The story of the young women who flocked to Washington, DC during the 1940s to help in the mobilization for WWII and how their experience during the war years changed their lives, the city and American society.

Spies, code breakers, strategic analysts, clerks. Young women, nearly a million strong by war's end streamed into Washington filled with patriotism and enthusiasm to aid the World War II homeland effort. They came for reasons of patriotism, excitement and independence.

The war opened opportunities for wage earning employment for women that were unheard of before. There were many more opportunities for professional advancement and financial independence than were previously available and the government was actively recruiting women. It was even more of a breakthrough period for African-American women and other women of color. It afforded them a chance many had not had before and large numbers of them jumped at it.

Government Girls of WWII combines oral histories of the eyewitnesses to the period and interviews with noted humanities scholars who are experts on the role of women in the 20th century. It uses archival film footage, and still photographs most of which have never before been used in television documentaries.

Narrated by Cokie Roberts.

Sunday, 3/23/08 from 4-5 a.m. ET