"BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS"

           F L Y I N G      F O R     T H E     A R M Y    A I R    F O R C E 

“B A C K W A R D S      I N      H I G H      H E E L S”

By Nancy Allyson Parrish
Director, Wings Across America

 “Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did,
but backwards and in high heels.”   Faith Whittlesey

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Up until America was thrust into a raging World War on December 7 of 1941, American women were not expected to do anything particularly significant, important or courageous.  Before that date, women were only expected to raise, teach and take care of the men who would do the significant, important and courageous.  Women were expected to do the housework, the cleaning and the dishwashing.  Women were certainly not expected or encouraged to go above and beyond in anything, much less fly airplanes for their country. 

  World War II changed all expectations.  In fact, World War II forever changed the role of women in America, including military aviation.  Why?  With American combat pilots in very short supply after severe losses in North Africa, America desperately needed pilots—any kind of pilot!  Even a woman.

    All it took was one visionary, determined pilot named Jacqueline Cochran who, in 1939, had written to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and proposed the unconventional idea of ‘using women pilots’ in the non combat roles.  Add to Ms. Cochran one desperate and open minded General named Hap Arnold.  After she made several official proposals for a program to give women pilots the same training as the male pilots, the General finally gave her the opportunity to put her training program into effect.  That one decision eventually gave America the untapped resource so badly needed: courageous, patriotic young women pilots, committed to victory and willing to go where no woman had ever gone before: the cockpit of an American military aircraft.  

              We all were  patriotic, and we all wanted to serve our country in some way.  People just were beating the doors down signing up for service, men, and, of course a lot of women, too.  And we were pulling together in a way that I’ve never seen since then, and probably will never see again. 
 WASP Marion Hodgson, 43-W-5 

    With the Army Air Force’s promise of militarization, the first class of 29 raised their right hands, swore the oath and began Army Air Force flight training at the Municipal Airport in Houston on Nov. 16, 1942. Three months later the training program was moved to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.  In just over two years, a total of 1074 trainees took the same 'oath' all military personnel take,  completed seven months of AAF flight training, graduated and, together with 28 WAFS (Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Service) became WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, the first women in history to fly America's military aircraft. 

            We worked like dogs in dirty, greasy coveralls.  We had to break down an engine, we had some tough ground school classes, but oh, the flying was so wonderful. 

               WASP Doris Tanner, 44-W-4

From the first day of training to the day the WASP hung up their Army parachutes for the last time, everything the women pilots did was scrutinized, measured and recorded.   Their health, weight, strength, skill, stamina, patience and perseverance were tested.  Every time a WASP stepped into a new kind of aircraft, or flew a new kind of mission, it was a groundbreaking experiment on behalf of all women pilots. As every WASP knew, if one WASP failed, the whole program would be at risk. 

              CO of Flight Operations, Camp Davis took a very dim view of women in the military and especially those flying airplanes. His welcoming words were, "Both you and these planes are expendable. Either accept that fact or pack up and go home."  2 WASP were killed at Camp Davis.   

              WASP Marion Hanrahan, 43-W-3

The WASP DID NOT FAIL.  In fact, they EXCEEDED beyond all expectations.  In two years, at 120 air bases across America, WASP flew over 60 million miles, in every type aircraft and on every type mission any male AAF pilot flew, except combat.  WASP attended Pursuit School and Officer Candidate School. They flew strafing, night tracking and smoke laying missions. They towed targets for air-to-air and ground-to-air gunnery practice, with gunnery recruits firing live ammunition. They ferried planes and transported cargo, personnel and parts of the atomic bomb.  They instructed, flew weather missions and test flew repaired aircraft.  WASP even flew aircraft that male pilots refused to fly, including the B-26 "Widow Maker" and the B-29 "Super Fortress," to prove to the male pilots they were safe to fly.

  

            When we landed at Dodge City, the sergeant that met us drove us by what he called, ‘the bone yard’—four B-26s had ‘cracked up’ within the previous month, killing the entire crews.  And he said, ‘If you girls have any sense, you’ll turn right around and go back where you came from, because that thing is a killer.’  Well, of course, we didn’t do that.  And the Commanding Officer said, ‘if you stay, and if you pass, you will be the first women in the history of the Air Force to fly a bomber.’  So he left the room for us to talk it over.  And, of course, we all wanted to fly it.  

             WASP Sandy Thompson, 43-W-5

         They flew with an unwavering urgency and a passion for their mission: to free male pilots for combat.   WASP not only passed every test, they outscored their male counterparts.

               They had so many airplanes and so few pilots.  We were just as busy as we could be all the time.  Just every time they came in, they’d have another airplane for you.  My favorite?  The P-63. It was quite an airplane.  I just loved it.  I flew as many as I could, as far as I could, as fast as I could.  

              WASP Betty Fernandes, 43-W-3

         Thirty-eight WASP were killed flying for their country.  Because they were officially civilians, their bodies were sent home in cheap pine boxes, their burial at the expense of their family or classmates. These heroic pilots were denied any military benefits or honors – no gold star allowed in their parents' window, no American flag for their coffins.  

                       You either had a chance of doing it or go home. Those who wanted transfers went home!  We did what we were assigned to do...with no regrets!  
WASP Ruth Thomason Florey, 43-W-4

Three weeks before a 44-W-4 trainee was to graduate, her mother received an official telegram from the country her daughter so proudly served. It simply said: "Your daughter was killed this morning.  Where do you want us to ship the body?"  

     On Dec. 7, 1944, in a speech to the last graduating class of WASP, General Arnold said, “You and more than 900 of your sisters have shown you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your brothers. I salute you…We of the Army Air Force are proud of you. We will never forget out debt to you." 

     With official orders ‘not to talk about their training or what they were doing,” the WASP stood helplessly by as  General Arnold's request to militarize the women pilots was defeated in the Congress.  On December 20, 1944, when victory seemed certain, the WASP were quietly and unceremoniously disbanded. There were no benefits and few ‘thank-yous’.  They hung up their parachutes and paid their way back home.  Their military records were sealed, stamped 'classified' and filed away in the government archives for 33 years.       Their military records were classified “confidential” and filed away in government archives, where they remained, unopened, for the next 33 years, unavailable to historians who wrote the official accounts of WWII. The AAF did forget -- and so did America.

    In November, 1977, under the leadership of General Arnold's son, Col. Bruce Arnold, USAF Ret., surviving WASP, and Senator Barry Goldwater, Congress narrowly voted to give WASP the Veteran status they had earned. WASP were not even invited to the bill signing. Their medals came in the mail. 

        March 10, 2010, the WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, highest civilian honor Congress can bestow-- for their trailblazing, honorable service to our country in World War II.  It was an important moment -- for our country to finally say 'THANK YOU' to the WASP.  It is also important we remember why they did what they did.  

 I think that’s important for young people today to realize that there were people before them that did things that were dangerous…but in order for this country to be free, that’s what it took.  And they did it without question.  
WASP Deanie Parrish, 44-W-4  

It has been over 72 years since the WASP blazed their trails across the skies of America, but their history remains inspirational.  Backwards in high heels?  Not exactly.  But, with a slight nod to the beautiful Ginger Rogers who danced the exact same steps as Fred Astaire, the WASP completed the same training, flew the same planes and the same missions.  They did everything their country asked and more.   They paid their way to serve their country, paid to bury their fallen comarades, and they paid their own way back home.  

They never expected anything—except to FLY for their country, and that they did, with honor, integrity, courage, sacrifice, commitment, faith and patriotism.   May their story continue to inspire us all!  

Wingtip to Wingtip: Women in Aviation and the Pioneering WASP"

by Nancy Parrish
Reprinted from "100 Years of Aviation"


The romantic image of a daring young pilot in an open cockpit plane, wearing helmet, goggles and flowing white scarf, widened the eyes and the horizons of many a young boy and girl almost one hundred years ago.  All over the world, the news of the Wright brothers' success at Kitty Hawk echoed everywhere as an exciting hope for children with the courage to dream. They looked to the skies. They, too, wanted  to race the wind and reach for the stars, and they all believed that someday, they could fly. 

 Only the most courageous fulfilled those dreams and became pilots. Even fewer became pioneers, blazing giant trails across the sky,  becoming a part of aviation history.  Daring young pilots named Lindberg,  Mitchell and Doolittle became legend. Nonetheless, throughout the last one hundred years, there have also been pioneering women pilots - blazing their own trail, earning their rightful place by proving over and over again that they could fly wingtip to wingtip with any pilot, in any plane, anywhere!

Jacqueline Cochran

Harriett Quimby, Ruth Law, Katherine Stinson, Baroness Raymonde Je Laroche, Bessie Coleman, Amy Johnson, Amelia Earhart, Marina Raskova, and Jacqueline Cochran have all made legendary contributions to the last 100 years of flight. These pioneering pilots have been called 'Ladybirds', 'Petticoat Pilots' and even 'Flying Flappers', and yet, they all helped stretch boundaries, set records and succeeded beyond all expectations. They are pilots - not lady pilots - pilots, and they are pioneers.

During World War Two, with male pilots in short supply, a new generation of women pilots became pioneers as they blazed a different kind of trail, this time flying military aircraft for their countries.  Russian women pilots ('The Night Witches'), flew combat missions in the Russian air war. Under the command of Pauline Gower, women pilots from England, America, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Poland and Chile ferried aircraft for the RAF as part of the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). However, in America, up until late 1942, all military pilots and civilian ferry pilots were exclusively and decidedly male.

Having women fly for the United States Army Air Forces in any capacity was definitely not a morale booster for the exclusive male military pilots 'club', nor was it an easy decision for the Commanding General of the AAF, Hap Arnold. In 1942, he encouraged Jacqueline Cochran to fly a bomber to England to help publicize Lend Lease and to learn about the women who were ferrying planes in England. Cochran had already formulated her own plan.

Jacqueline Cochran, who still holds more distance, altitude and speed records than any pilot, living or dead, male or female, was confident that, if given the same training as male aviation cadets, women pilots could serve in every flying capacity in every command in the Army Air Force - flying stateside missions that would relieve male pilots for combat duty.  General Arnold was not convinced.  "Frankly, I didn't know in 1941 whether a slip of a young girl could fight the controls of a B-17 in heavy weather."

Nevertheless, Cochran persisted,  and in September of 1942, the first group of trainees paid their way to Houston, Texas, to enter an experimental Army Air Force Flight Training Program. The successful program soon moved to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas where the women (all licensed pilots) received exactly the same training as the male  cadets, except the women received more cross country training and less   acrobatics.   Meanwhile, Nancy Love had recruited 27 licensed women pilots to fly for the Air Transport  Command as civilian ferry pilots. In mid 1943, the two group' merged and became WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, the first women in history to fly America's military  aircraft - truly aviation pioneers.

Trainees ready to FLY!

In all, 25,000 women applied for the training program, 1,830 were accepted and only 1,074 graduated. WASP were stationed at 120 AAF bases across the United States and, in less than two years, flew more than 60 million miles in every type of  aircraft and on every type of mission the AAF had (except combat).

Thirty-eight WASP were killed flying  for their country -  their bodies sent home in cheap pine boxes at the expense of their family or classmates.  These heroic pilots were denied any military benefits or honors - no gold star in their parents' window - not even so much as an American flag for their coffins. Even though they had completed the training, learned to march, to salute and were subject to all AAF rules and regulations, the WASP were never 'officially' made a part of the military.

In the early days of the training program, the fact that women were flying military aircraft was classified  'Top Secret'. "Tell 'em you're a baseball team or tell 'em you're  German prisoner of war," a 2nd Lt. told trainees. "Just don't tell 'em you're pilots." The women assumed  that the government didn't want the Axis powers to know how hard up America was - using women to fly their military planes. The WASP were, perhaps, the best kept secret of World War Two. WASP ferrying planes to different air fields across America had trouble getting landing instructions from tower operators.

WASP Deanie Parrish, strapping on her chute

"Lady, get off the air, I'm trying to talk to the pilot," said one frustrated operator. A quick reply came back from the WASP, "I am the pilot!"  Several WASP were 'detained at the front gates' by guards on AAF Bases who had never heard of them. One  WASP was even arrested for impersonating an officer.

When victory seemed certain and pilots were returning from combat,  the WASP were quietly and unceremoniously disbanded. On 7  December, 1944, in a speech to the last graduating class, General Arnold  said: "You and more than 900 of your sisters have shown you can fly  wingtip to wingtip with your brothers.... I salute you and all the WASP. We of the Army Air Force are proud of you. We will never forget our debt  to you." Thirteen days later, the WASP were disbanded. They hung up their parachutes and paid their own  way hack home. Their military records were sealed, stamped either 'classified' or 'secret' and filed away in the Government Archives for 33 years. Consequently, their records were not available to the historians who wrote historical accounts and textbooks of World War Two. The AAF did forget and so did America.

In November 1977, 33 years after the WASP were disbanded, Congress finally voted to give them the Veteran status they had earned.

However, the history of this pioneering group of women pilots is still not included in most textbooks and is still unknown to millions around the world. In the next 100 years, that will change.

WASP Stationed at Greenville AAB, MS

The exciting history of the WASP, who forever changed the role of women in military aviation, will 'come alive' through digital video and interactive modules on line and the WASP WWII Museum will be built at Avenger Field - on the grounds where the WASP trained.

However, the history and impact of the WASP is best measured, not in books or modules, but by the successes that ripple through the lives of those they have touched, from military to commercial pilots, from math teachers and scientists to politicians, from mothers and fathers to Astronaut Eileen Collins who proudly calls the WASP 'my heroes'.

Today, there are less  than 500 surviving WASP around the US and, although it has been almost 60 years since many of these women flew, their eyes sparkle and their spirits soar when they talk about flying.  A few still fly.

The honor, courage, integrity and sacrifice of the WASP, their positive commitment, patriotism and their belief that they can do anything, is universally contagious. Like a flaming torch, they pass on their secret to the next generation:

'Anything is possible!' If you dream it and you believe it, you can do it. Do your homework, dream your dreams, be true to yourself and someday, with hard work and persistence, you too can fly wingtip to wingtip with any pilot, in any plane, anywhere!

American military women pilots now fly wingtip to wingtip with their brothers over the skies of Afghanistan  and Iraq.  American women now fly in all branches of the United Stares military, including the Coast Guard.  These young pilots now know what the WASP have always known -  'anything is possible'. They also know that flying is not so much about the past as it is the future. It is about moving toward the next horizon, taking the next step, flying higher, farther, faster; and passing it on to the next generation. 

The pioneering WASP are an important  part of the last 100 years of aviation history.  With thanks to them, and those women who flew before them, it is pilots, not lady pilots; pioneers, not  lady pioneers - all flying wingtip to wingtip.

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Original article appeared in "ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF POWERED FLIGHT 1903 - 2003" Published by the Winchester Group w/ Foreword by H.R.H The Duke of Edinburgh