Bay Area 'Rosies' travel to Normandy for D-Day 75th anniversary

A group of some of the last surviving "Rosie the Riveters" traveled to Normandy this week for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

Four of the five women who made the journey to France are from the Bay Area and worked at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond during World War II. The group raised roughly $30,000 on GoFundMe for the trip.

"Rosie" Kay Morrison, who lives in Fairfield and also worked at the Kaiser Shipyard during the war, had planned to join the group in Normandy. For health reasons, she recently decided to stay home.

"I wanted to go, but couldn't make it," Morrison said.

Instead, she watched her friends on television from the comfort of her home.

"I knew what a thrill it was for them to be there," she exclaimed, "And it was more of a thrill for me to see them."

Morrison was 20 years old when the D-Day invasion occurred on June 6, 1944. She was working as a welder in yard 2 of the shipyard.

"It was a turning point. It was really something," Morrison said. "It's the greatest invasion in history."

Now, 75 years later, Morrison said it's as important as ever to remember that historic day.

"It was on my mind what a great sacrifice those men made for their country," she recalled.

"My message is to have peace in this world while we're here, and give it our best shot in whatever we do."

She is, after all, a Rosie.

"We can do it," she said, flexing her muscle in the iconic "Rosie the Riveter" way.

"Absolutely. We did do it."