Women in Defense

Here's a short film turned out by the US Government extolling the contributions made by women during the Second World War, Harking back to pioneer women, it shows women working in defense industries, making parachutes, electronic parts, installing ball bearings, and helping to make ammunition shells.

Recognize that voice? It's unmistakably Katherine Hepburn's, reading a script credited to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Obviously neither came from pioneer stock; Mrs Roosevelt traced her ancestry to the Dutch patroons who ruled upstate New York and never left it, while Miss Hepburn's ancestors were from southern New England. But everyone contributed to the effort, even if it was only words.