A World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke (in wheelchair) of Dearborn is honored on March 28, her 103rd birthday, by the American Rosie the Riveter Association Michigan Willow Run Chapter, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-12th District), other local elected officials, friends and family.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (front right) honors World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke (left) of Dearborn on March 28 as she celebrates her 103rd birthday, as her son, Martin Bandyke, 69, watches.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke was honored March 28 by friends, family and elected officials as she celebrated her 103rd birthday.
The American Rosie the Riveter Association’s Michigan Willow Run Chapter organized the celebration, which included a veteran motorcycle drive-by and salute, as well as police cars with lights and sirens drawing attention to the special occasion.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D 12th District) presented her with a proclamation from the Congressional Record recognizing her contributions to the war effort and her trailblazing contributions to women in the workforce.
Bandyke began working at the Chrysler DeSoto Plant in Detroit at McGraw and Wyoming avenues in 1942, riveting airplane wings for the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver for about two years while her husband, Ted, was serving in the Army in San Francisco protecting the Golden Gate Bridge.
Helen Bandyke was taking care of her father in Detroit at the time, so she couldn’t relocate to California.
When World War II ended, she and Ted started their family, and had two daughters and a son: Sylvia Bandyke, 77, of Royal Oak; Mary Bandyke, 73, of Dearborn; and Martin Bandyke, 69.
A local veterans ride team honor a World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke of Dearborn on March 28, her 103rd birthday.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, City Councilmembers Leslie Herrick, Kamal Alsawafy and Ken Paris, and state Rep. Erin Byrnes (D-15th District) also honored Bandyke.
George Kushnir, son of the late Rosie the Riveter Helen Kushnir, who died at age 97 on April 9, 2023, offered Bandyke his mother’s cap, enscribed “Rosie Helen,” as a remembrance from one Helen to another. The women both worked in the same DeSoto war plant.
“She would have wanted you to have this,” he said.
Her nephew, Glenn O’Kray, Dearborn author and historian, who stepped forward following several politicians, lightheartedly wished her a happy birthday on behalf of the city’s charter commission and the Dearborn Historical Museum.
World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke (right) of Dearborn celebrates her 103rd birthday on March 28 with her daughter Mary Bandyke, 73, of Dearborn.
Helen Bandyke’s daughter Mary Bandyke, said her mother, a newlywed, “worked very hard to end the war to bring dad home.”
“She worked so hard, she always exceeded production,” she said. “They even called her into the office and said to ‘slow down,’ that she was going too fast.”
Mary Bandyke said longevity may run in the family, as her mother’s older sister lived to celebrate her 100th birthday.
She said her mother enjoys socializing, and worked as an optician until she was 81 years old.
“She and my dad focused on what’s right and what’s beautiful,” Mary Bandyke said. “She’s a kind, happy, loving person, but she also has a strong sense of how to get through hard times. You make up your mind and you can do it.”
Helen Bandyke said she was overwhelmed by the birthday well-wishers and celebration.
She said that while her husband was in the service and away from home, she felt the need to help with the war effort.
“So, I had to do something, too, for my country,” she said.
Dearborn City Councilmembers Kamal Alsawafy (left), Leslie Herrick and Ken Paris (right), honor World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke (third from left) of Dearborn on March 28 as she celebrates her 103rd birthday.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-12th District, third from right) honors World War II Rosie the Riveter Helen Bandyke (fourth from right) of Dearborn on March 28, her 103rd birthday, with Helen’s daughters Mary Bandyke (left), 73, of Dearborn; and Sylvia Bandyke, 77, of Royal Oak; and son Martin Bandyke, 69.