WWII WASP Pilot Buried in Arlington

Another great article on this WASP - and the Chick Fighter Pilots. See below.

There are less than 100 WASPs left. Back in the 90's, when I was XO of a major shore installation near a large city, I invited the local WASP chapter for the Women's History Month event. They were feisty, hilarious, proud - and no one had a dry eye when I stood up to read the recently released list of names of the Navy women being ordered for the first time to combatant aircraft training. These ladies were pounding the table in approval. I knew these women, forgotten for years after WWII, had cracked the door open a little wider. Of all the military "wall stuff" I have collected and been given over the years, the WASP plaque they gave me is one of the most cherished.

More WASP trivia - Walt Disney designed their symbol. I attached below. It's on my plaque.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...eb77ca-7534-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html

ImageUploadedByService Academy Forums®1473398354.426911.jpg
 
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You can see the Disney-designed patch on her jacket in the AP photo in the article you reference!
 
I was not aware of the WWII WASP pilot program until reading this thread. So much great information on this site to educate me in many different ways. After reading this, with a DD at USNA who is interested in aviation, I sure do appreciate the doors that have been opened by women in the past who appear to have received little, if any, recognition at the time.
 
Every time I read about a candidate who is underweight for military standards, I recall Dottie, a WASP I met at that Women's History event I mentioned above. Dottie was 97 lbs and petite, and WASPs had to be at least 100 pounds to get in. She said she ate bananas and drank water until near bursting. She got in at 100 even. She was still tiny! She brought her flight log books along to show the aviators present all the types of planes she had flown, the hours logged, and destinations.
 
Don't forget the WAVES, as my Mother In Law Served at home while my Father in Law was in the Bulge. My father was a bombedier navigator and on training runs in Texas said all his command pilots were women. Army Air Force. They certainly deserve the recognition.
 
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Don't forget the WAVES, as my Mother In Law Served at home while my Father in Law was in the Bulge. My father was a bombedier navigator and on training runs in Texas said all his command pilots were women. Army Air Force. They certainly deserve the recognition.

I am an honorary WAVE, and I enjoy meeting them too and honoring their stories. There was never any doubt as to their active duty or Reserve status, and as veterans with benefits, similar to WAC, WAF, WASP, SPARS, WM. They deserve recognition for their service.

WASPs were classified civilians, despite the "walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, must be a duck" nature of their work. They were disbanded and their stories forgotten for many years. That's why I have a special fondness for them.

For another bit of female pilot history, read link below. Interestingly enough, the Russians had female pilots in bomber squadrons in WWII. The "Night Witches" were famous.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...female-fighter-pilots-of-world-war-ii/277779/


And based on what your dad told you, there is a possibility that the WASPs based at Texas training bases, who were in uniforms and supervised by male Army Air Corps officers, were the ones he trained with.

https://www.army.mil/article/164374/WASPs__First_women_in_history_to_fly_for_Army_Air_Corps

As you can see, there were senior officers who supported the WASPs being given regular active duty commissions in the Army Air Corps, but the plan was torpedoed from on high.
 
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While waiting to be seated at a restaurant in the Springs during Parents' Weekend, with DD in her Class A blues, a lady who appeared to be in her mid-60s, approached DD, congratulated her, and stated that she was very happy to see women attending USAFA, because "in her day", they were not accepting women, and she wanted to attend.

It's always amazing to me how women have been an integral part of the military, even in combat positions, for a very long time, but not recognized for such roles until more recent years. And even though 40 years (how long ago the first female cadets were accepted into USAFA for the first time) may seem like a long time to some, those of us that have been around a bit longer and served in the military, at least for me, see it as "not so long ago".
 
My favorite WASP pic
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