Jeanne Gibson rarely misses a Friday at Richmond's Rosie the Riveter Museum. Now, she's taking time to share her story with visitors.
Gibson, 99, went to work as a welder at 18-years-old to help build destroyers during World War II. It's where she chooses to start sharing her story.
"The men were gone, the work had to be done, we did it. You can't take away from that," she said.
But as Gibson shares her story, some now fear a new order from the Trump administration could erase that history.
The Pentagon issued a directive, citing the president's diversity, equity, and inclusion ban, ordering every military branch to remove all DEI news articles, photos, and videos from official websites and publications.
The Associated Press published a database it obtained listing more than 26,000 images flagged for removal, including those of Rosue The Riveter and others referencing the iconic women.
The database also flags photos of milestone moments for women and minorities. Some of those images appear to have been removed already.
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"To take the Rosies off the website would, kind of, indicate they're not worth anything anymore or what we did isn't worth anything anymore," Gibson said.
Museumgoers who went to hear of Gibson's personal experiences said they were alarmed.
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"I think it's very important that we don't invisibilize our history," said Alexandra McGee. "And especially the more difficult parts because that's where we have the most to learn from."
Gibson said if images have been removed, it's a big mistake, and she hopes the Department of Defense will reconsider.
Meanwhile, she said she'll work harder to spread awareness and tell the story of Rosie the Riveters.
"[I] guess maybe I'll have to do more to make up for the Rosie's being taken off," she said.
