Little was known about these women and the service they provided to this country until the 1980s, when the records of their work were finally declassified. The 1,102 women selected to serve (25,000 women applied) flew over 60 million miles in a little less than two years, testing new planes prior to combat and ferrying planes and equipment between military bases. Thirty-eight women (38) lost their lives doing this work, and their colleagues and friends had to take up collections to pay for their funerals and burials. It was 1977 before the WASP were classified as members of the military, finally giving them access to the same military benefits that male ferry pilots had received from the beginning.
I became fascinated with their story while working on a project in Dayton for the 100th anniversary of flight in 2003; one of the best books I read on the subject was Amelia Earhart's Daughters: The Wild And Glorious Story Of American Women Aviators From World War II To The Dawn Of The Space Age by Leslie Haynsworth and David Toomey. The first part of the book is about the WASP; the second half tells the story of the Mercury 13, the 13 women who passed all of the physical and psychological tests used to select the original seven
Fast fact: the WASP mascot was Fifinella, a female gremlin created by Walt Disney for a proposed film. The WASP asked permission to use the character, and Disney agreed. I am a proud owner of a replica bomber jacket that features the WASP mascot patch on the front!
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6 comments:
As the son of a WASP, I know the sacrifice, dedication and strength of character these women possessed. My mother was widowed at age 34, with 4 children from 9 years to 3 months and raised us without ever complaining. She often attributed this to her years as a WASP.
This award is 60 years late!
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2008/05/still_my_fallen_hero_fly_girl.html
Mabel Rawlinson was also a WASP. Uniquely, Mabel was one of the 38 very special WASP that gave the ultimate sacrifice during WWII. She died while flying for the Army Air Corps (later called the US Air Force). Like the other WASP, Mabel especially definitely deserves the congressional medal that she will receive posthumously.
It was at Camp Davis on the night of August 23, 1943, that Mabel lost her life when her airplane crashed and was consumed by flames. She became one of the very special women, numbering only thirty-eight, who served and died as pilots for the Air Force in World War II.
Since WASP were technically considered volunteer civilian pilots and not Air Force pilots, no monetary compensation was available to the Rawlinson family for her funeral expenses.
The other female pilots at Camp Davis pooled their extra money and assisted in the expense of transporting Mabel’s casket back to Kalamazoo for burial.
Read the whole story about this fallen hero here:
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2008/05/still_my_fallen_hero_fly_girl.html
Thanks for these additions - lots of stories left to tell about these amazing women.
Question:
My grandmother was a WASP but died in 1997. If my family has not heard anything, is their a way she can be recognized posthumously?
Thanks
I would think so - there are others who have died with family members who have represented them.
I would suggest contacting your Congressional representative - House or Senate - to inquire about the recognition.
The Institute
If you strike out with your rep - you might try the office of one of the sponsors of the bill listed below:
With only about a quarter of the former 1,102 WASPs surviving and all in their late 80s or older, Rep. Susan Davis, D-California; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland; and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, pushed a bill through Congress to honor these women by awarding them the medal,
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