Reservists salute World War II women aviators

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jay Ponder
  • 908th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MAXWELL AFB, Ala. --  Few women and men in today's military may recall the struggle of women to attain the opportunity to fly aircraft in the military. This opportunity can rightfully be credited to the women trailblazers who led the way, the Women Airforce Service Pilots. 

The surviving members of that fraternity, that band of sisters known as WASP met in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 26-28 to celebrate their accomplishments with a reunion and a tour of the new WASP archive museum housed in the campus library of Texas Women's University near Dallas.

"It's important we get together with them, that we honor them, the WASP for what they have done for us. It is equally as important for the WASP to be together with us, so they can see some of the heritage and opportunities they have provided for us, " said Maj. Gen. Linda Hemminger, mobilization assistant to the deputy surgeon general. "When they talk to us, the general continued, "especially some of our ladies who are jet-engine mechanics, pilots , flight nurses, or whoever might be involved in the aviation industry, it's real important the WASP get to see that what they started in the 1940s and then lay dormant till the 1970s is alive and well. Women can be anything they want to be in the United States Air Force."

Thanks to Air Force Reserve Command Human Resource Development Council involvement at this reunion, female Air Force Reserve members found out first-hand what it was like at the beginning for women aviators in the military. "HRDC is here is to give our young folks the opportunity to get involved and meet these women," said Master Sgt. Rodney L. Hage, AFRC HRDC manager. "This is something you can't replace, you can't duplicate anywhere else. A chance to talk to these ladies about their history, their past, all the things they have done that makes today possible."

Airman 1st Class Veronica Natal, who completed basic training in January, was impressed with the WASP and glad for the chance to attend their final official gathering.

"I think it's a great thing. I've really enjoyed it. I got to meet great women who are still very strong-willed," said the Airman from Maxwell AFB, Ala.'s 908th Airlift Wing, 25th Aerial Port Squadron.

Countless photographs of the women and their planes, uniforms and all manner of personal articles donated by former WASP members are housed in the WASP museum. The remaining women still have stories to tell. The stories are of danger, unimaginable adventure, heartbreak and laughter. Stories of unsung heroism that ultimately climaxed in helping win the largest war our country has ever fought. Though all are accomplished pilots and later successful in their chosen careers, they are to the last woman, humble about their deeds and unassuming.

Former WASP Kay Gott Chaffey, who taught school for 36 years, wrote nine books including her book on the WASP, "Women in Pursuit." The retired schoolteacher has many memories of her two-year experience as a WASP including the loss of a comrade. "The danger was no less because a woman was flying versus a man flying the aircraft," she said as she talked about her loss. "Hazel Lee was killed right in front of me on Thanksgiving Day after another plane flown by a naval pilot landed on top of her on the runway. She had permission to land but the naval pilot's radio was out and he did not hear it."

Another thing she remembers is that while on extended flights, there were no changes of clean clothes. "On long trips, you run out of clothes. You know in a fighter, there's no baggage compartment," said the 88 years-old Chaffey.

Betty Blake, a graduate of the first WASP class, 43-W-1, recollected how she would pilot P-51s from the end of the assembly line at the factory. She pointed out that the WASP were not only ferry pilots, but test pilots as well. "The plant on the south side of Los Angeles would assemble 44 P-51s each day. I would fly the P-51 from the plant's tarmac to Newark, N.J. I would pray that I could keep the engine going until the aircraft got up to at least 1,000 feet, so I would have enough room to bail out if something went wrong."

The women all have one thing in common, their love of flying.

Blake lived in Hawaii where at the age of 14 she met Amelia Earhart, which heightened her interest in learning to fly.

"Amelia Earhart came to Honolulu and the night before she was flying out from Ford Field gave a talk at the University of Hawaii. I sat in the front row. I was the only kid in the auditorium, the rest were all adults and she stood right in front of me," she said.

After Earhart finished speaking, she walked up to Blake and asked her why she was there. Blake explained she had read books on flying. Earhart invited her out to the field the next day to watch her take off. The next day, Blake's father drove her out to the field where she met Earhart again and sat in her plane for a while and they talked.

"I climbed out of the plane. It was a very cloudy day and she began to taxi down the runway. She throttled back right before takeoff and she taxied back. She had been so lady-like before she had begun take-off and she had such a soft voice. We were all standing in front of the hangar along with the mechanics. The four-letter words that came out of her mouth," Blake chuckled, "I had never heard before. My father didn't swear and he said, 'Come on honey, we're leaving'."

"I first became interested in flying in 1927, when I was seven," said Chaffey. "My mother took us to the airport in Reno to see Lindbergh as he was coming through for a visit. I learned to fly in 1940 through a government college program."

She said she received a telegram one day from WASP director Jacqueline Cochran. The telegram said the United States needed women flyers to relieve male pilots for combat. "So I sent one back saying I was interested. I then received another telegraph saying if I got a physical, I had three days and I could get into the second class. I was furious! Just furious! I was madder than hell, because had I known about it sooner, I would have been in the first group." She served from 1942 to 1944, flying P-51s to B-25s.

Blake said she was a good friend of Cornelia Ford, (Ford was later the first woman killed flying in service to our country) who was flying an unarmed aircraft at Pearl Harbor when the base was attacked by the Japanese. "Cornelia was a flight instructor. The Japanese took 'pot shots' at her on their way to Pearl Harbor," said Blake. Ford managed to land her plane safely even after being hit by enemy fire. Blake herself was earning a living flying tourists around the island and had a flight scheduled the morning of Dec. 7. "Fortunately, my passenger called me the evening of the 6th and asked if we could change the flight and make it Monday morning instead. I might have been one of the first casualties had we been in the air at that time."

Though the WASP are a bit older, most still get around very well. "You want to help them down the stairs, but they'll hurt you with their cane because they want to do it themselves. It's like I don't want your help," chuckled Airman Natal.

Being here and meeting these women has given her more drive. "You know it doesn't matter what your age is, or gender. If you put your mind to it, you can do it," she said. "These women have proved it and they're still doing it. If you listen to their life stories, they're still realizing accomplishments. When the military kicked them out and wanted to have nothing else to do with them, it was like this is not the end of me."

"The young women and men here from the Air Force Reserve are able to see the WASP, the women who opened the doors and hear the stories the WASP are telling us. This will enable the Airmen to understand that the WASP did not have the nation's support overall, but they were still able to accomplish flying thousands of miles delivering thousands of aircraft. So I think it gives our young people the opportunity to see that they can do anything they want to do, accomplish anything within the Air Force," said General Hemminger.

"The HRDC wanted to ensure the Air Force Reserve took this opportunity to recognize its heritage," said Sergeant Hage. "The women of the Air Force Reserve are overwhelmingly showing their support in recognizing the WASP for what they have done. And now the WASP are being formally recognized for what they did for us back in the 1940s. Of the 20 percent of the WASP that continued some type of military service, over half joined the Air Force Reserve, so they're part of our military heritage."

Airman Natal said, "These women are great role models for any woman, or any young female growing up unsure if she can do something because she may not be strong enough. The WASP cleared the way for many women. They proved there's really nothing I can't do if I try."

Former WASP Lorraine Z. Rodgers has this message for all Airmen, young and not so young saying, "I travel all over the country speaking in schools to the young people. Our generation kept America free for you folks. Now it's time for you to keep it free for the rest of us." Moreover, about today's volunteer Air Force, Rodgers exclaimed, "And to do it all voluntarily now, I'm proud. I'm telling you, I'm proud."