'The Women of World War II'

Monday, November 17 at 3 a.m. ET
Hosted by Oliver North

The December 7, 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor galvanized America like never before. Millions of men would fight a three-front war against the Nazis in Europe, the Japanese in the pacific and in the China-Burma-India theater. As the men left home, so did the women.

Some six million women answered the call to serve their country during World War II.
Secretary of War Henry Stimson called those women, "the largest and potentially finest single source of labor available." They were pilots, spies, soldiers, sailors, riveters, welders and even Marines.

One of the greatest compliments paid to this new workforce came from none other than Albert Speer, who was once head of Nazi Germany's war production. Years after VE Day he said, "You were wise to bring your women into your military and labor force. Had we done that, as you did, it could well have affected the whole course of the war."

In this special edition of “War Stories with Oliver North,” you’ll meet women who served in every branch of our military. You’ll also learn how life on the home front changed for two sisters who worked at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond, California, a woman who worked in an airplane factory, and even a female baseball player.

This is the story of the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters who helped change the course of history during World War II.

Staff for this episode:

Executive producer: Pamela K. Browne

Produced and written by: Cyd Upson and Ayse Wieting

Associate producer: Ayse Wieting

Editor: David Coppola

Designer: Yong Kim