"You don't need legislation to prove something . . . you can be whatever you set your heart and head to be, and don't let anybody tell you can't be, because 1,078 women pilots did it in World War II."
- Pilot Annelle Henderson Bulechek, WASP 44-W-2
They were the original "Fly Girls."
During World War II, a select group of young women pilots trained to fly American military aircraft. Known as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), their life experiences are being collected in interviews for Wings Across America, a multi-media virtual museum.
A new exhibit honoring the military's first female aviators debuted Nov. 2008 at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington Cemetery. To view online and listen to the pilots, see this link featuring Department of Defense (DoD) videos.
Nancy Parrish is director of Wings Across America and creator of the Fly Girls exhibit.
To see an interview with Gloria Heath of Connecticut, who is recognized as a "leader in establishing an international safety information and providing a unified global response to distress occurrence for the land, sea and air" - visit http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wings/interviews.htm.
Heath served as a WASP and has been involved in aviation ever since in a variety of roles including the director of summer aviation programs at Connecticut College as well as a consultant for the search and rescue operation, SAR-ASSIST. She is a founding Board member of the Flight Safety Foundation and remains actively involved today.
Another venue, "A Passionate Pursuit," part of a Living History Symposium Series is set for Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 (in Florida) features the opportunity to meet and talk with WASP pilots.
Fantasy of Flight's WASP exhibition, which includes aircraft as well as four separate bays that feature historical, anecdotal, and inspirational newsreel footage, original photos, and storytelling panels from the 1940s and today, will serve as the backdrop for historic appearances from WASP pilots, Betty Blake, Helen Wyatt Snapp and Bernice "Bee" Falk Haydu. Cost of the symposium is $28.95.
Women in Aviation, International (WAI) is a non-profit organization based near Dayton, Ohio. WAI is dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of women in all aviation career fields and interests. For more information call (937) 839-4647; wai@infinet.com; www.wiai.org.
