The Henry Ford Honors Women Who Served in WWII with a POWERFUL EXHIBITION

Our War Too: Women in Service

DEARBORN, Mich., May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Henry Ford proudly announces the opening of Our War Too: Women in Service, a groundbreaking special exhibition honoring the extraordinary contributions of nearly 350,000 American women who answered the call to serve their country during World War II. The exhibit, organized by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and sponsored by The Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation is now open in the Gallery by General Motors in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and runs through September 7, 2025.

While the American Home Front is often the focus of WWII-era women's stories, Our War Too brings long-overdue attention to the courageous and pioneering women who served in the uniformed branches of the U.S. military and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). It also pays tribute to the 73,000 women who served in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. These trailblazers stepped into vital roles in the US Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and beyond—forever changing the face of military service.

The exhibit features powerful artifacts from the National WWII Museum's collection that spotlight the personal stories, motivations, and achievements of individual servicewomen. From nurses and drivers to engineers and bakers, these women filled critical roles with skill and determination—often in the face of social and institutional resistance.

Visitors will also experience innovative interactive elements, including:

• Digital scrapbook featuring wartime memory books curated by women themselves.
• Three Short films examining the service and legacy of these trailblazing women.
• "We Were There" interactive biographies, utilizing cutting-edge artificial intelligence to allow guests to engage in virtual conversations with three WWII servicewomen:
  • Romay Johnson Davis, driver in the segregated 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
  • Virginia Leeman Wilterdink, US Army nurse with the 314th General Hospital Unit
  • Florence Smith, baker in the Coast Guard's Women's Reserve (SPARs)

These stations contain a library of more than 1,000 responses per subject, offering a deeply personal, conversational glimpse into the lives of these remarkable women.
Our War Too: Women in Service is more than a historical exhibit—it's a celebration of courage, a reckoning with untold stories, and a reminder of how the bravery of yesterday's women shaped today's opportunities.

Don't miss this inspiring and educational experience, on display exclusively at The Henry Ford through September 7, 2025.
For more information, visit www.thehenryford.org

About The Henry Ford
Located in Dearborn, Michigan, The Henry Ford, a globally recognized destination, fosters inspiration and learning from hands-on encounters with artifacts that represent the most comprehensive collection anywhere focusing on innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness in America. Its unique venues include Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center and Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school. Together with its online presence at thf.org and Invention Convention Worldwide, the growing affiliation of organizations fostering innovation, invention and entrepreneurship in K-12 students, The Henry Ford is a force for inspiring every individual to innovate, create and invent.

About The National WWII Museum
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today—so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America's National WWII Museum, the institution celebrates the American spirit, teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifices of the men and women who fought on the battlefront and served on the Home Front. For more information, visit nationalww2museum.org.

SOURCE The Henry Ford