Pvt. Rachele Caione

In 1943 artist Francis V. Kughler, Hudson River Museum Director H. Armour Smith and Women’s Army Corps recruiter Joanne Coates conceived a plan to encourage women of Yonkers to enlist in the army and honor their contribution. Every Yonkers woman who joined the WACs would have her portrait made in oil or pastel by Kughler.

Rachele Caione worked at GM Eastern Aircraft in Tarrytown before she enlisted. She spent part of the war stationed at Fort Slocum, New York. Her brother, Sgt. Pangrazie Caione, served overseas with the Quartermaster Corps, U.S. Army.

The memorable image of “Rosie the Riveter” overshadows the historical reality of blue-collar labor for families with modest resources. Yonkers was a factory town and there had always been women in manual jobs, especially immigrants and first generation Americans. The war just meant that there were more openings and for a wider range of jobs than had previously been offered to women.