WWII Female Pilots Take Flight Again At Reunion

[Story]

(WASP Dot) Lewis died in September, a few weeks shy of her 98th birthday. Her son, Albert “Chig” Lewis, a Washington lawyer, wants to put a float in the Rose Bowl parade, honoring his mother and all the other women who performed domestic operational missions during World War II — but who were unsummarily dismissed when male pilots came home.

His group has raised more than $100,000. He still needs $29,000. He is trying to do it in less than a week.

The WASPs were the creation of racing pilot Jacqueline Cochran and aviator Nancy Harkness Love, who envisioned a domestic team of female military pilots freeing up male pilots for combat abroad. WASPs flew recently repaired planes to make sure equipment was functioning properly. They hauled cargo and air-chauffeured top brass to meetings. They introduced green servicemen to the air, with the winking motto, “If we can teach them to walk, we can teach them to fly.” Thirty-eight women died in this service to their country.

WASPs were classified as civilian pilots, with a promise that they would later be classified as military. Instead, in December 1944, as the war’s end approached, the program was disbanded. The families of the 38 women who died were not allowed to display gold stars in their windows, because their daughters were not recognized as veterans.

http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20131107/female-pilots-of-wwii-set-eyes-on-rose-bowl-float

 

[OldGreyBird]

Great story, with remarkable images of the WASPs' day-to-day lives. Sadly, WASP founder and commander Jacqueline Cochran was too 'pushy' (in the views of some Air Corps brass and politicians) to negotiate tactfully for funds and resources. The group became a target for an ambitious Congressman seeking a campaign issue, backed by the Airline Pilots' Association's lobbying arm.