4/5 The Homefront
“On some parts of the plane they had to have white hot rivets. … And she’d be dressed in asbestos from head to toe. … So that when the woman is picking up a white-hot rivet with a pair of tongs, she throws it to another woman who has a wire basket. … It went like clockwork. We were robotic, we really were. You knew what you had to do, and you did it.”
Military service requires sacrifice at home in peacetime as well as during wartime. These are stories of men and women who served in uniform at home.
The stories also include people who worked in war industries, providing troops with weapons, food, or a much-needed boost in morale. You can hear about Rosie the Riveters, Donut Dollies, rationing, and the sacrifices made by the families veterans left behind. Importantly, listeners will understand what the experience of coming home was like for Vietnam veterans—the often hostile treatment they received as the war became increasingly unpopular.