Saturday, November 13, 2010

Woman World War II pilot honored Pinkley served in WASPs, remembered as pioneer in U.S. military aviation





Posted: November 12, 2010 at 5:49 a.m.


(ARKANSAS) — Thirty people gathered Thursday in a Yellville cemetery to honor a pioneer of American military aviation.

Avanell Pinkley was among the first women to fly military aircraft as part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II. Her accomplishment was finally honored Thursday, more than 30 years after her death.

Pinkley and her fellow pilots, known as WASPs, flew all types of noncombat missions, said Vicki Roberts, chairman of the Marion County Heritage Society.

Pinkley joined the elite group after graduating from Army flight school in 1943 as part of the service’s second class - the “Singing Second,” Roberts said.

The women flew every type of combat aircraft in noncombat roles, such as ferrying planes from factories to military bases and towing drones and aerial targets. That freed up male pilots for combat service.
Pinkley died destitute in a Harrison nursing home in 1977 at age 64.

Roberts said she didn’t know about Pinkley until being contacted by Wings Across America, a group that is collecting information about the women. She said she immediately began researching Pinkley and working to get a marker placed on her tombstone.

“I was just kind of appalled” that her tombstone had no information on her service to her country, Roberts said at the graveside Thursday.

Roberts enlisted the American Legion Lodge 61 to help, and the group placed a small plaque on Pinkley’s tombstone identifying her as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. The group also took its honor guard to the cemetery to celebrate Pinkley’s service on Veterans Day.

From about 25,000 applicants, Pinkley was one of 1,074 women who made it through the selection and training process to become WASPs. The women also flew some aircraft that their male counterparts thought were unsafe.
The B-26 Martin Marauder, known as the “widow-maker,” was among those that some people thought were too dangerous for women, a fact noted in the act that awarded the women the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a civilian.

Congress granted the women veteran status in 1977, some 33 years after the service was disbanded. Together, the women flew more than 60 million miles, and 38 of them were killed.

The group was quietly disbanded Dec. 20, 1944. Records detailing their service were classified until the 1980s and have been omitted in many historical accounts of the war, the act states.

At the time, everyone knew about the WASPs, but recognition wasn’t all that important, said Rae Barnes of Hot Springs.

“I loved it,” Barnes said. “I got to fly airplanes.”

Barnes is the only remaining WASP in the state, said Nancy Parrish, executive director of Wings Across America.
Parrish started the organization to chronicle the history of the women who served with her mother. She is spearheading an effort to record video interviews with WASP members and recently published a book of interviews with the women.

Roberts said she will continue researching Pinkley’s life and has already added Pinkley’s story to a growing monument of Marion County veterans who are honored in a permanent display at the American Legion hut in Yellville.

Toward the end of the war, the WASPs hoped they would earn the chance to do something else in aviation, butthat didn’t happen, said Helen Rownd of Louisiana.

Rownd, who served with Pinkley, said that when the group disbanded, the women were sent home and even had to pay their own way. She said they didn’t get the jobs they hoped for but paved the way for future women pilots.
Civil Air Patrol Capt. Margaret Reger said that while thewomen didn’t see combat, their jobs were dangerous.
Reger said the women flew bullet-riddled aircraft to the “boneyard,” where the planes were retired, and delivered brand-new planes. They also towed targets for new pilots to shoot at, she said.

“They were expendable, but they were glad to be expendable because they were flying,” she said.
Rownd said the women enjoyed the experience while it lasted. As far as towing targets, she said, “as long as you heard rat-a-tat-tat, it was all right.

“But when you heard a ping,” she said, “you had to wonder.”
_________

Reposted from the original article with additional photos from Wings Across America

Monday, November 1, 2010

WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS-- BOOK SIGNING IN WACO ON VETERAN'S DAY!


If you're near Waco, Texas on Veteran's Day, stop by and say 'hi!'
Here is the BACK of the invitation!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

An Honor of Extraordinary Proportions

by Nancy Parrish
_______

On the **cover of the ‘Flyer’ (right) is a spectacular photograph that captures an amazing event held March 10, 2010: a ceremony to award the Women Airforce Service Pilots the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow on a civilian. That moment was the culmination of many years of hard work and persistence by one very determined Daedalian (James Connally Flight), who is standing at the podium, her back to the camera, her eyes on her WASP peers.   She also happens to be my mom, WASP Deanie Parrish.

Surrounding her are the shining faces of over two hundred WASP in attendance in the Capitol’s  Emancipation Hall.  As Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We had to turn hundreds of people away because we didn’t have a room big enough to contain the admiration that we all have for you.”   It was the largest crowd in history to gather inside the Capitol! 

I marvelled at the parade of thank you’s.   In just a few words, each speaker offered their own heart-felt tribute, from bill sponsors Sen Hutchison and Sen. Mikulski, Rep Ros-Lehtinen and Susan Davis, to Tom Brokaw and SECAF Michael Donley.

Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski (first female Thunderbird Pilot, combat vet and author of the first draft of the bill), said, “Despite the incredible barriers that were placed in their path... They have always focused on their opportunity to fly, the privilege of serving their country, and the importance of the mission they set out and accomplished.  To me, they are the embodiment of the word, ‘integrity’.”

Tributes followed from Rep. Boehner and Sen Harry Reid, with Sen McConnell adding, “We honor them for reaffirming with their lives not only America’s enduring commitment to freedom, but many other deeply American qualities: an impatience with artificial obstacles to success,  a commitment to excellence, guts, daring, and the willingness, once victory is won, to quietly walk away, content to return to ordinary life.” 

Summing up, the Speaker added, “All of us send you our gratitude for your service, for your patriotism, and for your boundless optimism that the sky is not even the limit anymore for the women of our nation.   The patriotism of the WASP  blazed a trail for the women that came after — in flight, in the field of battle, and even in the Congress of the United States.”  In an unscripted moment, she said, “May I just say... all things considered, your receiving this award brings added luster to the Congressional Gold Medal.”

Added luster, indeed.

Finally, stepping to the podium, facing the crowd of over 2,500 (not including several overflow rooms and a world wide television audience), was the one lone WASP, accepting the award on behalf of all the WASP.  For six minutes she spoke, interrupted by applause 7 times.  At one point, Tom Brokaw rose and adjusted her microphone.  Undeterred, she continued, “Over 65 years ago, we each served our country without any expectations of recognition or glory,  and we did it without compromising the values that we were taught as we grew up: honor, integrity, patriotism, service,  faith, and commitment.  We did it because our country needed us.”  She then thanked everyone -- from those who helped lobby Congress to the artists who designed the medal.  She closed with: “I believe I speak for every WASP when I say that it was both a privilege and an honor to serve our country during some of the darkest days of World War II... God bless all of you and God bless all our troops, who are keeping our country free.” 

I am, as you would expect, very proud of my mom.  She meant it, every word.

So, for my mom and all the WASP, THANK YOU DAEDALIANS  for recognizing their service by inviting the WASP to become Daedalians in 2002.  Your national recognition was one of many significant steps that brought them to our capitol on this miraculous day in March.  A miraculous day, indeed.  I know, I was smiling from the front row!
________

**Magazine cover design  by Nancy Parrish
Photo used with permission from the Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Fotogliph
WASP Gold Medal graphics used with permission

POSTER available online

Original article  published in Daedalus Flyer Fall 10   

Friday, September 3, 2010

A Tough Thing to Do

It has been a long week.  We've lost 4 WASP and 1 Flight instructor -- that I know of.  Their stories have now been added to  the WASP Final Flight page and to Facebook.

I've realized that it may be a tough thing to do-- to decide whether or not to 'like' a post for a WASP who has made her final flight.  I would hesitate, and I'm the one posting them.    I know some of you may be hesitating as well.

It is hard to post them.  This week, it seems that posting these sad messages has been all I've had time to do.

But I have discovered the joy of sharing these lives with you and I hope their stories have meant more than just something sad.  I hope they have lifted you as well.   What a joy these ladies are to know -- and, even nearer the end of their lives, we can still learn so much from each of them.

So, please consider posting  "thumbs up"  when you read a post, sad tho it may be.    To me, it is your way of saying "yes" to the life she was blessed to live and the difference she has made -- and, if it has touched you, say that too, so that more will be uplifted. 

I'm sorry there are so many.  There will be more.  Tom Brokaw called the WASP 'emblematic' of the Greatest Generation, and they are all leaving us much too soon. 

Have we learned the lessons they have tried to teach us?   There are so, so many, and the examples and stories come alive for me -- they spell honor, integrity, service, commitment, patriotism, faith... and on and on...

There are less than 300 WASP -- all over 85.  To me, they are all larger than life.

Pray for the WASP and their families. 
Pray for those in harms way serving today. 

God, please continue to bless America.

Respectfully posted by nancy parrish
FACEBOOK
WASP FINAL FLIGHT

Friday, August 13, 2010

WASP Virginia Wood honored as a PIONEER CONSERVATIONIST

Feds honor conservationist Wood

FAIRBANKS -- Pioneer conservationist Virginia "Ginny" Wood, 92, of Fairbanks has been awarded the Service Citizens Award by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

The ceremony, with more than a dozen friends and family members present, took place in a hand-hewn log cabin that Wood built in the 1950s. 

Wood, a warplane ferry pilot during World War II, (WASP) arrived in Alaska in 1947. She started the renowned Camp Denali at Denali National Park and has mentored countless young conservationists. 

"Ginny Wood has left her mark on the landscape of Alaska and made an indelible impression on Alaska's conservation community," said Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Rowan Gould. "Because of her remarkable foresight, some of Alaska's most treasured places remain untrammeled and are enjoyed by people from throughout the world."

Wood and Celia Hunter, her longtime companion, met as World War II pilots and were later dubbed the "grand dames of the environmental movement'' by former Gov. Jay Hammond. Hunter died in 2001. 

Wood lobbied the Eisenhower administration to set aside what became the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, co-founding the Alaska Conservation Society in the process. 

In addition, Wood led opponents of the Rampart Dam, which would have flooded the entire Yukon Flats, in the 1960s. She was also an active opponent of the Project Chariot proposal, which would have used nuclear explosives to blast a harbor in Northwest Alaska.
 reposted 8/13/2010

Monday, August 9, 2010

Women's Museum exhibit lets history take flight

Most Americans know about Amelia Earhart and that Sally Ride was the first female U.S. astronaut to enter space, but the stories of women who fought incredible prejudices between Earhart's disappearance in 1937 and Ride's re-entry in 1983 are lost in the murk of forgotten history.

There were scores of female aviators who fought long, difficult battles to be accorded the same joy, privilege and excitement that men had been given when they were granted wings.

The Women's Museum in Dallas has mounted an exhibition, "Dreams of Flight: A Journey Through Air and Space," through Oct. 31, that highlights the glorious achievements of the first female aviators and follows the path they cleared for the eventual inclusion of women in the space program.

There are more than 40 stories of the contributions women made in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math -- it's not just about the thrills of soaring above the Earth. The show is orchestrated to appeal to young women who might benefit from knowing the heroics of these pioneers. And even though Earhart's legacy has been the dominant story of female fliers for almost 75 years -- she was the first woman to make a nonstop trans-Atlantic flight and became so popular she had a line of women's wear named after her -- she is given no more wall space than Jacqueline Cochran, who led the WASPs during World War II, or Jeana Yeager, a Fort Worth native who circumnavigated the globe nonstop with a partner without refueling.

These are the surprises that the wall texts have in store. They are the reward to the visitor for reading the details. But there is a meagerness to the exhibit that is unavoidable. Few objects have been saved from the days of these sky pioneers, as it was a male-dominated industry, and only a bit remains from recent years.

The lack of latter-day ephemera is a good sign, says curator Nicole Gilbert, the museum's registrar and exhibitions director. Now that women are no longer considered oddities in the field, there is less reason to save their flight suits and helmets or single them out for attention.

These recent achievements, however, will not soothe the feminist's fire at reading the text panel about Bessie Coleman, the first licensed African-American woman pilot. In 1920, Coleman was denied admittance to every flight school in the U.S., and no American pilot would train her. Coleman had to go to France to find an aviation school that would admit an African-American woman.

That incendiary outrage of injustice is aroused time and again, such as when the WASPs were disbanded in 1944 because male pilots complained that they were losing work to women. And again in 1962, when John Glenn, the first astronaut to orbit the Earth, testified about the suitability of female astronauts to a 1962 congressional panel, and said, "Men go off and fight the wars and fly airplanes."

NASA's 13 female astronauts at that time, who had passed the first rigorous round of testing, were sent home. NASA cited their lack of military jet experience (despite the fact that women weren't allowed to fly military jets) and that none of the candidates had an engineering degree. Female astronaut hopefuls were not invited back to NASA for 16 years.

Why is the dramatic life story of Cochran so unknown to many? She was born in poverty and learned to fly so she could better service her cosmetics company. She eventually rose to become director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier and during her life had more speed records than any other pilot. Who knew?

The facts are simply stated on the walls; there is no feminist agenda at work, and there is no rancor in the voices of the aviators who speak on videotape. The young women for whom this show is cast may not even notice the gender inequities of the past. It's certainly not the focus of the show -- the triumphs are -- but is it difficult to see the joys of air speed on the third floor of the 100-year-old Fair Park building. The inspirations and exaltations are moored to the narratives on the walls.
Deanie Parrish, Nancy Parrish, Nicole Gilbert
in front of Deanie's Digital Scrapbook

What can be displayed are the flight suits that get uglier with each successive decade. Harriet Quimby's is the best -- her ankle-length burgundy satin coat accessorized with goggles, gauntlet gloves, ivory silk scarf and pearls from 1912 is light-years more attractive than the serviceable blue jumpsuit worn by Yeager in 1986. The fashions of the aviatrix will not sell the dream.

There are a few interactive displays, and one is quite charming. Nancy Parrish, the daughter of one of the early WASPs, Deanie Bishop Parrish, took her mother's photographs of her early life and WASP training in Sweetwater and turned it into a digitized scrapbook. Photos of the trainees being hauled around in a former cattle truck and doing their morning calisthenics on the parched landscape of West Texas make the experience look harsh and formidable, but Parrish's enthusiastic comments and joy for learning to fly completely negate the lack of amenities at the flight school. The scrapbook can be viewed on a screen in the gallery or you can see it at home. *Visit www.yudu.com and in the search box type "WASP World War II scrapbook." Parrish's scrapbook is one of several options presented.

Also on display is a tube that approximates the size of Yeager's fuselage. This is the young woman from Fort Worth who set the record for the first around-the-world flight without needing to refuel in 1986. The plane carried two very cramped passengers and 1,200 gallons of fuel. What's on view is only a large pipe with a small chair inside to replicate the confined cockpit of her plane Voyager; it's no more sophisticated than a fort made of sofa cushions.
To appreciate this exhibit, you will have to take the time to read the wall texts -- and then it is not the exhibit that impresses, but the realization of ignorance.

Gaile Robinson is the Star-Telegram art and design critic, 817-390-7113.


Sunday, June 13, 2010

WASP Anita Mathew honored with the Congressional Gold Medal

REPOSTED FROM THE LITCHFIELD, CT ONLINE .BZ

Litchfield Bancorp customer Anita Matthew
receives Congressional Gold Medal

courtesy of Litchfield Bancorp
Anita Mathew during World War II
Anita Matthew can still recall the cover of that Life Magazine, the one showing a woman standing on the wing of a plane she flew for the Air Force during World War II. "I found it enchanting," said Matthew, a Litchfield Bancorp customer since 1976. "I loved to fly and I wanted to find out what this woman was doing.” A college sophomore at the time and an experienced pilot of small planes, Matthew read the magazine's story on the Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs, and decided to become one.
Style of plane flown by Anita Mathew during World War II
WASPs performed key duties during the war, flying military aircraft from factories to air bases on the East and West Coasts and testing planes. The contributions of the WASPs allowed the military to save male pilots for combat duty in Europe and the Pacific. About 1,100 women flew as WASPs before the program was disbanded in 1944*. Matthew, 88, is one of about 300 living WASPs.

In March, many of the women traveled to the U.S. Capitol to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors awarded. Matthew did not make the trip and is still waiting for her medal, although the wait is expected to end soon. Reggie Harrison, a Vietnam veteran from Morris, is working with U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy to locate Matthew's medal and set up a presentation for later in the spring or summer.

Congressional Gold Medal announcement with a vintage photo
There are five other living WASPs in Connecticut: Jane Tadeschi of Bethany, Ann Gleszner of Danbury, Gloria Heath of Greenwich, Jane Miller of Branford and Marcia Milner of Essex. Along with Matthew, the women showed valor and selfless service to their country, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd said in presenting the Congressional Gold Medals. "These six women from Connecticut, along with hundreds of other women from across the country, bravely answered the call to service during World War II, at a time when female pilots were uncommon," Dodd said.

As a high school student in tiny Colfax, Wis., Matthew was taught to fly small Piper cubs by a family friend who had been a Navy pilot. "He came to my Dad and asked if we wanted to learn to fly," Matthew said of she and her brother, Dana. "My Dad asked us and I said sure. Dana wanted to but couldn't, because he was color blind."

Matthew was so taken by the Life Magazine story that she decided to drop out of college and apply for the WASP program. She was accepted and was sent to Dennison, Sweetwater,* Tex., for training. Accustomed to small planes, Matthew was shocked when she saw the size of the military aircraft she would be trained to fly. She started on the smaller PT-17s and worked her way up to larger planes, including Boeing and Lycoming models.

Following training, Matthew was stationed in Lubbock, Tex., for about five months before the WASP program was disbanded. "It didn't last long because the male pilots were beginning to come home from the war and we were no longer needed," Matthew said. "But it was probably still the most exciting time of my life."

WASPs were considered civilians but were paid as second lieutenants and eventually were granted veteran status.

After her stint as a WASP ended, Matthew returned to the University of Wisconsin and earned a degree in home economics. She also earned a commercial pilot license but couldn't land a job in a male-dominated business. "They didn't think women could fly, even though I had all of the qualifications," she said. "It was very chauvinistic." Instead, she was told consider work as a stewardess. But even that didn't pan out.

"I was 5-foot-10 and too tall to be a stewardess," she said. "I was over the height limit for the job."

So Matthew went to Washington, D.C., to live with a friend from college and while there worked 11 months as a typist in President Dwight D. Eisenhower's White House. It was in Washington that she met her husband, Mort. They were married in 1956 and lived in Norwalk before moving to Milton in 1975. Matthew and her husband relocated to Westleigh, a condominium community next to Litchfield Bancorp, in 1995. Mort Matthew died in 2000. They have a son, Kent.

Looking back, Matthew said her life has been a rewarding one. "For a girl from a town of 900 in Wisconsin, I think I turned out pretty well," she said.

Litchfield Bancorp is proud of its customers’ achievements and is a $200 million mutual savings bank with offices in Litchfield, Lakeville, Oakville, Torrington and Washington. The bank recently launched a campaign called Every Customer Counts, which highlights its dedication to customer service excellence. For more information, go to LitchfieldBancorp.com or call 860-567-9401.

__________
*edited for accuracy

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Mostly Vigilant WASP Fact Checkers

To the ONLINE WASP and FRIENDS:

As the Director and Asso. Director of Wings Across America, we have willingly created the volunteer job of sharing news and information about the WASP online.  It is a privledge. It is also a huge responsibility.  In trying to make sure the WASP are written into our American history, we are also trying very hard to make sure that history is not RE WRITTEN!

The number of email requests for quick quotes has been a little overwhelming at times. Many reporters ask about the facts-- some even send their articles to be checked for accuracy.  Not all do.  We  have also tried to make sure that the true story is always told, no matter who is telling it.

However, sometimes, that is almost impossible.  It certainly is ongoing!

Here are a few RECENT examples:

  • The  obituary of WASP Frankie Yearwood, which was sent to me by the Memphis Commercial Appeal Newspaper and I forwarded to you,  contained the phrase, "Congressional Gold Medal, awarded to them by President Barack Obama."  That is false.  The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the WASP by the Congress of the United States--the ONLY entity that has the authority to award that medal.   Credit where credit is due.    (The President  signed the bill; however, he did not appear at the ceremony.)  
  • Today Show interview on Memorial Day w/ 3 WASP hosted by Jenna Bush Hager-- delightful, short, to the point, but the WASP were NOT awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor-- as stated,  and that distinction is so important to make.  Those courageous military personnel who have been given that most sacred award (many died on the battlefield) are the best of the best-- our national heroes.  It is our country's highest honor for courage under fire--for valor.   The Congressional GOLD Medal is the highest honor that can be awarded to a civilian.  Of course, this is not the first time for this mistake to happen.  I'm sure many never noticed the difference.  You better believe that those who served absolutely know the difference!
  • Senator Hutchison, one of our best WASP Champions, has said, quite enthusiastically,  the WASP flew around the world.  Well, no, that is not accurate.  The WASP never flew outside the Continental US.  Not that they wouldn't have if given the opportunity.  The Senator's great enthusiasm for the WASP at the medal ceremony may have overruled the written word.  Her speech  is now a permanent part of the C-SPAN archives.   Nevertheless, she remains a wonderful WASP Champion!
  • "Senator Mikulski is Nicole Malachowski's mother."  This one I love, because it just makes me smile.   It is an example of trying to connect the dots where there are none.
  • In the second edition of "WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS," the listing on the second page for Texas State Technical College also says "Waxo".  No further explanation is necessary;)
So, there you have it.  An ongoing battle to fact check and spell check EVERYTHING!  Sometimes we win-- sometimes we don't.  Sometimes we laugh...and other times?  But, we do press on!

Thanks for listening-- and THANK YOU for your support!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Nancy Allyson Parrish, Director, Wings Across America
WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish, Associate Director, Wings Across America


WINGS ACROSS AMERICA
1620 South Ninth St.
WACO, TEXAS 76706
nancy@wingsacrossamerica.org
254-710-7202


PLEASE SUPPORT WINGS ACROSS AMERICA

Wings Across America -- an all-volunteer project whose  mission is to educate and inspire America with the history of the WASP, first women in history to fly America's military aircraft.  10 years, 115 WASP interviews , 2,000 pages online, the Fly Girls of WWII Traveling WASP Exhibit.  Creating truly outside the box ways to expand the impact of educational information-- one step, one story, one WASP at a time.

Monday, May 31, 2010

"WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS"

CLICK BOOK TO SEE SAMPLE PAGES
"WASP In Their Own Words, an Illustrated History" 

This book is a labor of love, my extraordinary thank you to the WASP -- sharing what I have learned, much of it from WASP interviews with Wings Across America and my work online over the last 14 years.    It is also the most comprehensive, inspirational, ILLUSTRATED history book ever written about the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the first women in history to fly America's military aircraft.

DETAILS ABOUT THE BOOK: The most compelling parts of "WASP--IN THEIR OWN WORDS" are the quotes from the WASP which are woven throughout the photographs copied from their personal scrapbooks.

This ultimate, illustrated history of the WASP is a graphic-rich journey into the lives of these inspirational, pioneering female pilots. It encompasses experiences from their first flights, to their entering Army Air Force flight training, to their service as military pilots during some of the darkest days of WWII, to their fight for veteran status, and to the passage in 2009 of Public Law 111-40, which acknowledged their overlooked service to their country and awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal.

The completed soft cover manuscript includes:
  • Quotes and/or stories from 128 WASP
  • 201 pages of color graphics and photographs
  • WASP classbook headshots of each of the 1,102 WASP
  • 17 page illustrated WASP timeline in relationship
  • to some of the highlights in the history of WWII
  • 8 page comprehensive WWII WASP Glossary
  • $60 (special introductory price until June 15, 2010)
  • Priority mail -- shipping included






Or, you may send your check to:
    Nancy Parrish
    2911 Wooded Acres
    Waco, Texas 76710
    questions? email nancy@wingsacrossamerica.org or call 254-366-1436

Hattiesburg man recalls wife's WWII service as pilot


PoSTED FROM THE CLARION LEDGER, HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI
TIM DOHERTY • AMERICAN STAFF WRITER • MAY 31, 2010


HATTIESBURG — Jim Bishop was an Army Air Corps pilot when he met the woman who would become his wife of 63 years, Edna "Kitty" Hines.
Like her husband-to-be, Hines also flew military aircraft stateside during World War II, one of only 1,100 women nationwide that graduated into the an elite service known as WASP.
For decades, the Women Airforce Service Pilots were considered a civilian outfit until they were given their due in the late 1970s and officially brought under the military's umbrella.
Earlier this year, to honor the contributions of WASP, the federal government awarded the women the Congressional Gold Medal - the nation's highest civilian honor.
Fewer than 300 WASPs are alive today. Kitty Hines Bishop died in 2007.
But Jim Bishop said he knows what she would have thought about the package that arrived a few weeks ago at the Hattiesburg home they shared.
"She would have been very proud," Bishop said of the large, circular medal on display in a living room already speckled with pictures and other mementos of his wife's days as an aviator.
"And we were proud for her."
During the medal ceremony on Capitol Hill in March for the surviving WASP members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the former pilots they had blazed a trail for other women in the military.
The WASP, which existed from September 1942 through December 1944, was created to free male pilots to fly in the European and Pacific theaters. The women shuttled military personnel from site to site, ferried new aircraft from factories to bases and carried out training missions.
Fewer than 2,000 of the 25,000 women who applied for the Women's Flying Training Detachment were accepted into the program. Fewer than 1,100 graduated into the WASP.
After earning her wings in April 1944, Kitty Hines Bishop was first stationed in Long Beach, Calif., and then after stops around the country, landed at Camp Stewart in Hinesville, Ga., and was stationed at Liberty Field.
"It was a tow-target squadron field," Jim Bishop said. "They flew missions for anti-aircraft training. They flew with targets that came out of the back of B-38s. There'd be about 2,400 feet of cable and in back of that, these great, big, cloth targets. The anti-aircraft folks on the ground would try to hit those targets.
"They also flew night missions for searchlight training."
Though the WASP never flew in combat, 38 women died while flying for the Army Air Corps.
Bishop said while he and his future wife were stationed at Camp Stewart one of the tow planes was hit by anti-aircraft flak during a training run.
"The woman flying it, when she got back down, she went over and chewed them out," he said.
The couple met at Liberty Field. He was a Mississippian, she a native Oklahoman, who grew up in California.
Bishop said Hines logged 200 hours flight time before applying for the WASP. After graduating with the Class of 1943-44 in Sweetwater, Texas, she flew about another 800 hours for the military.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Better late than never

Grave of WASP Kay Lawrence to be properly marked on Memorial Day
By: Marilyn Hagerty, Grand Forks Herald
PreviousN
She was buried without military honors. No flag was folded and given to her parents. There was no sound of taps. On her weathered gray headstone in the Lawrence family plot in Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks, it says simply “Kay – 1920-1943.”
She was one of more than 1,000 Women Air Force Service Pilots — or WASPS — who went unrecognized for more than 60 years. And just this year — in March — the women who flew during World War II finally got their due. They were given the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony on Capitol Hill.
Many of these women volunteers have died. At first they were known as Women’s Air Force, or WAFS. With hopes of joining the military in the early years of World War II, they often paid for their own pilot training. They tested and ferried aircraft, freeing men to combat flying.
With Memorial Day approaching, I stood at the grave of Kay Lawrence this past week. I thought about the group of about 40 people who gathered there in October 2006. It had been 63 years since her death before there were military rites. At that time, the flag was folded over her grave by an honor guard unit from Grand Forks Air Force Base, Chaplain Shin Soh read Psalms 146 and said Kay Lawrence died to preserve liberty and freedom in this world.

Above & Beyond--Kathryn Lawrence from Wings Across America's "Fly Girls" exhibit.

“The rights and privileges we enjoy,” he said, “have blood on them. . . . Let our spirits be proud of Miss Lawrence and the others who gave their lives and give them due honor.”
The air was cool and crisp that day, and the sun filtered through trees that had lost their leaves. The gun salute was heard and taps sounded throughout the cemetery. Kay Lawrence is buried next to a brother, William E. Lawrence, who was killed in action with the U.S. Marines in 1944.
“It was at Palau Islands,” said a nephew, Mike Lawrence, who lives in Grand Forks. He says William, who was born in 1925, fudged a bit on his age to go into the Marines.
With the annual time for remembering the dead from all the wars, the story of Kay Lawrence is worth retelling. She grew up in Grand Forks, and she was the lone woman in a class of 39 young men learning to fly at UND. It was a daunting task for a young woman who was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds.
She finished the course on June 11, 1940, and graduated in 1942 without a chance to use her pilot’s wings. She went to Seattle and worked in the Boeing plant. It was there she ran into a recruiter and headed for training with the WASPS in Texas. She began her training in Class 43W8 at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Less than a month later, on Aug. 4, 1943, her PT-10 plane went into a vertical dive, spinning out of control.
Her parachute did not open, and she died at the scene.
In 1994, the national WASP organization sent a letter to UND requesting information about Lawrence, whose full name is Kathryn. They were compiling a book about the 38 women fliers who died in their nation’s service during World War II. UND transcript clerk, Pat Larson, set out on a search to find out all she could about Lawrence. Her UND student files were found along with her obituary on Herald microfilm. They sent the information to the WASPS and then began to seek our family and friends in Grand Forks. At that time, there was a drive to set up an endowment in the name of Kay (Kathryn) Lawrence.
They wanted it to help finish the work of women in aviation that Kay had started.
The WASPs were almost forgotten when the Air Force in 1976 began installing women as pilots. The movement to mark the graves of the WASPs was an initial step along the way to honor their memory. And the movement to recognize the women who served so long ago was won when President Barack Obama signed the bill to honor the women with the Congressional Gold Medal. Since then, a bronze grave marker identifying Kay Lawrence as a World War II WASP has arrived in Grand Forks and will be on her grave on Memorial Day.
Almost 300 of the women still alive were invited to Washington. Deanie Parrish who accepted the gold medals said, “All we ask is that our overlooked history would no longer be a missing chapter.”
There is a feeling at the grave of Kay Lawrence in Memorial Park in Grand Forks that a wrong has been righted.

Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or by telephone at (701) 772-1055.

Friday, April 30, 2010

BOERNE MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY STUDENTS: ABOVE AND BEYOND THE WASP HISTORY!

On Saturday, May 7th, students from Mr. Degner's  8th grade American History class from Boerne Middle School North, Boerne, Texas,  will compete in the 30TH ANNUAL TEXAS HISTORY DAY contest, at the University of Texas in Austin.  The students are hoping to advance to the NATIONAL HISTORY DAY contest at the University of Maryland in June, 2010.

The student's project on the WASP is a wonderful example of the inspirational history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots and what it can mean to this generation and generations to come.

Please read on to find out more about these great kids!


Each year Middle School teacher, Bryan Degner, assigns his 8th grade American History students a project that must follow the guidelines of the National History Day (NHD) contest.  The students have five categories to choose from and their topic must relate to the theme provided by the NHD.  This year’s theme is “Innovation in History, Impact and Change.”  A group of 8th graders selected the WASP as their topic because they believed that using  women pilots to ferry planes for the Army during World War II was an innovative idea and the WASP had a tremendous impact on military aviation.

In order to educate people and bring the story of the WASP alive, these five students decided to enter the performance category.  They conducted hours of research reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles but their best source was the WASP themselves.  The students interviewed eight WASP either over the phone, email or by letter.  The information they gathered was used to write a script for a 10 minute performance that depicts the history of the WASP. 

These students won 1st place at their school history fair and 2nd at the San Antonio Regional History Fair. On May 7, 2010 they will compete at the Texas History Day contest and hope to advance to the national contest at the University of Maryland in June.

l to r: Heather Schloss, Callen Hamilton, Connor Campbell, Caroline Coale, Emily Bow

The following are comments from each of the five students in the group:

Callen I think the history of the WASP is important. These women made a difference when some people weren’t ready for women to serve in the military.  It’s because of the WASP that women have opportunities in military aviation. The thing that impressed me the most about the WASP was how strong and determined they were. They served their country not for recognition but because they loved to fly and wanted to do their part during the war.

Connor:  One of the things I learned about the WASP was how tough these women were and how they were forgotten for so long.  Speaking with the WASP was a great honor and it was a lot of fun listening to their stories.

Caroline:  I think the history of the WASP is important because they showed that women are just as brave and hard working as men.  We didn’t know the WASP were going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal when we started the project.  It has been an honor to share the story of the WASP with many people that had never heard of them.

Emily: I learned from this project that women can be just as strong and determined as any man. Thank you, WASP.

Heather:  One of the fun things about this project was dressing in the zoot suits and performing at competition. One of my favorite memories was hearing Mrs. Rosa Lea Meek tell us that before she left Love Field they were told to “go home, marry your high school sweetheart and have babies.”  It’s hard to believe that was the way women were thought of. 

PERFORMANCE PHOTOS:



Representing 1st female USAF Thunderbird pilot,
Maj (now Lt. Col) Nicole Malachowski

GOOD LUCK TO CALLEN, CONNER, CAROLINE, EMILY AND HEATHER!  LET THE CAN DO ATTITUDE OF THE WASP, THEIR PATRIOTISM AND THEIR SPIRIT BE SHINING BRIGHT IN YOUR PERFORMANCES.  FOR ALL OF US, YOU ARE ALREADY WINNERS!

GOD BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

NANCY PARRISH, DIRECTOR  & WASP DEANIE PARRISH, ASSO. DIRECTOR
WINGS ACROSS AMERICA

DOOLITTLE RAIDERS AND B-25's THUNDER OVER OHIO

Part of the joy of posting information is sharing what other people have written about their experiences.  I just received an email from Ken Kula, who wrote the following eyewitness account of the last reunion of the Doolittle Raiders-- and the flyin of the B-25's, along with some of the photos he took.

There were more than a few WASP who flew the B-25, so this is completely relevant to our mission.  God bless you all!

ENJOY-- and THANKS, KEN!
Nancy

_______RESPECTFULLY POSTED FROM KEN KULA'S ORIGINAL EMAIL


Hi All!
Shirl and I drove out to Dayton Ohio (13.5 hours!) last weekend to attend the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association Reunion, held at the US Air Force Museum abeam Wright Patterson AFB.  There are 8 surviving crew members of the 80 that flew on the mission; four attended the Reunion.  A historian of the group travelled with them too.  Seven of the eight survivors are 90+ years old.  Eighty eight - year old MSgt David Thatcher (engineer/gunner -  aircraft #7), 90 year old Lt Col Robert Hite (co-pilot of aircraft #16 - the last one off the USS Hornet), 92 year old Maj Thomas Griffin ( navigator and mission planner  - aircraft #9), and 94 year old Lt Col Richard Cole (co-pilot of aircraft #1 - Jimmy Doolittle's plane) were the 4 members in attendance. 




All four men had numerous public autograph sessions to attend throughout the Friday/Saturday/Sunday weekend event.  There were hundreds of people in line waiting for every 2-hour long session - snaking through the huge museum.  We attended a  45 minute media conference to ask questions and hear their stories on Friday afternoon.  Their age showed a bit - memories faded - but they were still spry.  A few items of note:  one member said it was common to for B-25 pilots to be deaf in their left ear because their engines were notoriously loud...  co-pilot on #16 - Lt Col Hite - said that he had no doubt that he'd make it off the Hornet OK because the other 15 had already done it...  and co-pilot in #1 - Lt Col Cole -  said he wasn't afraid being first to takeoff because he was along side of the best pilot in the group.  Navigator Maj Griffin noted that he (and the other mission planners) travelled to Washington DC to plot out their attack; they had actually made up 20 sets of flight plans and charts, although only 16 aircraft flew the mission.  Great stuff hearing it from the men that actually flew the operation.  Friday night, the Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley spoke at the big formal dinner for them at the museum, and was present Saturday morning at the static display of B-25s, alongside the four Tokyo Raiders.   What we didn't get to see was the private ceremony where the surviving members toasted their departed comrades with the legendary set of 80 engraved silver goblets - face down for those deceased.




The other half of the weekend's festivities centered around the gathering of 17 B-25s, the largest gathering of the North American - built bombers since the making of the film "Catch-22" decades ago.  Staging out of nearby Urbana Ohio, the planes thundered onto the Museum grounds Saturday morning, landing on a private runway behind it.  They were presented on static display Saturday for the public, and departed Sunday around noontime to perform a 17-ship fly past to open a commemorative service for the Doolittle Raiders at the Museum. 



The gathering included one of each version: B-25A, B-25D, B-25H,  PBJ (Navy/Marine version), plus 13 B-25Js.  The fly past on Sunday was spread out (as most pilots weren't B-25 formation rated I assume) in three columns filling the sky for some 30 seconds.  The rumble of 34 Wright Cyclones engines overhead was chilling and thrilling at the same time; I'd hate to have been underneath the bombers as they delivered their payloads in wartime, but then I marveled at the resourcefulness and dedication it took to put these aircraft all overhead at once for the Reunion.


More than one unofficial report states that this is probably the final Reunion for the Tokyo Raiders Association.  We were honored to be able to watch and listen to the men, who volunteered for their mission.  At the time, I don't think they knew of the raid's importance... only historians have brought out the two main impacts of the 16-ship raid... that America's morale soared, for it was a much needed early victory in the war, and Japan was immediately put on the defensive because they now needed to protect their homeland, slowing down their offensive plans that, up until that point, had resulted in a string of victories.



Hope all is well,
Ken Kula


Sunday, April 25, 2010

WASP & FLYGIRLS--What's NEXT!

To the WASP and supporters online, a little news from Wings Across America.

"FLY GIRLS TRAVELING WASP EXHIBIT"

NEXT STOP on the national tour of the The "Fly Girls of WWII" traveling WASP exhibit will be  the Kalamazoo AIR ZOO in Kalamazoo, Michigan opening May 31, 2010!


Mom & I are DELIGHTED to make this announcement, so that YOU, the WASP, would be the FIRST TO KNOW!.  All the other details  we will leave up to the Air Zoo’s  Public Relations Department.   They will soon be releasing more information about the opening of the exhibit and events surrounding the opening.


Those of you who heard my speech at the Women's Memorial on March 9  know that I offered the entire Fly Girls exhibit to the US Air Force.  General Schwartz, who spoke at the event,  was very kind. He nodded, smiled, applauded, and immediately assigned a very nice young woman in his office to head up the project.   We have been working with her to find the best way to showcase your history, but we discovered that ‘making this happen’ will take much more time than we expected.   

Fly Girls of WWII  had been extended twice at the Women’s Memorial--held over for 17 months.   The time had come  for us to remove the exhibit in order for the Women's Memorial  to have room for another traveling exhibit that had been scheduled months before.  We were grateful for the opportunity to have the exhibit on display during the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, but it was time to take Fly Girls down and move on.   We were fortunate to find an exciting and special  temporary home for the exhibit  --KALAMAZOO  AIR ZOO,  while we continue to work with the Air Force.



During the events in Washington, WASP Sue Parish and her friend, Norm Carver, visited the  Fly Girls exhibit and expressed their  desire for a chance to display the exhibit at the AIR ZOO, which Sue helped found back in 1977.   (It houses her pink P-40!)  They were so enthusiastic until they sent the Kalamazoo Air Zoo Director, Bob Ellis,  to DC to see the Fly Girls exhibit a few days after they returned to Michigan.  Bob's enthusiasm for showcasing the Fly Girls exhibit in their beautiful facility was perfect timing! 

The Air Zoo is an EXTRAORDINARY,  "outside the box, state of the art" inspirational, entertaining and educational experience of EVERYTHING AVIATION!

Watch for upcoming information on their  ‘GRAND OPENING OF THE WASP ‘FLY GIRLS’ EXHIBIT’


"WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS--AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY"



The WASP Commemorative Edition of my new book, "WASP In Their Own Words," was given as a gift from Wings Across America to the WASP who attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in DC. This limited first printing was only for the WASP.  

For those of you who sent checks to order additional copies,  I’m having a second printing so the SECOND EDITION should be printed very soon.   Meantime, thank you for your patience!  (YOUR check will not be cashed until your book is shipped.)
Additional opportunities to order more books will be announced on-line shortly, along with more specific information on the book.




UPDATE on Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski & family


THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU for your prayers, cards and emails for Paul & Nicole Malachowski and their expected TWINS!  My last email from Nicole was from her hospital bed-- where she will be until the twins are born.  She is ‘hanging tough’, doing everything to ensure those little babies stay right where they are for as long as possible.  

I received this message 2 days ago:
 "Thanks for passing on all the kind emails from the WASP network...they make me smile. Also, I got 20+ cards in the mail today from WASP and families. Really made my day! --Nicole"

For those of you who might want to send her a card:

Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski 
MICC, 6TH FLOOR, Bldg. 10 
National Naval Medical Center 
8901 Rockville Pike 
Bethesda, MD 20889-5600



_____________
THE WASP HISTORY 'COMES TO LIFE!'


On Saturday, May 7th, students from Mr. Degner's  8th grade American History class from Boerne Middle School North, Boerne, Texas,  will compete in the 30TH ANNUAL TEXAS HISTORY DAY contest, at the University of Texas in Austin.  The students are hoping to advance to the NATIONAL HISTORY DAY contest at the University of Maryland in June, 2010.

The student's project on the WASP is a wonderful example of how the history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots has inspired these students and can inspire generations to come.

Please read on to find out more about these great kids!

Each year Middle School teacher, Bryan Degner, assigns his 8th grade American History students a project that must follow the guidelines of the National History Day (NHD) contest.  The students have five categories to choose from and their topic must relate to the theme provided by the NHD.  This year’s theme is “Innovation in History, Impact and Change.”  A group of 8th graders selected the WASP as their topic because they believed that using  women pilots to fly military aircraft for the Army during World War II was an innovative idea and the WASP had a tremendous impact on military aviation.

In order to educate people and bring the story of the WASP alive, these five students decided to enter the performance category.  They conducted hours of research reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles but their best source was the WASP themselves.  The students interviewed eight WASP either over the phone, email or by letter.  The information they gathered was used to write a script for a 10 minute performance that depicts the history of the WASP. 

These students won 1st place at their school history fair and 2nd at the San Antonio Regional History Fair. On May 7, 2010 they will compete at the Texas History Day contest and hope to advance to the national contest at the University of Maryland in June.

l to r: Heather Schloss, Callen Hamilton, Connor Campbell, Caroline Coale, Emily Bow

The following are comments from each of the five students in the group:

Callen I think the history of the WASP is important. These women made a difference when some people weren’t ready for women to serve in the military.  It’s because of the WASP that women have opportunities in military aviation. The thing that impressed me the most about the WASP was how strong and determined they were. They served their country not for recognition but because they loved to fly and wanted to do their part during the war.

Connor:  One of the things I learned about the WASP was how tough these women were and how they were forgotten for so long.  Speaking with the WASP was a great honor and it was a lot of fun listening to their stories.

Caroline:  I think the history of the WASP is important because they showed that women are just as brave and hard working as men.  We didn’t know the WASP were going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal when we started the project.  It has been an honor to share the story of the WASP with many people that had never heard of them.

Emily: I learned from this project that women can be just as strong and determined as any man. Thank you, WASP.

Heather:  One of the fun things about this project was dressing in the zoot suits and performing at competition. One of my favorite memories was hearing Mrs. Rosa Lea Meek tell us that before she left Love Field they were told to “go home, marry your high school sweetheart and have babies.”  It’s hard to believe that was the way women were thought of. 

PERFORMANCE PHOTOS:



Representing 1st female USAF Thunderbird pilot,
Maj (now Lt. Col) Nicole Malachowski

GOOD LUCK TO CALLEN, CONNER, CAROLINE, EMILY AND HEATHER!  LET THE CAN DO ATTITUDE OF THE WASP, THEIR PATRIOTISM AND THEIR SPIRIT BE SHINING BRIGHT IN YOUR PERFORMANCES.  FOR ALL OF US, YOU ARE ALREADY WINNERS!

GOD BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING!



That's the news for now-- God continue to bless you all, everyone!


nancy