Modern Day "Rosie The Riveter" by U.S. Army Sgt. Sean Harding
July 14, 2020
As
COVID-19
has reshaped routines across the United States, American citizens
have coped with stay-at-home orders in unique ways.
For
Miyuki Kamada, a Silicon Valley-based technology manager, creating
cloth facial-coverings for Soldiers deployed to the Middle East was
her way of serving her country.
April 8, 2020 - Miyuki Kamada shows off the masks she created for service members stationed in Kuwait
at her home in San Bruno, California. Kamada was inspired to serve her country by Rosie the Riveter and followed Centers for Disease Control guidelines to produce the masks, such as only using materials made from 100 percent cotton. (Courtesy photo
by Miyuki Kamada)
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When Kamada discovered her fiancé, Sgt. 1st Class William Knight,
a Soldier deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and other Soldiers in
his unit would be required to wear facial masks by the Department of
Defense in March, she knew she wanted to help. Masks were in short
supply around the world.
Kamada was inspired by the symbolism
of Rosie the Riveter, a character featured on the iconic World War
II-era poster flexing her arm below a speech bubble that says, “We
Can Do It!” She designed and manufactured masks on her sewing
machine for the troops.
“Everyone can contribute,” she said.
“Of course I wanted to help.”
The Centers for Disease Control
recommend individuals wear cloth facial-coverings in public settings
to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others. Kamada was troubled by
the fact that many deployed service members were unable to purchase
masks even if they wanted to when the U.S. Department of Defense mandated it.
Many
people infected with the disease do not show symptoms immediately or
may not show any symptoms at all. Among those most at risk are
individuals 65 and over, are immunocompromised, have a chronic lung
disease or who have serious heart conditions. More than 100,000
Americans have perished from the disease and almost 2 million more
have been infected.
There is no apparent vaccine in sight.
“Life or death,” Kamada said.
She searched the internet
to find a design to use for the masks. Information online was
abundant, but she found the Centers for Disease Control website to
be particularly helpful. She poured through her wardrobe and
selected materials that were made of 100 percent cotton.
Mask making was trial and error at first. Kamada had a difficult
time locating materials to use as elastic bands. To work around this
shortage, she used items such as pantyhose and old hairbands, but
found that the hairbands were too tight.
Before she began
working, she washed all her materials according to the CDC’s
guidance. She completed her first batch of six masks in about 24
hours. There were a variety of techniques she needed to incorporate,
such as using pins to hold the garments together and using an iron
to give the mask its folded shape.
“I was getting better and
better the more I made,” she said.
Over the course of a
couple weeks, Kamada sent three expedited boxes filled with masks to
the Soldiers. Today, masks can be found at numerous PX’s throughout
the U.S. Army Central region, but Soldiers in Knight’s unit prefer
Kamada’s masks and their special homemade touch.
“There’s a
lot more care put into them,” said U.S. Army Spc. Ryan Swanson, a
Soldier in Knight’s unit who received several of Kamada’s masks.
“She stepped up and set a good example for others.”
Kamada
moved to the United States from Osaka, Japan, in 1993. She now lives
about 30 minutes away from Rosie the Riveter Park in Richmond,
California.
During World War II, women took jobs in industry to make up for
the labor shortage caused by millions of American men who were sent
to fight in the Pacific and European theaters. Rosie the Riveter was
an icon of the era, representing and inspiring millions of women to
serve their country on the homefront.
In 1943, women made up
65 percent of the aircraft industry’s total labor force, up from
around 1 percent before the war.
Women were a critical part
of the war effort, Kamada said.
It was no surprise to her
fiancé that she was driven to serve her country by making masks.
“She’s owned about three or four businesses since I’ve known
her,” Knight said. “She’s self-educated. She is an American
homeowner. She’s raised a son who’s a college graduate.”
Kamada also runs marathons, triathlons, is scuba certified and a
surfer. She is a project manager at her Buddhist temple.
Kamada said she’s noticed major changes in people’s day-to-day lives
from the coronavirus in her hometown. Many people now work from home
and Kamada has noticed that people do not travel as far from home as
they used to. People are also complying with social distancing
guidelines and wearing masks in public settings and many
establishments that she used to frequent are now closed.
“I
think it’s a good opportunity for people to find themselves,” Kamada
said. “What’s most important in life.”
The coronavirus has
put Kamada’s plan to obtain citizenship on hold. Just as she was
preparing to take her U.S. citizenship test, it was postponed to an
unspecified date. Kamada wanted to become a citizen because she
wanted to contribute to American society as a citizen, including the
right to vote. She was fascinated by the opportunities that the U.S.
provides a well as its creative people.
“I want to be a part
of it, and I want to contribute,” she said. “As a citizen.”
For now, knowing her Soldiers have masks makes made all the work
worth it.
“If I can ease their worries, it makes me feel
good,” she said.
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