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Maggie Selman (courtesy WV Gazette)

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT – When the West Virginia National Guard was dispatched to help an elderly woman whose home had lost power in a blinding snow storm caused by Hurricane Sandy, they responded.

Navigating deep snow in a Humvee, soldiers transported Maggie Selman of Craigsville, WV, and her dog, Ginger, to shelters to ride out the storm.
But unknown to the National Guard unit on duty, the soldiers were rescuing a bit of history, according to DVIDS.

Under the headline “W.Va. National Guard members rescue a Rosie the Riveter after Sandy,” Sgt. Sara Yoke, a member of the Army’s 153rd Public Affairs Detachment, reports how the people at Selman’s Red Cross shelter learned about Selman’s involvement in U.S. history.

As Selman moved around the shelter with her walker, she told stories revealing her to be a “true Rosie the Riveter, a woman who helped in the war efforts while the majority of working-age men were gone during World War II.”

When her husband went to Europe in the middle of World War II, Selman left her home in West Virginia to build fighting planes for almost two years in Akron, OH.

“I went to work for Goodyear Aircraft. I was a jack of all trades. They trained me to be able to do anything they needed me to do including using a bucking hammer, an overhead drill, fastening rivets. I worked in the paint shop. I could do it all. While my husband was fighting the war, I was helping to make things to fight the war. I used my hands because my heart wasn’t there, he was in Europe.” 

Selman said women are just now getting the credit they deserve for their efforts during World War II.

Now that power has been restored, Selman has been returned home, along with her dog.

“Neighbors helping neighbors – a silver lining in this whole mess of a storm,” said Air Guard Master Sgt. Jason Young with the CERFP medical team. “People in West Virginia know each other. We know the hardships. We can’t help but help each other.”

Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts, which show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com