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Female WWII pilots honored at convention
October 7, 1996
Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EDT
From Correspondent Jim Hill
ANAHEIM, California (CNN) -- When most people think of WWII veterans, images of women in fighter planes usually do not readily come to mind.
But at a recent convention, female pilots of WWII gathered to
remember the missions and planes they flew over 50 years ago.
(22 sec/961K QuickTime movie)
Represented at the meeting, were members of the WASPs, -- Women Auxiliary Service Pilots -- women who flew fighter planes from the manufacturers to air bases all over the world.
The WASPs flew planes what were state-of-the-art machines at the time: P-51 Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings and B-29s that they flew at 400 miles per hour.
The women served as volunteers, receiving little compensation and few benefits for flying in the experimental non-combat program.
Non-combat did not mean no-risk. The WASPs flew the planes for the first time, and they often flew towing targets 30- yards behind their planes to help gunners practice their aim.
Coupling those tasks with rough weather and primitive airstrips made many of the WASPs missions dangerous feats. Former WASP Florene Miller Watson described what she felt as a pilot..
(8 sec. / 89K AIFF or WAV sound)
"It was kind of exciting and scary because you wondered
whether or not the plane was going to be okay, but once you
took off and knew you were the very first person that got to
fly that airplane....It was really a thrill," veteran Violet
Cowden said.
The women who flew during WWII not only got their planes to
the men at the front, they helped change the roles of women
in the military.
Marty Wyall explained the pride of the WASPs, "There's something about our service in the war that changed our whole viewpoint....That made us feel very confident."
Cowen agreed, going further to speak of the future generations of women and female military personnel. "I feel that I certainly would be a role model to show that even at a time women were not accepted that you could do it if you had had whatever it takes to get ahead," she said.
The WASPs were not officially recognized until 1977. At that time, Congress gave honorable discharges to the 1,100 WASPs and officially declared them veterans.
Related story:
- Remembering sacrifices in war and peace - May 27, 1996
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