10/04/2026
Long before the world knew the name Marilyn Monroe, a young woman called Norma Jeane Dougherty spent her days in a factory that built drones for the United States Army. It was 1944, World War II was raging, and her husband had been sent to the Pacific, so she moved in with his parents in Van Nuys, California, and took a job at the Radioplane plant.
The factory made small target aircraft for the military, and the Army had a morale mission of its own. Its First Motion Picture Unit, commanded by Captain Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor and future President, wanted photographs of women working hard on the home front to lift spirits among troops overseas. Reagan sent photographer David Conover to the plant.
Conover spotted Norma Jeane on the assembly line and photographed her handling parts of a small aircraft. He later spoke of a radiant quality in her expression that set her apart from the other workers. Historians still debate whether the photos were taken in late 1944 or in June 1945.
Conover did not forget those pictures, and they opened the door to a modeling career. By the end of 1945, she had left the factory behind and begun working as a model.
Norma Jeane credited Conover for that first step for the rest of her life, and the two reportedly reunited briefly on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It is a reminder that one chance assignment, meant to lift wartime spirits, can change a life.
