At 99, Mae is one of the most active Rosies in the country, even traveling to Normandy for D-Day anniversary events. As a girl, Mae collected pennies to help build Mount Rushmore. Now, she beams with pride watching Raya raise funds to build her memorial. “Thirteen years ago, Raya reached out to me for support,” Mae recalls. “I thought she might forget about it — she was so young — but she never did. She’s working to do for us what we did for women during World War II.”

For Raya, the greatest inspiration has come from the women’s stories and their resilience. “The spirit of the Rosies is their courage to step into the unknown and do what they’d never done before,” Raya says. “That spirit lives on in them and in the world today. It’s long past time for Rosies to have their own memorial. They didn’t just build tanks and airplanes — they built the world we live in now.”