ROSIE THE RIVETER s GRAND FEATURE
Rome. The hospital opened in September of 1943 with Colonel D.B. Faust serving as its first executive officer. “When I worked there, Battey General brought boys in from the European Theater in Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga. Once the hospital began to develop, we started receiving wounded men from the pacific coast as well,” explains Mitchell. “We had quarters by the quarters of space. It was big; I do remember that,” says Mitchell, when describing the hospital and recalling the grounds housing German prisoners during the war. “We never had any problems with them, from what I can remember.” As an administrator, visitors had to pass through Mitchell in order to gain entry and visit the servicemen. “I worked the three to eleven shifts. Sometimes we had to double up shifts because during the war, you stayed on post until you were relieved. I know I wrote thousands of passes,” recalls Mitchell. Some of Mitchell’s most remarkable memories are when she was able to meet several famous people traveling through Rome during the war. “I wrote passes for a lot of famous people. Henry Ford came through one day. I joked with him about getting his signature on a check for me, but he wouldn’t do it,” laughs Mitchell. “Aside from being saved, the most exciting thing in my life was meeting Helen Keller while working at the hospital,” says Mitchell. “I remember communicating with her by taps in the palm of my hand. She had an interpreter there with her who would tell me what she was thinking. She would then put her hand over my face so that it was touching my mouth and throat. I would talk very slow and she would understand what I said. She would then answer me, best that she could. We ‘talked’ quite a bit, and tears were just flowing the whole time I was talking to her. It makes me tear up now thinking about what she accomplished in her life. It was wonderful to meet her.” Mitchell met so many servicemen, as well as their families, and she remembers this time, labeling it “a wonderful, yet heartbreaking experience.” “One of my favorite memories was getting to reunite a mother with her son. This woman came in—I was on morning shift thank goodness— around 8 a.m. and was asking to see her son who she hadn’t seen in three years. I had to tell her that visiting hours weren’t until two that afternoon, but I knew that I had to do something. I said, ‘You come right over here and wait and let me see what I can do.’ “So, I called down to his unit, section eight (where the patients with severe PTSD were housed) to speak with his nurse about getting him a section eight discharge. I took his mother down to the wing and she met her son halfway down the hall, both in tears,” smiles Mitchell. “Things like that were so rewarding, but also just broke my heart. But, I will never forget it.”
Joy became a Rosie about a year ago, thanks to Ms. Jane Tucker. “I knew about Rosie the Riveter, of course, but I didn’t think I was one because I didn’t rivet. However, my niece met Jane one day and she told her about what I did during the war, and I joined,” says Mitchell. “Working during the war, especially at Battey, gave me a love for my country and a love for my flag that I don’t think I would have had without this experience.”
s MARY
MCJUNKINs
Mary’s story is one she remembers fondly, even at 97-yearsyoung. She says it with pride, “I was born and raised right here–or around the corner— on East 2nd Street.” Mary’s daughter, Janie McJunkin Cromer, who is considered a “Rosebud” in the ARRA, accompanied her mother to their interview with Grand. A Rosebud is any female who is the direct descendant of a Rosie or a Volunteer Rosie. “I grew up working at a ten cents store here on Broad Street and went to the old Rome High School,” says Mary. “During that time, and the rest of the time leading up to and during the war, everything was rationed. We had ration stamps we used to buy certain things, and we thought that was the extent of our involvement with the war.” When Mary was just 18, she married the love of her life, Guy McJunkin. Guy and Mary were together 69 years before he passed. “My husband (Guy) and I had just gotten married when he was drafted to basic training,” explains McJunkin. “From there, he was moved to San Pedro, California at Fort McArthur. At first, I wasn’t going to follow him, but he called me one day and asked me to move to California. READV3.COM SPRING 2019 GRAND
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