Hilda Hawley

I was able to interview Hilda Hawley; age 86. She lived just outside Everett Washington during the war. I first asked her what she did during the war. She told me she was a Rosy the Riveter at Boeing Company in Everett Washington from year 1942-1945. She said she went to many USO dances with the service men. She said at Boeing she worked very long hours and had to catch a bus early in the morning. She helped make B17 Flying Fortress airplanes for the war.

I next asked her what her reaction was to Pearl Harbor. She said it was a very big shock to her and to all. She said it was hard to accept because she thought about the men in the Pacific.

When I asked her how the war affected her life, the first thing she said was the gas rationing. She said it was weird not to be able to just drive to recreational activities. She said all of her time was spent thinking about the military. She said it was a very hard time because she lost close friends, including her fiancé.

I asked her about the Atom Bomb dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She said she was glad they did it because she thought it would end the war. She also felt like it was the right thing to do.

Lastly, I asked her what her most lasting memories of the war time are. She said losing her friends was a big deal. She was engaged to a man in the army that had been killed over seas. She was devastated. She lost dear friends in the Pacific and Europe. She said a big memory of hers was walking the streets of Everett with people throwing the newspaper everywhere, people laughing and crying, and everyone just being filled with joy and relief on the day the war ended. She said it as like you had no enemies and it was a real day of happiness. 

              Interview done my Madisen Hawley