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8/20/2019 WASP Newsletter ~ 04/01/79
1/56
VOL. XVII
WJlS1'NEWSLE T TER
Editor - Betty Cross
I,' J I "
IV"
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)/
APRIL 1979
VW DAY
MARCH 8, 1979
Upon the recommendation of the Department
of Defense Civilian/Military Service Review
Board, it is the determination of the Secretary
of Defense that the service of the Women Air-
force Service Pilots (WASP) shall be considered
active military service in the Armed Forces of
the United States for purposes of all laws
administered by the Veterans' Administration.
Tha t was the glorious day, and those the magic words. In order
to share with you as fully as possible that splendid event, I
must start back on Oct. 2, 1978, the day that I returned home
to Pasadena from Colorado Springs. I came away from the
reunion believing, as I feel most of us did, that our honorable
discharges and resultant veterans benefits were imminent. But
the reports that started coming to me almost immediately
from Washington, D. C., revealed a considerably less optimistic
reality. I soon learned that the operative word was "determina-
tion," as in: such a determination must be approached with
infinite caution as there is no precedent; much time will be
needed to research all questions and conclusions relating to
such a determination; the machinery for making such a deter-
mination must be very carefully structured; much patience is
required as there is no way to predict how much time will beneeded in making a determination of this magnitude; it is not
possible to say when or if an affirmative determination will be
forthcoming. If? That alarming small conjunction sent me
directly to a study of the G. 1. Bill Improvemen t Act of 1977.
And, sure enough, there was the "if."
Unfortunately, there had been so much cheering that this small
"if' had been generally overlooked. In section 40 I of Public
Law 95-202, dated Nov. 23, 1977, all of the great sounding
prose about the WASP was followed by, " ... if the Secretary
of Defense ... determines ... that the service a T such groupconstituted active military service ... ". Later, in the summary
of the Proposed Rule (3810-70) Department of Defense
(32CFR Part 47) publish - in vol. 43 of the Federal Register
dated Sept. 13, 1978, it stated, "This act directs the Secretary
of Defense to determine if civilian employment or contractual
service rendered by groups to the Armed Forces of the United
States shall be considered active duty ... ". So, in effect, what
Congress did in P.L. 95-202, was give the Secretary of Defense
permission to ignore any laws to the contrary, and to determine
that the WASP (and perhaps other WW 2 groups) had perform-
ed active military service if he chose to do so. Then, in effect,
what the Secretary of Defense did in Proposed Rule 3810-70,
was to explain the preliminary ground rules under which the
Department of Defense would operate in reaching such a
determination. (All emphasis mine.)
Thus, our real position was far different from what most of us
had believed it to be since Congress acted in 1977. We had not
been made veterans at any time. Regardless of what the mem-
bership was told at Colorado Springs, the WASP were not
veterans preceding, during, or subsequent to that reunion.
While familiarizing myself with the above during th~ closing
months of 1978, I was receiving much correspondence from
the WASP in which a few identical questions and opinions re-
curred. Most wanted to know why there had been such a long
delay in receiving discharges and benefits after our being de-
clared veterans in 1977. Many wanted to know precisely what
was holding things up, what was being done to get things un-
stuck, and how much longer it was going to take. And a con-siderable number expressed varying degrees of disgust, be-
wilderment and anger. Obviously, my new knowledge of the
facts plus this correspondence created a troubling question.
How to answer? I could not deliberately misrepresent the
facts, nor could I present the truth without doing a terrible
disservice to the individual correspondents and to the organ-
ization as a whole. It would have been quite inexcusable on
such a piecemeal basis and at such a late date to unleash the
factual statement, "We were not made veterans in 1977, we
are not veterans now, we may someday be veterans or we may
never be veterans, and no one knows how much longer we'll
have to wait for a decision to be made." So I replied by
pledging to discover all of the facts and to report them by per-
sonalletter directly to the full membership within a period of six months. That six months carried through to the last
day of March.
By the middle of January, 1979, I learned from Lee
Wheelwright (Chairman Veteran & Congressional Liaison
Committee) that the Washington, D. C. picture remained as
bleak as ever, including the fact that not even the final ver-
sion of the ground rules had yet been published. As it was
only after publication of the final rules that the actual busi-
ness of "determining" could begin, our day of tru th appear-
ed to be receding farther and farther into the future. So I
made plans to spend a month in Washington from Feb. 7,
to March 9, and then made the following notes of what
needed to be stated, asked and answered. I report my notes
verbatim.
After all the hoopla, what? I continue to receive re-quests from WASP, press persons and others, allwanting to know what has happened. It simply willnot suffice to keep repeating, "don't call us, we'llcall you." It just won't do. It is not only unfair butquite impermissible to leave the WASP any longer inthis seemingly unending state of limboo Because we
have been misled, since 1977, by just about every-one into believing that the whole thing is a fait ac-compli with our discharges and benefits always a-
round the corner. In a few weeks I must begin writ-
ing my report to WASP relating the facts of our situa-
8/20/2019 WASP Newsletter ~ 04/01/79
2/56
t i o n. Wh at e Ye r t h e f a c t s . I f t h e f a c t sa r e g r e at , g r e at . Bu t i f t h e f a c t s r e ve alt ha t no one has any i n t ent i on o f i mp l emen~i n g P . L . 9 5- 2 02 u nt i l we ' r e a l l d ea d, s o b ei t . One t hi ng I c an s a y f o r s ur e . F r o mt h i s mo me n t e v er y o ne ' s q ue s t i o ns g e t a ns -we r e d wi t h h ar d f a c t s . No f i c t i o n , n o t i p -t oe i ng t h r ough t he t u l i ps , no back- pat t i ng ,n o wi s h f u l t h i n k i n g, n o d i s c r e e t s i l e n c e.F r o m h er e o n i t ' s f a c t s o nl y , e ve n i f t h at
i n c l u de s t h e p os s i b i l i t y t h a t we ' v e b e en h a d.No w i s t h er e a ny o ne i n a p o s i t i o n o f a u t h -o r i t y - o n t h e R ev i e w B oa r d , i n t h e DOD, i nt h e Ai r F o r c e - t o wh om 1 c o ul d s p e ak a ndmake our case f o r p r ompt and a f f i r mat i ve de-t er mi ~t i on? As onl y t l l e Women Ai r f or ce Ser v-i c e P i l o t s a r e me n t i o ne d b y n a me i n P . L . 9 5-2 02 , i s n ' t i t b ot h p os s i b l e a nd r e as o na bl ef o r t h e Re v i e w Bo ar d t o c o ns i d er u s f i r s t b e-f o r e we i gh i ng t he mer i t s o f a l l t he o t her um-t e e n g r o u ps t h at ma y h a ve a p pl i e d? An d wh a ti s t h i s n o ns e n s e a b ou t n ot c o n t a c t i n g t h e DODb ec a us e t h e DOD wi l l c o nt a c t u s ? T he DOD d i d n' te xi s t i n W\ ~ 2 , a nd e v en a t t h at t i me o ur r e c -o r ds f r equent l y van i shed down a c r ack somewher eb e t we e n t h e A r my a n d c i v i l s e r v i c e . T o da y ,wi t h a l l o f t h e WA SP n a me a n d r e s i d en c e c h a ng es ,we h av e e no ug h t r o ub l e f i n di n g e ac h o t h er - s oh ow o n e a r t h i s t h e DOD s u p po s e d t o f i n d u s ?S o i s n ' t t h e r e s o me e x i s t i n g p r o c e s s b y wh i c hwe o o ul d ma k e o ur s e l v e s k n own , i n di v i d ua l l y , t ot h e DOD? L e t ' s s a y t h a t t h e d et e r mi n a t i o n h a sb ee n ma de a nd t h e a ns we r i s y e s . Wh o, p r e c i s e -l y , wi l l b e e l i g i b l e t o a pp l y f o r d i s c h a r g e?What p r ocedur e may 1 out l i ne f o r t he e l i g i b l eso f a c t u al s t e ps t o t a k e i n g et t i n g d i s c h ar g es ?A nd c a n a n yo ne g i v e me a n e s t i ma t e , e v en a wi l dg ue s s , o f wh en , mo n t h a n d y e a r , t h e WA SP mi g htr e a l l y b e d ec l a r e d t o b e v e t e r a n s ?
I n b r i e f , 1 r e c ei v e d t h e f o l l o wi n g a ns we r s . T heq ue s t i o n a s t o wh en we wo ul d b e v e t e r a n s wa s a n" ass umi ng" quest i on as t he det e r mi nat i on o f ours t a t u s s t i l l l a y i n t h e f u t u r e . P r e v ai l i n g " 0 p-i n i on" was t ha t t he det e r mi nat i on wou l d be i n our .f avor . I f an a f f i r mat i ve det e r mi nat i on shou l d bema d e f o r o u r g r o up , t h e n e a c h WA SP wo u l d b e e v al -u a t e d o n h er i n di v i d ua l a pp l i c a t i o n a n d t h e C omp -t ; r o l l e r Gener a l wou l d make t he f i na l j udgement onbenef i t s . Best est i mat e on dat e o f det e r mi nat i onwa s , a t t he e ar l i e s t , J u ne o r J u l y o f 1 97 9. Nor e a s o n o r o pi n i o n c o u l d b e a d va nc e d t o e x pl a i nwi despr ead mi si nf or mat i on t hat WASP had been madev et e r a ns i n 1 97 7 b y c o ng r e s s i o na l a c t i o n. Ne i t h ert h e A i r F o r c e n or t h e De p ar t me n t o f De f e ns e e v e ri s s u e d a s t a t e me nt c o nv e yi n g, i n e s s e nc e , Do n' t
c a l l u s , we ' l l c a l l y o u " , b e c a u s e t h e a pp r o v edr u l es mandat ed t he exact l y opposi t e p r ocedur e ;t per e f o r e , each WASP shou l d p r ompt l y send t he r e -q ui r e d a pp l i c a t i o n s o t h at p r o c e s s i n g c o u l d b e gi nwi t hout de l ay when and i f a f avor ab l e det e r mi na -t i o n wa s ma de . T he f i n al r u l e s o f p r o c ed ur e h adb ee n p ub l i s h e d o n J a n. 2 4, 1 97 9, a nd t h e Ci v i l i a n/Mi l i t a r y Ser v i ce Rev i ew Boar d had f i na l l y beena u t h o r i z e d t o me e t a n d b eg i n i t s r e v i e w p r o c e s so n J a n. 2 5. T ha t pr o c es s wa s n ot l i k el y t o r e ac ha d et e r mi n a t i o n o n a n y g r o u p p r i o r t o J u ne o r J u l y
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a s a l l q ue s t i o ns wo ul d h a ve t o b e h i s t o r i c a l l yr esear ched and l ega l l y ver i f i ed by t he appr opr i a t eb od i e s s u c h a s t h e Hi s t o r i c a l Ad vi s o r y P an el , t h el e g al a d vi s o r s t o e a c h me mb e r o f t h e R ev i e w B oa r d ,a n d t h e v a r i o us s e r v i c e r e pr e s e n t a t i v e s ma k i n g u pt h e Re v i e w Bo ar d i t s e l f . T he n a l l r e as o ns f o r ay e a o r n ay d ec i s i o n o n e ac h q ue s t i o n wo ul d h av et o b e p ut i n wr i t i n g a n d s i g ne d b y e a c h b oa r d me m-~e r b e f o r e s u b mi s s i o n t o t h e S ec r e t a r y . A s t h e r e~s no way t o est i mat e how many subst ant i ve quest i onswi l l a r i s e , t h e r e i s n o wa y t o e s t i ma t e h ow mu c h
t i me wi l l b e r e qu i r e d. ) On e c a n o n l y a s s u me t h a ti t wi l l b e c o ns i d er a b~e . Ho we ve r , a l l Ai r F o r c ep r o c e du r e s f o r i s s u i n g d i s c h a r g e s t o WAS P h av ea l r e a dy b e en e s t a b l i s h e d s o t h a t n o t i me wi l l b el ost when and i f an a f f i r mat i ve det e r mi nat i on i sma d e. ( 1 wa s a l s o t o l d wh o wo u l d b e e l i g i b l e f o rd i s c h a r g e a n d h o w a p p l i c a t i o n s h o ul d b e ma de a n dt o wh om i t s h o ul d b e ma i l e d, b ut 1 wi l l n ot r e p ea ts u c h i n f o r ma t i o n h e r e a s I ' v e a l r e a dy s e n t i t t oy o u b y p er s o n al l e t t e r , h ad i t p r i n t e d i n t h eSt ar s &St r i pes and am r epr i n t i ng i t . once mor e i nt hi s News l et t er . )
S o t h a t i s h ow t h i n gs s t o o d o n t h e mo r n i n g o f Ma r c h8 , t h e l a s t d a y o f my s t a y i n Wa s h i n gt o n, D. C • • •I t wa s n ot a h ap py mo r n i n g b ec a us e I wa s a c ut e l y
a wa r e o f t h e mi s e r a b l e n e ws t h at 1 wo u l d s o o n h av et o i n f l i c t o n t h e me mb er s h i p . 1 h a d a l r e a dy i n -c o r p o r a t e d mo s t o f t h e u nh a pp y f a c t s i n a d r a f tv e r s i o n o f my p r o mi s e d l e t t e r , a n d h a d a l s o p utt o ge t h er a l e t t e r o f a p pl i c a t i o n f o r d i s c h a r g e a ndsuppor t i ng document at i on acc or d i ng t o i nst r uct i onsa nd h ad h ad i t a l l c he c ke d f o r a c cur a c y. T he r e wa so nl y o n e o f f i c i a l d ut y r e ma i n i n g. A t 1 : 3 0 t h ata f t e r n oo n 1 wa s t o me e t C ap t . Ma r y P r u i t t a t t h eP e nt a g on wh e n we wo u l d g o t o ge t h er t o t h e o f f i c eo f As s i s t a nt S ec r e t a r y o f t h e Ai r F o r c e An t o ni aChayes wher e 1 wou l d p r esent t he WASP S t a t ue t ha th ad b ee n a wa r d ed t o h er t h e p r e vi o us y e ar . I k n ewt h at i t wa s n o t t o b e a f o r ma l p i c t u r e - t a k i n g p r e -s e n t a t i o n a s t h er e wa s n o t s u f f i c i e nt t i me a v ai l -
a bl e i n h e r t i g ht a n d a l t o ge t h e r f o r mi d a bl e s c h e d-u l e , s o a s Ca pt . P r u i t t a nd I wa i t e d i n a n a nt e -r o om f o r Ms . Ch ay es t o r e t u r n t o h er o f f i c e I h adt aken t he WASP S t a t ue f r om i t s wr app i ngs i n o r dert o b e r e ad y f o r i n s t a nt a c t i o n. P r e c i s e l y a t 2 : 0 0o ' c l o c k s h e s wi r l e d i n l i k e Ha l e y ' s c o me t , t r a i l -i n g h er e nt o ur a ge b eh i n d h er . S he i s s ma l l , l o ve l yt o l o ok a t , g r a c i o us , a nd e xu de s e f f i c i e nc y . l i ee x c h an ge d h o w- d o - y o u- d o' s i n t h e a nt e r o o m a n d Ia s k e d i f s h e wo ul d l i k e t o a c c e pt t h e a wa r d wi t h o utmo r e a d o r i g ht wh e r e we s t o o d. S he s mi l e d a nd s a i dt h a t t i me wa s n ' t a l l t h at s h o r t a n d i n v i t e d C ap t .Pr u i t t and me i n t o her o f f i ce .
I t ' s a c h a r mi n g r o o m a n d mi r r o r s i t s o c c u pa n t e x -c e pt t h at i t ' s l a r g e i n s t e ad o f s ma l l . Af t e r a £ ew
wo r d s o f p r e s e n t a t i o n s h e a c c e pt e d t h e s t a t u e a ndspent some t i me admi r i ng i t and comment i ng on i t sb ea ut y a nd h er a pp r e c i a t i o n, t h en a f t e r a b r i e f s u r -v e y o f t h e r o om s h e d ec i d ed t h at t h e s t a t u e s h ou l db e p l a c e d o n a t a b l e t h a t wa s mi d wa y b e t we e n h e rd es k a nd t h e d oo r t o t h e r e c ep t i o n r o om. As s h ea r r a n ge d i t s p o s i t i o n o n t h e t a b l e I t o o k t h i s t ob e my c u e t h at o ur t i me wa s u p s o I h el d o ut myh an d a nd s t a r t e d s a y i n g g oo db ye . T o my s u r p r i s e s h ea s k e d me . t o s t a y a n d g e s t u r e d t o a ma n s t a nd i n g j u s t
8/20/2019 WASP Newsletter ~ 04/01/79
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out s i de t he door , mot i on i ng h i m t o come in. He en-t e r e d a n d h a nd e d h e r s o me p a pe r s wh i c h s h e q ui c k l yf l i p p ed t h r o u gh d o wn t o a b ou t t h e f o u r t h o n e in t hes t a c k , t h e n s h e i n v i t e d me t o r e a d it, s a y i n g s h et h ou gh t I wo ul d b e i n t e r e s t e d. As s h e p r e s s e d t h ep ap er s f l a t o n h e r d es k I s t o od b es i d e h er r e ad i n g
J
" Upon t he r econmendat i on •••• Revi ew Boar d, it i s t h edet er mi nat i on •••• Secr et ar y of Def ense ••••Women Ai r -f o r c e S e r v i c e P i l ot s • • • • s h a l l b e • • • • mi l i t a r y s e r -v i de ••••Ar med For ces •••• " . I ! : l eganget t i ng a s i g-
n a l t h a t s o me t t i n g a b s o l u t e l y s p l e n di d wa s h a pp e n-ing bu t itwa s g e t t i n g t h r o u gh o n l y d i ml y a s I wa s -n t t f u nc t i o ni n g v e r y we l l . Ac t u al l y , I wa s b y wa yo f b e i n g r o o t e d t o t h e s p o t , wi t h a l l n o r ma l t h o u-g ht p r o c e s s e s in f ul l s us pe ns i o n. I l o ok ed a tS e c r e t a r y Ch a y es a n d a s k e d , " Do e s t h i s me a n wh a ti t s e e ms t o me a n? " , a n d s h e s mi l e d a n d r e p l i e d ," Y e s , Mr s . Ro b er t s , i t me a ns e x a c t l y wh a t it s ee mst o me a n" . Bu t wh at e v er wa s s u pp os e d t o b e s h i f t -ing my g e ar s f r o m b ad n e ws t o g o od n e ws wa s a s -l e ep a t t h e s wi t c h , s o I s t a r t e d r e r e a di n g t h epaper , mor e s l owl y t h i s t i me and g i v i ng it ever y-t h i n g I h a d a v a i l a b l e a t t h e mo me n t in t he depar t -me nt o f e ar n es t a nd i n t e ns e c o nc e nt r a t i o n. He ad -ing t h e p ag e wa s t h e s e a l o f t h e De pa r t me nt o f Def ense f o l l owed by:
Upon t he r ecommendat i on~of t he Depar t ment of Def ens e Civilian/Military Ser v i ce Revi 4wBo a r d , i t i s t h e d e t e r mi n a t i o n o f t h e S e c -r e t a r y o f De f e ns e t h at t h e s e r v i c e o f t h eWomen Ai r f or ce Ser vi ce Pi l ot s ( WASP, ) andt h e p r e d ec e s s o r o r g a ni z a t i o n s o f t h a t g r o u p,wh o s e s e r v i c e e n c o mp a s s e d t h e p e r i o d S e pt -e mb e r 1 0 , 1 9 42 , t h r o u gh De c e mb e r 2 0 , 1 94 4 ,s h a l l b e c o n s i d e r e d a c t i v e mi l i t a r y s e r v i c ei n t h e Ar me d F o r c e s o f t h e Un i t e e S t a t e sf o r p ur p o s e s o f a l l l a ws a d mi n i s t e r e d b y t h eVet er ans ' Admi ni st r at i on.
Ant oni a Handl er ChayesAs s i s t a nt S ec r e t a r y o f t h e Ai r F o r c e( Manpower , Reser ve Af f ai r s
and I nst al l at i ons)
( Dat e )
I l o ok ed u p a t h er o nc e mo r e a nd a s ke d " Do es t h i sr e a l l y me a n wh a t i t s e e ms t o me a n? " , ~d s h e l a u gh -e d a nd s a i d , " Y o u ma y t a k e my wo r d f o r i t i t d oe si n de e d me a n wh a t i t s e e ms t o me a n a n d I t h o ug hty o u mi ? h t l i k e t o b e h er e wh en I s i g ne d it i l . S het h e n p ~c k e d u p a p e n, wr o t e h e r n a me a n d t h e d a t ea nd h ande d me t he pe n. As I l o ok ed do wn a t t he 'b l ~c ~ a n d g r e y p e n t h a t I wa s h o l d i n g, t h e wh o l e
sh~mng t r ut h began bl oss omi ng i n my mi nd l i ke t hef l o we r o f a c e n t u r y p l a n t v i s i b l y o p en i n g b e f o r eo ne . 's e y es . I n t h at s a me i n s t a nt I b ec a me a wa r eo f l t ~e ~a r m p r e s e n c e o f f r i e n ds , a n d I g l a n c e d u p~o f ~d t he empt y of f i ce f i l l ed wi t h WASPs cr owd-~ng t he r oom f r om wal l t o wal l , t hei r f i gur esgar bed i n t he whol e mot l ey r ange of ge. : . rt hat wel dwo r n , a l l s t a n di n g wi t h s h o u l d e r s t o u c hi n g f a c i n gu s a t t h e d es k . T he y t h ey we r e g on e b ut i n t h ei rp l a c e r e ma i n e d a s i n gi n g s e n s e o f c o ~p l e t i o n a n d
-3-
v i c t o r y . T h er e b e ga n we l l i n g u p wi t h i n me s u c h a na bu nd an c e o f j o y a nd l a ug ht e r a s t o b e a l mo s t i n -s t a nt l y a t t h e p oi n t o f b ur s t i n g o ut o f c o nt r o l .Ne v er b ef o r e h as a n As s i s t a nt S ec r e t a r y o f t h e Ai rF o r c e c o me s o c l o s e t o b ei n g k i s s e d b y a s t r a ng er .I ' m a b i t h az y a s t o wh at I d i d a s a s u bs t i t u t e ,b u t I h a v e a l o v e l y c o mp o s i t e me mo r y o f t h e l a u gh -i n g f a c e o f Antonia Ch a y es a n d mu c h c l a p pi n g a n dl a u gh t e r c o mi n g f r o m o u t s i d e a s we l l a s i n s i d et he of f i ce.
Ag ai n , I h av e n' t a c l e a r me mo r y o f j u s t h ow wel e f t b ut I c a me b ac k into f ocus wal k i ng r api d l yd o wn a P e nt a g on c o r r i d o r b e s i d e Ma r y P r u i t t . Wewe r e b o t h s t i l l l a u gh i n g , I wa s c l u t c h i n g t h e p e nand hol d i ng i t out i n f r ont of me somewhat i n t hema nn er o f a t o r c h l i g ht i n g t h e wa y , a nd o ur d es -t i n a t i o n wa s t h e o f f i c e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f De f e n s e .S e c r e t a r y Br o wn wa s o u t o f t o wn , a n d Ca p t . P r u i t ta n d o t h e r s i n t h e A i r F o r c e h a d a r r a n ge d f o r me t ob e g i v en a t o ur o f h i s q ua r t e r s . T hi s s p ec i a lk i n d ne s s wa s a n ot h e r d e mo n s t r a t i o n o f t h e i n v ar -i abl e suppor t and t hought f u l ness shown t he WASPb y t h e Ai r F o r c e . I t wa s a ma r v e l o us e x pe r i e nc es e e i n g t h e b e au t i f u l r o o ms t h a t ma k e u p t h e o f f i c eo f t h e h i g he s t r a nk i n g p er s o n in t h e P e nt a g on , b ut
I wi l l d es c r i b e o nl y o ne t h i n g. T he f i r s t r o omo f f t h e ma r b l e c o r r i d o r i s a r e c e p t i o n r o o m i nwh i c h t h e r e i s a l a r g e oil p a i n t i n g. T ha t p ai n t -i n g i s o f t he WASP . I t i s a n oi l r e n de r i n g o f t h ewel l known phot ogr aph of t he f our WASP wal k i ngaway f r om t hei r B - 1? af t er compl et i ng a mi ss i on,a n d a c r o s s t h e t o p o f t h e p a i n t i n g i n l a r g e b r i g h tbl ue l et t er s i s t he l egend WCl - 1ENAI RFORCE SERVI CEP I L OT S, WW 2 . As t h i s i s t h e p ai n t i n g h an gi n g o nt h e wa l l o f t h e S ec r e t a r y o f a l l o f t h e s e r v i c e s ,
I t h i n k t h at ' s s p ec t a c ul a r . I h op e y ou d o t o o.
Af t e r s a y i n g a n e x u be r a n t g o od by e t o Ma r y P r u i t ta t t h e P en t a go n, I f o un d my s el f a l o ne i n a t a xi o nt h e wa y b a c k t o Ma r g a r e t Bo y l a n ' s h o me . I t wa s
t e r r i b l y f r u s t r a t i n g b e i n g a l o n e a n d a l s o b e i n g o nmy wa y t o a h o us e t h a t wo u l d b e e mp t y o f p e r s o n sf o r a no t h er t wo o r t h r e e h ou r s b ec a us e I wa s s t i l lb u r s t i n g t o g o a l l o u t i n s o me k i n d o f u n r e s t r a i n e dc e ~b r a t i o n . Bu t wh e r e t h e r e ' s a wi l l , s o me t h i n gu s ua l l y g i v e s wa y , t h us I f o un d my s e l f s i n gi n g a tt he t op of my l ungs THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUB-L I C. I I Oh , mi n e e y es h av e s e e n t h e g l o r y o f t h ecomi ng of t he Lor d •••• J 1 1 Not i c i ng t hat t he t ax id r i v e r wa s l o o k i n g a t me i n t h e mi r r o r wi t h a d e g-r e e o f n er v o us n e s s , I p au s e d t o e x pl a i n t h at s o me -t h i n g s o j o y o us a n d wo n de r f u l , h a d j u s t h a pp e ne d t ome t h a t I s i mp l y h a d t o l e t i t ou t a nd h o pe d h ewoul d bear wi t h me no mat t er how awf u l t he r acket .He c h ee r f u l l y a gr e ed s o I s t a r t e d u p a ga i n . " 0 h,mi n e e y es h av e s e e n t h e g l o r y o f t h e c o mi n g o f t h eLor d, He i s t r ampl i ng hum- de- dum- de- dum t he gr apesof wr at h ar e s t or ed ••• J 1 1 An d a s I r e ac h ed t h e cc h o r u s h e j o i n e d i n a n d t o g et h e r we b e l l o we d o u t ,1 1Gl or y , g l or y hal l el u l j a, g l or y g l or y hal l e l u l j a ,Hi s t r ut h i s mar chi ng onl " F r om t hat moment wewer e a t eam and we hum- de- dum Id and hal l e l u l j a ' dt o g et h e r , a t p e ak v o l u me , e v e r y i n c h o f t h e wa yback t o Mar gar et ' s house. W e had a wonder f ul t i me.
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Major TomArbaughAFMilitary Personnel Center OMPCAKE)RandolphAFB,Texas78148
The responsibility for taking the next step isours. Each of us must nowmakeapplication for discharge. This consists of a brief letter sta-ting the nature and duration of service plus FormDD2168 plus copies of supporting documentation.(It is important that you retain the original doc-uments, mailing only copies.) If little or nodocumentationis available, FormDD2168has beenspecifically designed to serve as a substitute.So that I could use themhere as a sampleof whatis required, I have had myletter of application,
mydocumentationandmyfilled out FormDD216Bcheckedand OK'dby Capt. MaryPruitt, USAFRe-corder for the Civilian/Military Service ReviewBoardin Washington, D.C., and byMajor TomAr- baugh at the address below.
I write to request consideration for honorabledischarge as a WASP(WomenAirforce ServicePilots, WW2). Myinitial cadet flight train-ing took place in 1943, at Ellington Field,Houston, Texas, as a memberof the third class
of womencadets, and was completed at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, whereI graduated.I was then assigned to the WASPFerrying Squa-dron at RomulusArmyAir Base, Romulus,Mich-igan. I remained there until the day of WASPdeactivation, attaining the military pilotclassification of 4P (Liaison-training, lightcargo, heavy cargo, heavy cargo, mediumbomb-ers and pursuit). I acquired myinstrumentrating at the AAFinstallation in St. Joseph,Missouri, and mypursuit training at the AAFinstallation in Brownsvill, Texas. Enclosed are true copies of all of the supporting doc-umentation that is still available to me.
Andthat, GoodFriends, ends mystory of howwe be-cameveterans onMarch8, 1979. The story belongsto all of us. I hope you've nowlived it just asI did, so that it will be for you as it is for mean ever glowing part of memory.
Sampleof Press CoverageThroughoutU.S.San Franc~sco Chronicle, Maren18, 1979-
ASalute
To the WASPS
THE WOMEN PILOTS who flewmilitary planes during World War II -often under hazardous conditions -have at last received the long-merited recognition that they are, Indeed, ser-vice veterans. Air Force Secretary JohnC. Stetson announced recently that the1097 Women's Air Force Service Pilots(WASPS) who flew for the Army Air Corps during 194244 will be considered to have seen active military duty. Assuch, they are entitled to veterans
benefits.
That term "active" is, In truth,something of an understatement. Thesewomen flew mi).itary planes from B-29s
to Piper Cubs In the U.S. They ferried these craft some 70 million miles, towed targets for live-fire training and It was aWASP test pilot who tlew the first jet.Thirty-elght of them were kllied.
It, is only fair and proper that they be welcomed Into the ranks of veteransof a war they did so much to help win.
TOALLWASP.TRAINEES.WASP-AI.MINISTRA.TIVEand
SURVIVORSOFWASP
OnMarch8, 1979, in the Pentagonoffice of Assis-tant Secretary of the Air Force Antonia Chayes, Istood by her side as she placed a documenton her desk and invited meto read it. It conveyedthe
following information.
Thankyou for your attention.
Sincerely,
TheSecretary of the Air Force, under authoritydelegated by the Secretary of Defense, deter-mined onMarchB, 1979, that the service of the WomenAirforce Service Pilots (WASP)and the predecessor organizations of that group,whose service encompassedthe period September 10, 1942, through December20, 1944, shall beconsidered active military service in the Armed Forces of the United States for purposes of all laws administered by the Veterans Admin-
istration.
Ms. Chayesthen placed her signature on the doc-ument and handedmethe pen with which she had
signed it.
Until that moment,and contrary to what most of us have believed since Novemberof 1 9 7 7 , the dec-ision could have gone either way, for us or againstus, and could have continued to remain undecided for an indefinite period into the future. Butthis wasvictory, complete and final. Thirty-five years of waiting were over.
Lillian ConnerRoberts
Mydocumentationconsisted of copies of someten photographs and copies of two USAAF pilot grad-uation certificates. In all of the photographsI was ih uniform in an operational activity suchas: in the cockpit of a Pr - 26 , at a public cere-monyprior to takeoff of a WASPflight delivering
to Canada, in the pilot's seat of a B-25, finalday RomulusWASPSquadronphot~ after deacti va-tion, etc. The abovewas found to be adequate .,....u.~
supporting documentation, but for those of youwhoare lucky enoughto have more and better doc-
umentation, by all meansinclude it. Fom DD2168should present little difficulty. There areseventeen numberedboxes to be filled out. Fll-owingare myanswers, preceded by the appropr~ate
box number, for those questions that might pose a
problem. Youwill, of c~se, change.t~ose ~whichyour rating or spec~alty or tra:uung diff-ered frommine. Whenin doubt of the day and month
of a required date, use a guess, a question mark
and the year.
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5. WASP , WW 2. 7. P i l o t 4P . 8. $250. pe r mo .9 . Febr uar y 7, 1 94 3, E l l i n gt o n F i e l d , Ho u s t o n ,
TX . 12 . Av i at i on c ad et . 14 . F er r y P i l ot .1 7. ( 1 s t b ox ) De ac t i v a t i o n, ( 2 nd b ox ) De ac t i v a -t i o n . ( 5 t h b o x) De c e mb e r 2 0, 1 94 4.
R eq ue s t F o r m DD 2 16 8 b y wr i t i n g t o Ma j o r T o m Ar -b au gh a t t h e a dd r e s s p r e v i o us l y l i s t e d, o r b y
t e l ephon i ng h i m a t 512- 652- 2 l 48 .
Wh e n y o ur a p pl i c a t i o n ( c o n s i s t ~1 g o f l e t t e r p l u sc o p i e s o f s u p po r t i n g d o c ume n t a t i o n p l u s DD F o r m2 16 8) h a s b e en p r o c e s s e d a n d a n a f f i r ma t i v e f i n d-i n g ma d e, a Di s c h a r g e C er t i f i c a t e a n d DD F o r m 2 14( a c e r t i f i c a t e o f s e r v i c e i n c l u di n g t i me s e r v e d )wi l l b e ma i l e d t o y o u. Y ou ma y t h en a pp l y t o t h eV et e r a n s A dmi n i s t r a t i o n f o r b e ne f i t s . I t i s i mp -o r t a n t t o r e me mb e r t h a t e a c h s t a t e h a s a p r o g r a mo f v e t e r a n s b e ne f i t s t h a t i s e n t i r e l y s e p a r a t ef r o m t h e f e d er a l p r o g r a m, s o b o t h s h o u l d b e i n -v e s t i g at e d a nd p ur s u e d. T he a bo v e a pp l i c a t i o ns h o u l d b e ma d e b y a l l WA SP i n c l u di n g t h o s e wh o s es e r v i c e t e r mi n a t e d p r i o r t o g r a d ua t i o n , a n d b ya l l s u r v i v o r s o f WA SP a n d t r a i n e es . A pp l i c a t i o n s
o n b e ha l f o f i n di v i d ua l s wh o a r e d ec e as e d o r i n -c o mp e t e n t mu s t b e a c c o mp a ni e d b y l e g al p r o o f o f d ea t h o r i n c omp et e nc y . F o r t h os e s e r v i n g l e s st h a n s i x mo n t h s n o b e ne f i t s wi l l b e a v a i l a b l e a swe n o w r a l l u nd e r t h e s a me r e g ul a t i o n t h a t h a sa l ways l i mi t ed e l i g i b i l i t y f o r vet e r ans benef i t st o t h os e wo me n a nd me n p os s e s s e d o f a t l e as t s i xmo n t h s o f mi l i t a r y s e r v i c e . Ho we v e r , a n h o no r a b l ed i s c h a r g e a n d p e r h a ps , u po n a f a mi l y ' s r e q u~s t ,a f l ag , cou l d be f o r t hcomi ng .
I n t h e h ea di n g o f t h e a bo v e n ot i c e o f i n s t r u c t i o nt h e r e i s i n c l u de d f o r t h e f i r s t t i me a n a d di t i o n -a l c a t e g or y o f WA SP t h a t wi l l b e a c c o r d e d v e t e r -a n s t a t u s a nd b en ef i t s . F or t h e p r e s en t t h i sgr oup i s desi gnat ed as WASP- Admi n i st r a t i ve , wh i ch
ma y or ma y n ot b e t h e p er ma ne nt t i t l e . ~v e n t h eo f f i c i a l de f i n i t i on o f WASP- Admi n i st r a t i ve i ss t i l l i n t h e p r o c e s s o f b ei n g f o r mu l a t e d, b utf o l l o wi n g i s t h e b e s t p r e s e n t d e s c r i p t i o n a v a i l -a bl e . T he s e we r e f u l l t i me c i v i l i a n s e r v i c e p er -sonne l who wer e compar a t i ve l y f ew i n number andwho wer e cat egor i zed as admi n i st r at i ve member so f t h e WA SP o r g a ni z a t i o n . E x amp l e s o f s u c h WA SP -Admi n i st r a t i ve posi t i ons wer e E xecut i ve , S t a f f Di r e c t o r a nd S t a f f Ad vi s o r . Ma ny o f t h es e p os -i t i o n s we r e f i l l e d b y WA SP f l y i n g p e r s o n n el o rb y WA SP wh o a t s o me p r e v i o u s t i me h a d b e en o nf l y i n g s t a t u s , b ut s o me o f t h e p o s i t i o n s we r ef i l l e d b y n o n- f l y i n g p e r s o n n el wh o a t n o t i mewe r e c a t e g or i z e d a s WA SP p i l o t s o r T r a i n e es .
P e r s o n s r e c og ni z e d a s o f f i c i a l l y o c c up yi n g t h es eWASP- Admi n i st r a t i ve pOsi t i ons had t o have beena p po i n t e d b y t h e Di r e c t o r o f Wo me n P i l o t s , J a c -quel i ne Cochr an.
PRESI DENT' S REPORT
F i r st S i x Mont hs
P r i n c i p a l i t e ms : T r a n s i t i o n , c o r p o r a t e s i t u a t i o n ,vet e r an st a t us, co r r espondence .
( 1 ) T r a ns i t i o n. Ha s b ee n s l o w bu t i s n ea r • ••i ng compl et i on.
-5-
( 2 ) Co r p or a t e s i t u at i o n. S t i l l i n p r o c es so f be i ng r ev i ewed by t he S t udy Commi t t ee , I n -cor por at i on &Name Change, Dor a St r ot herc h ai r m~ a nd b y o ur l e ga l a dv i s o r , J a me sHut t e r , Gi bson , Dunn &Cr ut cher .( 3 ) Ve t e r a n s t a t u s . Co nc l u de d. Of f i c i a ld et e ~a t i o n b y S ec r e t a r y o f De f e ns e , Ma r c h8 , 1 97 9.
( 4 ) Co r r e s po nd en ce . A l o s i n g b at t l e . ~o omany mat t e r s o f v i t a l concer n t o t he e~t 1r emember sh i p have i n t e r vened. My apo l og1es.
P r i n c i p al a c t i v i t i e s e nv i s i o ne d f o r t h e n ex t s i xmont h per i od.A l l r e s i d ua l ma t t e r s o f t r a n s i t i o n wi l l b ec o nc l u de d a t t h e b oa r d me et i n g o f Ma y 1 0, a ndt h e a g en da o f t h a t me e t i n g p l u s ~y a ~p r o p -r i a t e i n f o r mat i on r esu l t i ng f r om 1t W11 l bet r ansmi t t ed t o t he member sh i p . The conc l us-i ons and r ecommendat i ons f r om a l l sour ces r eo u r c o r p o r a t e s i t u a t i o n wi l l b e p r ~s e n t e d t ot h e me mb er s h i p f o r s t u dy a nd d ec 1 s 10 n. T he e f -f o r t t o f i n d a l l WA SP a n d o t h e r s c o n s i d e r e d t ob e e l i g i b l e t o a pp l y f o r d i s c h a r g e wi l l c o n-t i n ue a n d a p r o g r a m o f e x pl o r a t i o n wi l l b e u n-d er t a k en t o a s c e r t a i n t h e f u l l s c o p e o f b en e-f i t s ava i l ab l e f r om t he Vet e r ans' Admi ni st r a -t i o n a nd f r o m t h e s t a t e p r o gr a ms . I f o f s u f -f i c i en t i mpor t ance and i mmedi acy , dec i s i ons onbenef i t s wi l l be communi ca t ed d i r ec t l y t o t hef ul l member s hi p.
NOTI CES
THOSE WONDERFUL WOMEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES
by Sally Van Wagenen KeiI, may be purchased by writing to
Elizabeth Gardner, 280 Riverside Drive, New York, N. Y. 10025.
By buying through our organization you save $1.00 on the book store price of $10.95, you get your book autographed by Sally.
Keil, you have the convenience of direct purchase, an~ the profit
on each sale goes into our WASP treasury rather than mto the
pocket of some unknown book seller. The book received a fine
review in the Book Section of the New York Times and else-
where. It is a joy to read and an invaluable reference work to
own. Make check payable to WASP or Order of Fifinella.
Th e f o l l owi ng t h r ee un us ua l i t e ms ar e av ai l ~bl e f o rp ur c h as e . E ac h i n i t s o wn . wa y wo ~d p r o v e 1 nv a l -u a bl e t o t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d 1 n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h eWASP.
HOUSE REPORT OF WASP HEARI NGSENATE REPORT OF WASP HEARI NGHI STOR! OF WASP by Byr d Gr anger
A s we h a ve o n l y a l i mi t e d n umb e r o f t h e He a r i n gsr e po r t s t h ei r s a l e i s r e s t r i c t e d t o o ne p er p er -s o n o n ~ f i r s t c o me f i r s t s e r v e d b as i s . Pleasei n s i c a t e p r e f e r e nc e . I t i s u nd er s t o od t h at i f t h er e q ue s t e d r e p or t i s n o l o n ge r i n s u p pl y , ~h e o t h e rh e ar i n g r e p or t wi l l b e s u b s t i t u t e d . He a r 1 ng r e -p or t s a r e $ 2. 5 0 e ac h . Hi s t o r y o f Wa s p i s $ 10 . 0 0.Ma i l r e q ue s t t o L u c i , l e Wi s e , 2 31 4 No r t h T r a c y S t . ,A l e x a nd r i a , V a. 2 2, 3 11 . Ma k e c h e c k p a ya b l e t o WA SPo f Or d e r o f F i f i n e l l a .
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For those of you who are WASPgraduates of the
class of 44-9 and whose supporting documentation
for discharge'may be either skimpy or non-existent,
you will be pleased to knowthat Gayle Snell has
forwarded to Major Arbaugh at Randolph a copy of a
document that serves to authenticate the status of
ail of you. This is Special Order #99, dated Nov.6 1944 listing the names and individulol service
n~bers'of fifty-five WASPas having graduated,
thereby becoming authorized to fly military air-
craft.
Edna Davis our Secretary-Treasurer, has been int-erested fo~ some years in the possibility of crea-
ting worldwide travel for the handicapped. Her
efforts and those of others culminated November,
1978, in Yugoslavia, where the first internation-
al meeting of such interested persons was held.
Further information may be obtained by contactingEdna.
It is hoped that in future a choice of possib17reunion sites can be presented to the mem?ership
for its consideration well ahead of the bJ.&nnual
meeting. This is to solicit pres~ntation~ fran
all interested parties. The reqUJ.rement J.S for a
formal,. detailed presentation. These will be car-
ried in all issues of the Newsletter. For further
information contact Edna Davis.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
First meeting of the new board will take place May
10. 1979, 9:00 AMto 5:00 I'M , at the Los Angeleshome of Edna Davis.
APPOIN'IMENTS
Sales &Merchandise Chairman - Lola Ricci
Parliamentarian - Gayle Snell
Lawyer - James Hutter, Gibson, Dunn& Crutcher
Accountant - Mr. Southgate, Wendes & McLaughry
Members, Study Committee, Incorporation & Name
Change: Deane Ferguson 44-9, Iris CUIIlIIlingsCritchell43-2, AnnAtkeison 44-10, Esther Noffke 44-2, Isa-
bell Fenton Stinson 43-3, June Wolfe Lectie 44-10,
Fai th Buchner Richards 43-4.
REPORTOFVICE-PRESIDENT
MINUTESOFTRANSITIONMEETING
OFBOARDS
OFORDEROFFIFINELLA
Colorado Springs, Colo. Oct. 1, 1978 11 a.m.
Bee Haydu, Past President, opened the meeting with
a discussion of unfinished business with referenceto a Study Committee to be appointed by the new
President, Lillian Roberts, as Bee had made a com-
mittment to the members that the Study COlIlIllittee be composed of members from all parts of the coun-
try. The committee was recommended after rejec-
tion by the membership of incorporation as pre-
sented. It was r-greed by all present that Sara
Hayden, who had done so much research on the cor-
poration, become a member of that committee. Byrd Granger agreed to discuss the Study Committee and
the recrommendation that Sara be on it with our new
President.
Bee Haydu indicated she would mail Lillian a list
of cOllllllittees for her use in calling the next board
meeting. It was indicated that Betty Cross would
continue as Newsletter Editor and she agreed a
newsletter could probably be out by February.
It was agreed that Betty Nicholas, former Secre-
tary-Treasurer, would continue signing checks tem-
porarily until a.rJ¥ bills previously committed had been paid. .
Sara Hayden pointed out that she had temporarilyaccepted the sales duties and re~eved the secre-
tary-treasurer of those duties during the militar-
ization struggle and would therefore send all sales
slips handled at Colorado Springs, along with a.rJ¥
remaining sales itema, to the new secretary-treas-
urer who resumes responsibility for them.
It was decided that a list of duties of each office be sent to the new President. Also, a.rJ¥ records
to be turned over to the new officers be mailed to
them as soon as possible or held until an early
board meeting.
It was highly recommended that a Budget Canmittee
be appointed and a new budget set up for use of the
funds.
It was recommended the Vice President has ready for
the next board meeting the cost of rosters and printing.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Betty Nicholas, Secretary
Pro fem
"ooPSI A GOOF"
Present: Bernice Haydu
Sara Hayden
Dedie Deaton
Marty Wyall
Betty Cross
Byrd Granger
Betty Nicholas' (acting as Secretary
pro tem)
-6-
JANEDUNBAR TEDESCHIwas inadvertantly anitted fran the list of those who received Certificates
of Appreciation priated in the last Newsletter."Her efforts on our behalf in obtaining outside
support and publicity were outstanding ••
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WASPNEWSLETTER
Lillian Roberts - President
Betty'Nicholas - Vice-President
Edna Davis - Secretary/Treasurer
Marty Wyall - Historian/Board Member Leoti Deaton - Board Member
Byrd Granger - Board Member
Bernice Haydu - Board Member
Lee Wheelwright - Chairman Veteran &CongressionalLiaison Committee. ,
Dora Dougherty Strother - Chairman Study Committ~e
Incorporation & Name, .. Change.
Patricia Hughes'- Special Advisor 'to the Board Betty, Cross.- Editor, Newsletter .
~.J.; ,Williams - Director Publicity/Public ,Relations
REPORTOF SECRETARY-TREASURER
Edna Modisette Davis
Treasurer Report: Weare sol ventl
Balance to 'date : ,1Aprll 79
Order of.Fifinella
First of Ft. Worth $13,609.18WASP~WomenAirforce 'Service
~ilots,WWII or ./Order of Fifinella ,
SeCUrity Pacific Natti~nal 'Los Angeles
692.74 '
. ' Total $14301.92Additional money from the Colorado Convention is
brling, sent in•.. Our Accounting firm is: 'Wendes &
McClaughry '- Long Beach, CA. .Imperative: All checks, paid, in ~ be made, out to
WASP~WomenAirforae Service Pilots,
WWIIor Order of Fifinella. Please,do not make them out to me.
Keep your dues checks coming in. In the past, ,
Newsletters and information have been mailes to
n?n dues paying members .~ut, unless hardship, this'~ll, of neces~ity, change.
If you have not received membership cards will you please so no~ify.
SearetOiI'Y Report: NewStati~narylW.A.S.P.
WomenAirforc~' 'Servic~ Pilots, WWII
The letter head and envelope is the same, 'in aWASPblue ink on cream texture stationary. It is
available for purchase. Price is listed elsewherein this Newsletter.
Smitty has sent out a marvelous letter hoping to
find and interest Instructors of the WASP'sin
Sweetwater or Houston. So far, 11 have responded
paying $10.00. Rosters, Newsletters and member-
ship Cards have been sent to them.
Authentic WASPwings are available ONLYto veri-
fied WASP's and approved museums, by request inwriting.
-7-
If you have questions or need anything please ~op
me a line and I will either handle it or pass 1ton to the proper source. I like being your secre-
tary and making so many new friendsl
**COLORADOSPRINGS**
FINANCIALREPORT
B Y
BETrY JO REED
FINALREPORTONTHEWASPCONFERENCEHELDIN COLO-
RADOSPRINGS,COLO. Sept. 27 - Oct. 1, 1978
Gettirlg the final report, Out for the ~978 WASP
Conference has been far more difficult than organ~
izing the conference. So many things have trans-
pired since the conference that have necessitated
my being away from the office a great deal of time.
First, I want to thank all the Committee Chairman
(Mary Helen Chappell, Marlyn and Bill Peyton, PennyGarrett, Millie Young, and Earl Medlicott). and theother Colorado people (Mary McCabe, Rosina Todd,
Ann Frink, Don Kupfer, D~ane Drury, Jim Patterson,
Rick Broome, Sally Jennings, and Elizabeth Quinnand Dottie Hendricks of the Antlers Plaza Hotel) ..
who help'ed out to make this conference so succes':;':'
ful. Of course, many th~s to the Air Force Acad-einy'and their wonderful personnel (General K.L~'
Tallman, Colonel Howard' Ri.ce~ Colonel MalhainWakin,
Major John McCord; William Madsen and Janet :'Shea. '
Bill attended most of our ~ommittee'meetings and:
submitted information pertaining to our conference
in 30 various publications. . He did 'so many other'
things, for us which are too numerous to mention. .;
A big thanks to General, James Hill'of NORADand his
'staff for all the tours of the NORAD'facUities."
Deane Drury of Centennial Cont:erences did ' an 'out":'.standing job of helping us organize 'our conference.
Deane had such wonderful ideas and suggestions to :
offer regarding the conference.
I also want to thank my husband, Carl Reed; who
allowed me unlimited reign,~~th our purse strings'
to ,help make this the biggest and best WASP'Confer-
ence ever held. "
I want to thank the previous Board of Directors' for their excellent cooperation, encouragement and sup-
port in making the 1978 WASPConference such a hugesuccess.
And las~, but not least, I want to mention that
without Sally Jennings, I'm sure we would never i:ave pulled everything off as successfully.
(I might mention th~t all the help provided for theconference was strictly: voluntary, with the excep-
tion of Deane Drury and Sally Jennings.
MaIlJ~miles were driven by the various Committee mem-
bers to attend the committee meetings, and each mem- ber paid his/her own expense. None of this was .
charged t'o' the conference." Also, the salary of'
Sally Jennings to do the work in connection with
the bonference was my own personal expense, and'
again this was not charged to the conference. A
total of 2,173 copies of various conference mater-
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MaryHelen Chappell's mother has been bed ridden
for a long time, and she passed away on Oatober
25. In addition to this, ~ Jenning's mother
fell and broke her hip the sameweek, and Sally
has been pretty muchconfined at the hospital.
paintings, and we are sure that over a period of a
few years all 200 prints can be sold. Webought
these prints for $30.00 per print, and our organiza-
tion will make$10 on each print sold. 1500 copiesof the fine-art print were printed, and we bought
200 prints. The remaining 1300 prints will be sell-
ing for $60 each nationally. The WASPorganization
will receive a small commission on the sale of the
1300 prints. The black-lite prints will be sell-
ing for $200 per print nationally as of June 1, 179.
To date 35 prints of the fine-art print have been
sold, thus produciJlg $350.00 for our organization.
W. will continue to sell these prints for $40. ea.
until the next reunion in 1980. After that time,
our suggestion is to raise the price to $50 per
print. If all 200 copies of the fine-art printare sold for $40 ea. , the WASPorganization will
make$2,000.00.
Weare. sending various items used' at the 1978 Con-ference to the next reunion chairman. These items
include: the 21 x 24' nylon WASPbanner purchased
for $135.00, several signs can be used again, app-
rcoci.mate1y250 plastic naID8tag holders were turned
in at the conference Ithese were purchased for $.25each - a savings of $62.50 for the next conference)
and the ribbons worn hi the Committee membersand
Officers.Sally Jennings and I took the week off following
the conference to get our ownhouses in order.
I would1ik8 to tell you nowthat DJ3' father was
in his last days with cancer when the conference
was held. He kept telling me to tuli'ill DJ3' o~
ligations on th8 conf8rence and continue on as I
had. He passed away the 23rd of October. My
father always took me to the air shows when I was
a little girl, and I feel this is what started
DJ3' interest and desire to be a pilot.
It is very interesting to note that the advertis-
ing in the Conference Booklet camevery close to
defraying the cost of the booklet. Penny Garrett
worked very hard obtaining all the advertising and articles for the booklet. The cost of publishing
the booklet was $2,780000 and the amount obtained
from advertising was $2,160.00. Thus, the Confer-
ence Booklet cost only $620.00. There are approx-
imately 50 booklets left which could be sold for
$1.00 each These will be turned over to the Vice-
President for Sales.
Marlyn and Bill Peyton did a fantastic job on re-
gistration. They not only kept a record of regis-
trations numerically in the order in which they
were received, but also alphabetically and by class. Wereturned to the office the following week and
Somevery. valuable information was received, and all wrote all the nec8ssary thank-you letters.
this will be forwarded to the WASPorganization for
future use. 1,000 bumper stickers were purchased
at $0.18 ea. The bumper stickers sold at the con-
ferenc8 for $1.00 ea. and could continue at this price until the stock is depleted. The bumper
stickers will produce $820.00 for the treasury.
The Vice President has the stock of bumper stick-
ers for sale. 2,000 decals were purchased at $.20 Hi.Gals:
ea. The decals sold at the c~nference for $1.50 ea. Lots of water _ ice and snowhas passed under the
However, we f::el that we obtuned them at such a bridge since you gals checked out of Colorado
reasonable ~r~ce that they could be sold for $1.00 Springs on Oct. 1st. Our worst winter ever.
8a. ApprOXJJIl&tely7OC:~8CalSwere ,:,-sedfor th8 I want to thank all of you for your cooperation,
conference. ~e rem~ decals will be turned your consideration in keeping the problems to a
ov~r. to the V~ce Pres~dent for sale. If the r8- bare minimumand making the whole affair a most
m~~ decals are sold for $1.00 ea., $1,040.00 happy experience. Also, your manyletters of app-
will be produced for our gr?Up. If they are sold reciation were greatly lWweciated.for $1.50, then $1,690.00 will be produced.
B810wis the financial report of the conference.
ial were mad8in my office at a cost of $0.02 per
sheet. Most places charge at least $0.10 a sheet.
As you can see this in itself was a tremendous sav-
ings to the conference. Apprcoci.mat8ly270 letters
were written for the WASPConference. Of this tot-
al, 50 letters were written transmitting duplicate
packets of conference material to those whohad
either lost or mislaid the material originally sent
them. You can see what an added expense for post-
age alone that this was. If there are any of you
whomight have been miffed by someinconvenience
during the conference, we are certainly.: very sorry.
Everything just grew by leaps and bounds, and weall did the very best we could. Wehad been told
that 350 is the most whohave ever attended a re-
union and almost 600 attended the 1978 Conferenc8.
I amsure that if prices continue to increase thenext two years as they have in the past, the cost
for the next r8union will be considerably higher
than the 1978 Conference. I would like to elabor-
ate on someof the costs to showhowmuchmoneytheWASPorganization will be deriving as a result of
this Conference.
W8will continue to accept orders in D8nverfor
both the black-lite prints and the fine-art
prints of the WASPAT-6over Avenger Field until
the 50 black-lite prints ar8 sold since these re-
quir8 Rick Broome's personally finishing th~m.Wh8nthe 50 lack-lite prints are sold, we will then
ship all remaining fine-are prints to the Vice-
President for sale. This was such.a fine painting
by one of the most outstanding artists of aircraft
IncomeLoan fran Fifinella
Registrations (609)
AdvertisingPicture Rafne
sales of Avenger Field Pictures
Donations
Total
500.00
35,940.00
2,160.00
465.001,226.00
100.00
40,391.00
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The following WASPshave accepted a request tohelp Dora on the committee:
STUDYCOMMIT'l'EE,INCORPORATION& NAMECHANGE
Chai.nu.n: DORADOUGHERTYSTROTHER
3 6 1 6 Landy LaneFort Worth, TX7 6 1 1 8
All Conference material will be forwarded to Edna
Davis, Treasurer, for Audit.
Mary Helen Chappell, Co-Char.General Delivery
Divide, Colorado 8 0 8 1 4
uniform (skirt, 2 ties, belt, jacket, and hat),
two winter Eisenhower jackets, 1 pair winter
slacks, 1 summer blue dress, hat and belt, and
jewelry ( 4WASP,4 props, 1 hat eagle and 2shoulder pins).
Uniforms - Nina K. Morrison (donor), winter Eisen-
hower jacket and slacks.
Magazines and Articles - Jean Moreo (donor), Vogue
Magazine, August 1 5 , 1 9 52 ; an article by J",cque-line Cochran about WASP. Lola P. Ricci (donor )
FAAWorld, June, 1978, an article about the FAAand WASP. Barry Smith (donor), Vogue Magazine,
February, 1 9 7 9 p. 2 9 7 , "Jacqueline Cochran" anexcerpt from book THOSEWONDERFULWOMENIN THEIR FLUNGMACHINESby Sally van Wagenen Keil.
Clippings are too numerous to list but are apprecia-
ted by the Historian. Thank youlMadgeLMinton donated a beauti.!'ul paper doll book-
let in excellent condition about the WAFSlabeled "Girl Pilots of the Ferry COIIllWUld".It was pur-
chased in 1 9 4 4 .
FROM:Sara Hayden
I have not previously reported on the above pro-
jedt, as it was started several years ago, got to be quite lengthly, and was not finished.
I am pleased to report now that:
REPORTONCOPYIUGHTS,WASPWINGS
and
FIFINELLA
Total
4, 813. 311 , 340 . 00
346 . 64
225 . 52500 . 003 , 926 . 32
June Wolfe Leckie
44- W- I OFlorida
172 . 42 -18 , 302 . 11
6 , 450 . 004 , 314 . 68
Iris Cummings Critchesa
43 - W- 2California
ExpensesCoumittee Expenses
Lunches & Banquet
Ra1'tle & Pictures
Advertising &Printing
Registrations - Cases
emblems - signsRe.tunds (24)
Gifts
PostageLoan pdd to FifinellaBalance to Fi!inella
All of these WASPswill welcome comments from thememberShip.
HISTOIUAN'SREPORl'- April, 1 9 7 9Marty Wyall
In recent correspondence with the San Diego
WASPs, they are working full tilt to get the ex-
hibit on the WASPsunderway at the new Aero Space
Museum. These gals are requesting pictures of all
kinds: planes you !'lew in -the WASP,training
pictures from Sweetwater or Houston, Photos of
your active duty, WASPin uniform, etc. They
would appreciate other historical data to be dis-
played. The committee is very anxious to make
the WASPof WWIIexhibit better than it was be-
fore, Write to : MEREDI'?fCAMPBEIJ.,(Mrs. Curti.},
5540 Grape Street, San Diego, CA. 9 2 1 0 5The traveling WASPdisplay case is temporarily
with Betty J. Williams. She is adding articles
which will be of historical interest.
Since the Conference at Colorado Springs in
October, 1 9 7 8 , the following articles have beendonated to the Historian:
Uniforms - Alberta P. Kinney (donor), winter dress
Isabel Fenton Stinson
43 - W- 3Massachusetts
Faith Richards
43 - W- 4
NewMexico
Dorothy Dean Ferguson
4J¥ .1 i I -9
District of Columbia
Ann Atkeison
44- W- I OTexas
1. WEHAVERECErVEDTHECOPYIUGHTONOURWASPWINGS.
2. WEHAVERECErVEDTHECOPYlUGHTONFIFINELLA.,on a photograph.
In looking into the original copyright of the
Fifi pin by Walt Disney, it was clear that 28years had gone by and thus the work had gone-into
public domain. All of th~ regulations I have _
read state specifically that there is no way to
restore copyright protection when this has happ-
ened. In order to give our Fili some protection
and with the concurrence of the "old ll board, I '
applied for copyright of a Filinella photograph.
We now have this, in full original color.
As long as we control the purchase and sale of
the Fifi pins, and the WASPwings, reproduction
of both must have the approval of the board and h
. ,ave a copyr~ght, I hope this will give us some
protection.
M»!BERSHIPCOMMITTEE
Chairman: ZIGGYHUNTER
8)8 Havenwood
Dallas, TX : 752 ) 2214 - 224 - 2905
Old Man River has nothing on our peripatetic
WASP. They, too, just keep rolling along fran
ODeaddress to another, through lWll8 changes, job
-9-
8/20/2019 WASP Newsletter ~ 04/01/79
10/56
changss and on••• and••• nearly 400 changes since
our latest update to the 1977 roster.
But that's good! As long as you keep moving,
keep those changes coming. They mean the differ-
ence between current mailing labels and 400 lostWASP. Your membership chairman especially app-
reciates your duplicate notifications to her asyou make your moves (or the postal department
changes your address without your moving an inch).
It does help to spesd up communication and we knowcurrent mailing lists are most important at this
critical time of keeping you informed of VAdevel-opments.
PLEASE,please include telephone numbers and
husband's initials with addresses. It takes lit-
erally hours of contacting LDoperators to get your
number and it's impossible when it's unpublished
or in someone else's name. If we have your phone
listing, we frequently can check out an addresswhen mail is returned.
'Twas beautiful the way you came through with
phone numbers after last summe~'s Newsletter.
Let's try it again for the following listed by
states. Get other needed info from your roster's
alphabetical list and check your local phone dir-ectory TODAY.
ARIZONA:43-6 Evelyn (Stewart) Jackson, Mesa.CALIFORNIA:WAFSDelphine Bohn, San Francisco;
43-1 Elizabeth A. McKinley (formerly Matry), Bev-
erly Hills; 43-3 Virginia (Crinklaw) Pierce,
Alturas; 43-4 Nancy E. (Nesbit) Staples, Riverside;
43-5 Jeanne D'Ambly, Los Angeles, and Irma (Cleve-
land) Weigel, Adelanto; 43-5 (t) Mary Ann Wether-
by, Weed; 43-8 Elizabeth (Keatts) Munoz, San Fran-
cisco; 44-2 Dorothy (Hawkins) Goot, Fair Oaks;
44-5 Margaret (Phelan) Taylor, Palo Alto; 44-6
Geraldine (Miller) Asimalds (formerly Barry),
Ventura; 44-6 (t) Sue E. (Snedaker) Durran, Suruiy-
vale; 44-6 Nanette (Hazeltine) Fuller; Oakland;
44-7 Ann 'Mimi' (Caffrey) Sheean, Los Angeles;
44-9 Margaret J. Phillips, Tracy; 44-10 PamCarr,
Los Angeles, and Janis (Gregg) vlheatl~l, Fremont.
COLORADO:43-7 Betty J. Clark, Rifle • .!h9..:44-6 France s E. Coughlin. FLORIDA:WAFSDorothy
(Fulton) Slinn, N. Miami; 43-7 (t) Barbara (Fowler)
Norton, Okeechobee; 44-2 Margaret (Needham) Walker,
Port Orange; 44-3 Mary Louise Prine, Marianna;
44-6 Lesley J. Williams, Melbourne; 44-10 Martha
(Blair) Gaunce, Fort Lauderdale. MAINE:43-4
Martha J. (Potter) Phillips, Bar Harbor. MASSACHU-
SErfS: 44-8 Doris J. Daniel, Falmouth. MARYLAND:
44-7 Scotty (Bradley) Gough, Gaithersburg.
MICHIGAN:43-4 ROlialie L. Grohman, Harbor Springs.
NEWJERSEY:WAFSHelen Mary Clark, Tenefly. NEW
MEXICO:44-3 Josephine (Martin) Gale, Pecos.
NEVADA:WAFSCatherine Slocum, Reno; 44-5 (t) Ger-
aldine M. Turner and 44-6 Audrey (Maxwell) Ducote,
Las Vegas. NEWYORK: 44-2 Frances (Luaway) Smith, West-
bury, Lol.; 44-5 (t). Helen D. Underhill, Brooklyn.
OHIO: 43-6 Rita (Cason) Stump, Morrow. OREGON:
44-2 Mary (McCrea) McCallum, Sunriver; 44-3 Pat-
ricia (NethercuLt) Weaver, Cave Junction; 44-10
Patricia (Houran) Rideout, Eugene. ,PENNSYLVANIA:
43-6 (t) Garland Jean Moors, Huntingdon; 43-6
Elizabeth (McGeorge) Sullivan, Ortanna; 43-8 (t)
Jerry (Williamson) Horu, Pittsburgh. RHODEISLAND:
44-8 Beulah (Smith) Thurston~ Barriruct,on. SOUTHEd. nots: Some of the' 'above named WASPhave been
found and' new name' or address will be listsd
in the new Roster update.
- 10-
CAROLINA:44-2 Mary M. (Saunders) Willison, Grey
Courts. TENNESSEE:44-2 Marjorie J. Johnson,
Nashville. TEXAS:44-5 Martha (Harmon) Rountree,Fort Worth. UTAH:44-3 Marjorie (Redding) Chris-
tiansen, Cedar City; 44-4 Ethelyn M. (S~ards)
Young, Provo. WASHINGTON:43-5 Elizabeth E. Greene,
Medina.With your great help we've whittled out "Lost"
graduate record down to less than 10 per cent-
last count was 78 graduates still unaccounted for.
Concentrate on your own class or those on the same base with you and direct your efforts to those.
Perfect records now go to classes 43-3 and 44-1.
They all have current addresses at last count.
And now 43-1 has joined the record-perfect list.
And 44-5, we hate to single you out but you still
have the largest number lost--10. Classes.43-6
and 44-6 are running a close second with 9 un-
accounted for.
Please check your class records and let's close
in on those few lost ones in your own class. WAFS
are still looking for Betsy Ferguson vloodward,
Lenore L. McElroy and Esther L. Nelson. Ross Kary
Anderson is still lost in 43-2. Others include:
43-4: Dorothy R. Colburn, Doris M. Manuel, Eolyne
Y. Nichols and Rena B. Wilkes.43-5: Ann A. McClellan, Floella Mcintyre and Wilma
Morehead Cockburn.43-6: Margaret C. Callahan Grant, Shirl~y J. C~nd-
it Sergott, Lauretta.A. Darcy, Enid C~ FJ.sh-
er Evelyn L. Fletcher Stephens, CorrJ.ne W.
Ni~nstedt, Maxine A. Holt Wright, Ruth Rob-
erts, Betty Scantland (she may be deceased).
43-7: Neva L. Calderwood, Mary A. Gresham, Phyl-lis M. Jarman, Mozelle I. Simpson, and Aud-
rey R. Tardy.43-8: Elvira C. Griggs Cardin, Doris M. Marland
Martin, Kathryn Stamps and Betty E. Wright.
44-2: Kathryn F. Herman, Eleanor J. PattersonBrady, Rose D. Reese and Jane Rutherford
~~~ . .
44-3: Elizabeth M. Chambers, Eileen B. Evans WrJ.-ght, Elizabeth Ann Lore, and Mary Abbie
Quinlan.44-4: DorothT J. Allen, Jo Ann Parry and Susie M.
Winston.44-5: Elizabeth C. Hubbard, Joan C. Hutton, Ethel
L. Jones, Jean M. McFarland Koehler,.KarlaD. Mogensen Jordan, Dorothea M. NorrJ.s,
Beverly J. Olson Southwick, Margaret A. Rob-erts Goldham, Harriet I. Stockwell, Anne
TePas Wiltsee and Urcela D. Waldo44-6: Dorothea B. Baumeister Hamilton, Juner Bel-
lew, Beverly B. Cangiamila Peak, Edythe M.
Carlton Lusk, Margaret M. Godfrey Powell,
Eleanor R. O'Dell, Elizabeth G. Peters Goe-
ttel and Ann G. Warren Griffith and Margaret
E. Hick Thomas.44-7: Virginia B. Krumand Vivian Mae Williams.
44-8: Margaret M. Moore, Mary Ann Palmer Hays, .
Jamece Paxson Brewton and Wilda N. Winfield
McBride.44-9: Anna C. Baron Belliv~au, B. Jean Reimer,
Sarah G. Rewey, Frances D. Stroud Ochoa,
Janet E. Wayneand Mary F. Woodward.
44-10: Suzanne 'L.' Bane Armstrong, Nancy J. Burnside
Murra7, Josephine H. Kater Robinson, Jane
E. Morrison, Barbara C. Searles Squire and
Gail G. Sigtor4. .
8/20/2019 WASP Newsletter ~ 04/01/79
11/56
Don't forget to keep your membership current.
If you haven't sent in your $10 annual dues (per-iod of Oct. to Oct.), please get them in to EdnaModisette Davis, Sect.1Treas., 114 N. Norton Ave.,Los Angeles, CA90004, without delay. Remember,
this entitles you to the WASPRoster, as well asthe Newsletters •••• ANDthe best'way to keep intouch with your other WASPfriends.
PUBLICITYREPORT
Betty Jane Williams
or primary in"terest, of course, was the News Re-
lease issued by the Public Affairs Office Assis-tant Secretary of Defense, dated March 9, with
the banner line WASPSERVICETOBECONSIDERED
ACTIVEMILITARYSERVICE.That release served as
the basis for subsequent articles in newspapers
across the country,. spot announcements in radio
and TVand a renewed interest in our military
service. The concurrent release of Sally Kiel's book, "Those Wonderful Womenin Their Flying
Machines'" afforded good publicity with her app-
earance on the March 19th NBCTODAYShowand
other tie-ins in newspaper articles.
Lillian Roberts has been interviewed by Scripps
HowardNewspapers, Washington, D.C., the San
Diego Union and was featured in the Pasadena Star
News, the local paper in Pasadena, where she is
presently residing ••• and several others as we goto press.
Films and TVprograms currently in production _
NBCand Universal are shaping ATVshowwhich has
been reported in the trades as "Jaclde's Girls" •• but the executive producer indicates that the con-cept of the showhas changed considerably ••• thefirst approach which attempted to be authentic
storylines about WASPsdid not please the "powers
that be"•• and so the present approach is completelyfictionalized ••• the producers wanted more excite-
ment•• so the action will take place in Europe dur-ing WWII••• with wanen pilots getting into all
sorts of escapades ••• and of cour~the title will be changed. Will be intere sting to see if it ever
gets on the air and what action will be portrayed.The executive producer has been worldng on this
for nearly a year and a half, if not longer.
Rac1lhamFilm Productions, Ltd., is preparing a
half hour documentary for TVon the WASPs••• theyhave interviewed about five WASPsincluding Jac-
queline Cochran and a recent telephone request for
help from their film editor in NewYork indicated
that they are hoping for an early play date ••••
though nothing was firm at that time. She said
that this Will be the firs episode in a series of
films for TVon wanen pilots, not only Americanwanen, but womenthroughout the world.
Nelson Adamsand Kitty King, young fi.lJmna.kers
fran NewY~rk, are putting a documentary together
with the aid of a grant, worldng through Public
Broadcasting in Washington. And some of the major studios, here in Hollywood, have various scripts
under development. Suffice to say that our storyhas genarated considerable interest. In the past
two years, I have been contacted by at least 30
or 40 writers, producers, or story developers •••
have given freely of days and days of meetings,
giving information and sources for their indivi-
dual research not only for films, TV, but for col-lege thesises and feature articles. Manyof the
WASPshave been interviewed and worked closelywith film and TVproducers and writers. Let's
hope that out of all this effort •• a really good
film for TVor theatrical release will emerge.
Our experiences are unique ••• our story has earned
its place with the public. It's been buried in thefootnotes of history too long.
The small exhibit materials which Marty Wyall,our historian, has put together, were used in aFederal Women's Program in Atlanta the week of
November6-9th, last year. They displayed thevarious articles in glass cases and handled the
log books and personal gear with care ••• took
photos •• and reported excellent interest.
I Id appreciate hearing from any WASPwhois feat-
ured in news articles or needs assistance with
background material for personal appearance or speeches.
Three womenartists, members of the Society of
Professional Illustrators, have selected the WASPs
as themes of their ,annual painting, given to theAir Force Art Collection, a major program under the
direction of the Air Force Office of Information inthe Pentagon. These paintings will be presented to
the Air Force along with those created by other ar-
tists at the formal ceremonies in Washington, April
9th. One, created by Kathleen Gillette, titled,
MAGNIFICIENTWASPS,is a composite of three WASPsdone in water color, about 24 x 30 in size. Another,
created by Mollie Kerr, a montage of photos trans-
ferred by dyes and stitchery onto white fabric
(about 16 x 20) is called WASPPRIDE••• and the
third as of this writing not totally completed,
promi~es to be a beauty ••• created by Na~al~e Mode••
an acrylic (24 x 30) will showa WASPfilll.ng out
forms on the wing of an airplane, contrasted by one
today1s Air Force womenpilots and a T-3S, aptly
titled "AIR FORCEWOMENPILOTS- A.Generation
Gap". 'The se paintings ar~ usually. displayed o~ the
Pentagon waJ.ls in the var~ous corr~dors when filst
acquired and then become part of a traveling ex-
hibit. The Air Force Art Collection is a handsane
one, worth a trip to the Pentagon.
Of interest to WASPs(this country'S first Air Force
WomenPilots) 22 womenofficers in the Air Force
are presently in the field; 16 are pilots and six
are navigators. Five more will be selected for
undergraduate pilot training in April and two,. for
navigator training. Their class entry dates will
be in September or October. This continues. the
women's fiying training test program began. ~ July
1976. Another five will be selected for pilottraining later this year. Five active-duty and
-II-
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12/56
five AFROTCgraduates have already been selected for pilot training in the calendar year 1979.
Comment: the Air Force still refers to this as a
"test" program. NOTE
The Air Force has augmented women into combat ready
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICm) crews •••
there are 13 officers and eight enlisted women per-
forming alert duty in the Titan II ICm sYstem.
NOTEof Interest - If you are planning any WASPget
togethers in your area you might wish to schedule
such a gathering in conjunction with scheduled Air
Force traveling exhibits ••• theater van, aircraft
theater/cockpit van, etc. Check with your close~t
Air Force Base, Information Office or write me••I
have the schedule. It's too extensive to reprinthere.
IlAIRPORTSNAMEDFOR WAFSII
The following information sent by JEWELLESTES,
44-10, will be of interest to all members of our
organization!
Three airports, to our knowledge, have been named
for WAFSwho died in service: WAFCornelia Fort
Airport, Nashville, Tenn., Evelyn Sharp AirpQrt,
Ord, Nebr. and Dorothy Scott International Air-
port, Oroville, Wash.
CORNELIAFORI' AIRPORI'
CORNELIAFORT 1919- 1943
NASHVILLE'SFIRST WCMANFLYINGINSTRUCTOR,
VOLUNTEER * ARMY'SWAFS* WWII, WASTHEFIRSTWOMANPILOT w H o DIED WHILEONWARDUTYIN
AMERICANHISTORY.
III AMGRATEFULTHATMYONETALENT,FLYING,
WASUSEFULTO MYCOUNTRY,II SHEWROTE
SHORTLYBEFOREHER DEATH.
MISS FORTWASLOSTIN A CRASHOVERTEl(ASFLITNG
A BOMBERACROSSTHE UNITEDSTATES.
Mr. Dudley Fort, A brother of WAFCornelia Fort,
has written to me (Jewell) that the State or
Tennessee has erected an historical marker (above)
in memory of WAFCornelia Fort. It is located atan Airport which was named for her a number of
years ago. A dedication of the memorial, though
not yet scheduled as to date, will be held within
the near future. Lest it should occur before the
next Newsletter could announce' the date, those of you who would like to attend may contact Mr. Ernest
Colbert, Mgr., Cornelia Fort Airport, Nashville,
Tenn. It is hoped that a photo of the memorial
will be available for the Newsletter before the
next publication.
- 12-
** LASTFUGHT **
44-6 Ava M. H;umn(Richardson) - died at heme Septem-
ber 3, 1978, after a two day illness.
43-3 Marie Shale of Yuma, AZ - word received she
died of cancer in the winter of 1978.
NEEDEDBY AIR FORCEMUSEUM
The Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio would like to
expand their collection of slides about the WASP.
They will duplicate scenes that are significant
and make them into slides. When sending slides or
pictures, please identify where the picture was
taken, when, who is depicted and if an airplane is
pictured, identify the plane. Give as much detail
as possible. Also indicate whether you are giving
or loaning the pictures. They need time to copy.
Send these to: Ruth Hurt, Curator, Research Div-
ision, Dept. of the Air Force, Air Force Museum,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433. If you want to borrow this collection for lectures
or sane such, contact this same department.
-- COMINGEVENTS --
EIGHTHANNUALBISHOPWRIGHTAIR INDUSTRYAWARDS
CEREMONY,Thursday, May 10, 1979, International
Hotel; JFK International Airport, NewYork City.
For Information: Rev. Marlin L. Bowman, JFK Pro-
testant Chapel, Jamaica, N.Y. 11430 - (212) 656-
5693EIGHTEENTHP-47 THUNDERBOLTPILOTS ASSOCIATION
REUNION,May 11-12-13, 1979, Sheraton Universal
Hotel, Hollywood/Los Angeles, CA. (1700 members)
For Information: Wayne Dodds, General Reunion
Chairman, P.O. Box 10428, Glendale, CA 91209
(213) 240-6868
EIGHTHP-40 WARHAWK PILOTS ASSOCIATIONREUNION,July 20-21-22, 1979~ Imperial House-North, Dayton,Ohio. (1000 members)
For Information: Lloyd "Scottyll Hathcock, General
Chairman, J4 College Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45407
( 513) 223-8432
THIRTY-FOURTHANNUALCHINA-BlJm1A-INDIAHUMPPILOTS
ASSOCIATIONREUNION,September 12-17, 1979 at the
Airzona Biltmore, P.O. Box 2290, Phoenix, Arizona
85002 (JOOOmembers)
For Information: Mrs. Jan Thies, Executive Secty.,
808 Lester Street, Poplar Bluff, Missouri 63901
(14) 785-2420
LOS ANGELESWASPSHOLDPRE-CHRIS'lMASPARTY
As a means of exchanging Holiday greetings with
each other and having the opportunity to meet two
of our new national officers, the Los Angeles WASPs
gathered on December lOth at Longfellow's restau-
rant in Downey. Lila Mann, Chairman of the event,
arranged a delightful party, complete with decor-
ations and the help of Vi Cowden and the guest
speaker, Mr. John Wright, Space Shuttle Project
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13/56
" THANK YOU FOR THE DONATI ON"
Hank, Dave & Br uce Ar nol d
GOLDWATER DOES I T AGAI N
Ma n y t h an k s a n d l o v e,
Per i od i ca l I ndex i n L i br ar i es:WASPWomen i n t he A i r For cesWAFS ( Women' s Auxi l i ar y Fer r yi ng Ser vi ce)Women i n t he Ar med For cesWomen i n Uni f or m
WASP' s ment i oned i n:
Ov e r T he Hu mp b y L t . Ge n. Wm. H. T u nn e r , p a ge s3 4- 3 9 ( S ue l l , S l o a n, a nd P e a r c e , N. Y . : 1 96 4)
Th e Ea gl e i n t he Eg g by Ol i ver L a F or ge ( Ri ver -s i d e P r e s s 1 94 9) Ch ap t e r 1 2.
Ar t i c l e i n J OURNAL Amer i can Avi at i on Hi st or i calS o c i e t y , Wi n t e r 1 97 4, p a ge 2 98 t o 3 06 o n wh i c hpage Ref er ence i s made t o i n f o r mat i on sour ce .
Ti t l e of Ar t i c l e: Th e W. A. S. P . Tr ai ni ng Pr o : ' "gr am by Lt . Col . Dor a Dougher t y St r o t her ,USAFR.
Ar t i c l e i n AEROSPACE HI STORI AN, Vol . 17, Summer -F al l 1970, No s . 2 & 3 , p ag e 7 6 t o 8 2 wi t hp i c t u r e s . T i t l e : T he WAS P o f Wo r l d Wa r I Ib y L t . Co l . An n R. J o hn s on . Ae r o s pa c e' Hi s t -o r i a n, De pt . o f Hi s t o r y , K an sa s S t a t e Un i v -er s i t y , Manhat t an , Kansas 66502.
Fi nal Repor t on Women Pi l ot Pr ogr am t o Commandi ngCommandi ng Gener al , Ar my Ai r For ces , Head-q ua r t e ~s , ~ Ai r F o r c e s , Wa s hi n gt o n, D. C.#6- 1262, AF by J acquel i ne Cochr an" Di r ect oro f Women Pi l o t s ( 53 pages) .
Cur r ent Seeki ng f o r Mi l i t a r i zat i on o f t he WASP' s( Women' s Ai r f or ce Ser vi ce Pi l ot s) and, mor e
i mpor t ant , r ecogni t i on.9 - 1 0- 7 6 Co n gr e ss i o n al Re c o r d - S e na t e
S15586 t o S155939 - 1 4- 7 6 Co n gr e ss i o n al Re c o r d - Ho u se
Hl OOO71 0- 1 - 7 6 Co n gr e ss i o n al Re c o r d - S en a t e
S17693.Ma y " 1 97 7 i ss u e o f V I VA ma ga z i n e F e a t u r e A r t i c l e
Resear ch mat er i a l A l ber t F . S i mpson Hi st o r i ca lResear ch Cent er , AFSHRC/ HO, Maxwel l AFB"A l a . 3 61 12
Congr ess i ona l Recor d :Senat e Hear i ngs" Vet er ans Af f a i r s Commi t t eeMa y 2 5, 1 97 7
House Hear i ngs 1944
RESEARCH
House Hear i ngs, Vet er ans Af f a i r s Sub Camn-i t t e e S e pt . 2 0" 1 97 7
F o l l o wi n g i s a l i s t o f s o ur c e s o f r e s e ar c h • . I f a n y o f y o u k n o w o f o t h er a p pr o p r i a t e ma t e r i ~~ a ndi t s l o c a t i o n , p l e a se se n d su c h i n f o r ma t i o n t c t h ee di t o r , Be t t y Cr o s s , s o t h at s h e ma y p r i n t i t i nf ut ur e Newsl e t t er s.
Th os e Won de r f u l Women I n Th ei r F l yi ng Mac hi ne s, by Sa l l y Van Wagenen Ke i l . Pub l i shed Mar ch ,1 97 9. Av ai l a bl e i n b oo k s t o r e s o r t h r o ug h t h eWASP or gani zat i on - by wr i t i ng Mar j or i e Gr ay,1 36 S umme r s S t . , Oy st e r B ay , N. Y . 1 17 71 . P r i c e$ 10 . 9 5. P r e se n t a v a i l a b i l i t y i n l i b r a r i e s n otcur r ent l y I mown.
Capt. Connic J, Engel
97 Flying Training Squadron
Williams AFB, AZ 85224
1st Lt. Carol A. Scherer
54 Weather Recon SquadronAPO San Francisco, CA 96334
(Anderson AFB, Guam)
1st Lt. Mary M. Livingston
37 Flying Training Squadron
Columbus AFB, Miss 39701
'Capt. Kathy LaSauce
14 Military Airlift Squadron
Norton AFR, CA 92409
Capl. Mary E. Donahue
911 Air Refueling Squadron
Seymore Johnson AFR, N. C.
27531
1st Lt. Victoria K. Crawfoid
454 Flying Training Squadron
Mathcr AFB, CA. 95655
Capt. Susan D. Rogers
II Aeromedical Airlift SquadronScott AFR, Ill. 62225
Capt. ChTistine E. Schott
II Aeromedical Airlift Squadron
Scott AFR, Ill. 62225
WOMEN AI RFORCE PI Lo T GRADUATES1978
2nd Lt. Kathleen R. Cosand
335 Military Airlift Squadron
McGuire AFB, NJ 08641
We a r e v e r y g r a t e f u l f o r t h i s k i n d a nd t h o ug ht -f u l gest ur e .
QUOTE:Dear El ai ne:
Am c a t c h i n g u p o n so me l o n g o v er - d ue c o r r e s -p on de nc e . A r e po r t f r o m t h e Ai r F o r c e Ai d S oc -i e t y sh o w t h at t h e WA SP d o na t e d t o t h e H. H. A r n -
o l d Educat i ona l f und i n memor y o f our mot her .
F o l l o wi n g i s t h e T ha nk y o u n ot e s e nt b y Br u c eAr nol d t o El ai ne Har mon f or , t he $100 donat i ont o t h e A i r F o r c e A i d S oc i e t y i n a c c o r d a nc e wi t ht h e f ~l y l s wi sh e s r a t h er t h an f l o we r s u po n t h edeat h o f Br uce ' s mot her l ast summer .
Wh i l e se a t e d a t t h e b an qu et d i n ne r t a bl e i n Co l o -r a d o S pr i n gs , Co l o r a do , S v pt e mb er 3 0, 1 97 8, S e n-a t o r Ba r r y Go l d wa t e r n o t e d t h a t J o e Ha y du c a l l e dh i s wi f e , Be e, " T he Ol d Cr o w" . J o e h as u s e d t h i sn i c l ma me f o r B ee f o r y e ar s . Up on h i s r e t u r n t oWash i ngt on , D. C . , Senat or Go l dwat er had Bee nameda s a n Ho no r a r y Me mb er o f t h e A sso c i a t i o n o f Ol dCr o ws . S he wa s se n t a Ce r t i f i c a t e o f Ho n or a r yMember sh i p , a co i n wi t h t he i r embl em- a b l ackc