The Women Air Force Service Pilots
War Heroes Receive Long-Awaited Recognition
Additional Images
Photo by Chris Wilson
(l. to r.) WASP veterans Helen Snapp, Janet Lee Simpson and Barry Vincent Smith are honored by Susan King and Bob Oehl of the Wings of Dreams Museum in Keystone Heights.
The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) contributed incredible services to the World War II effort, but the group is only now gaining the recognition afforded to other war veterans. Recently, three surviving WASP were honored at a Memorial Day event in Gainesville where attendees had the opportunity to learn about their incredible journey.
Bob Oehl, executive director of the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum and War Bird Restoration Facility in Keystone Heights, stood before a large crowd of veterans, local politicians and visitors, and recounted the history and personalities that helped make the WASP program important.
"After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the abrupt entry into World War II, the United States raced to build its airpower, and airplane production went into high gear," Oehl said. "All available male pilots were needed overseas for combat duties, resulting in a desperate shortage of pilots needed to move planes from factory to airfield and perform other essential operations."The History of the WASP
In September 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the production of 11,000 new combat planes, according to the national WASP Web site.
At the time, Germany already had 8,000 combat aircraft at its disposal.
Two women pilots, Jacqueline Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love, pleaded with the U.S. Army to allow women to fly these non-combat missions. Cochran would become the first woman to fly a military aircraft across the Atlantic.
General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the U.S. Army Air force commander, reconsidered his stance on not training women to fly military planes, as the reality of war became apparent. He authorized the establishment of two all-women Army units to fly the planes in 1942. The squadrons soon merged and became known as the WASP.
These women pilots were trained at a small air base in Sweetwater, Texas, which became the largest all-female air base in American history. Avenger Field became the training ground for the first women to fly military aircraft.
"The women came from all sorts of socio-economic backgrounds, including teachers, nurses, secretaries, waitresses, factory workers, debutantes, actors and even a Siegfried Follies chorus girl," Oehl said. "They were patriotic, strong in spirit, and shared a passion for flying."
The WASP program was regarded as an experiment. The women, who already had pilot's licenses, were trained for 30 days in military paperwork and how to fly military aircraft before being stationed at a U.S. base.
"The WASP surpassed all expectations, enduring chauvinism, discrimination and, in some cases, sabotage to their fine aircraft," Oehl said.
The greater than 1,000 WASP were stationed at more than 120 air bases throughout the U.S., had logged more than 60-million miles and had flown 78 types of military aircraft by the end of World War II. The women were test pilots and flight instructors. They towed targets for air-to-air gunnery and ground-to-air anti-aircraft practice, and are credited with transporting cargo -- including parts for the atomic bomb. They also performed other essential duties.
Some Personal Stories
The three WASP who attended the Gainesville Memorial Day ceremony had plenty of stories to share.
Barry Vincent Smith, age 91, logged more than 1,500 hours of flight in one year, as she had the opportunity to fly everything from open-air cockpit biplanes to the AT-10.
"The mechanics would work on the planes, fix whatever was wrong with it and I would take it up to make sure it was safe for the men to fly," Vincent Smith said.
Upon reporting for duty at Blackland Army Air force Base in Waco, Texas, Vincent Smith said she greeted her commanding officer.
"I said, 'Sir, I'm reporting for duty as your new test pilot,' and he said, 'Jesus Christ,'" Vincent Smith said. "I said, 'No, Barry Vincent.'"
Vincent Smith said officers handed her a parachute and gave her three hours of instruction on the twin-engine plane she would be test piloting.
"I wondered why it took the men five months to learn to fly that airplane and I got three hours," she said. "I tested twin-engine airplanes all day long."
Janet Lee Simpson, who lives in Ponta Vedra, was an instructor, ferry pilot and an engineer test pilot on both the BT-13 and AT-6. She was also the youngest pilot in the WASP program. Lee Simpson is from a family of aviators known as "the Flying Hutchinsons." They had tried to become the first family to cross the Atlantic in an airplane. Her story is told in the book, "Heart of a Lion," by Connie Donaldson.
"The first time I was in an airplane I was 6 months old," said Lee Simpson. "My father had a business taking people up in airplanes so they could fly over the city. If they didn't want to go up, he'd put me and my sister in the plane and the people would say, 'Well, if these two little girls can go, I guess I can too.'"
Helen Snapp, who resides in Pembroke Pines, flew a variety of missions, including towing targets for anti-aircraft practice, and some that were top secret. She was in the first class at Avenger Field, but her claim to fame was her opportunity to fly the Memphis Belle.
"I was going home for a full week and I had to find my way back to the base on my own," said Snapp. "The easiest way to do that was usually to go to the nearest Air force base to see if you could catch a ride. I was at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and I was told there was a B-17 ready to leave, out on the field. I saw the Memphis Belle and I had heard of it. At that time, the Memphis Belle was doing bond tours. They offered me the left side seat and asked if I wanted to fly it. I had flown the B-34, and the instruments were not much different. These were young pilots, who had partied the night before and they were hung over. They asked if I thought I could handle it and I said, 'Sure,' and they both went to sleep. I had to wake them up when we ran into some [bad] weather and I knew I couldn't land the plane."
Snapp said that was one of many exciting experiences she had with the WASP.
"They were risky jobs, most of them," Snapp said.
WASP Finally Gains Recognition
Although the WASP had been promised military status when they entered training, the program was never militarized, and its members were considered to be civil service employees. The press and Congress had opposed the program. The 38 WASP members who had lost their lives in the line of duty were not allowed to have American flags on their coffins. Their families and classmates had to bear the expense of their funeral.
In December 1944, the last group of women graduated from the WASP training program.
"You and more than 900 of your sisters have shown that you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your brothers," General Arnold told those graduates in his keynote address. "I salute you. We at the Army Air Force are proud of you and we will not forget our debt to you."
The WASP program was unceremoniously disbanded on December 20, 1944, just weeks after General Arnold's statement. The women had to pay their own way home. They did not receive benefits, honors or veteran status. The records of their service were sealed and classified.
In 1977, ten women pilots graduated from flight training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the Air Force claimed these were the first women in history to fly American military aircraft. The WASP mobilized to campaign for fair and just recognition. The women, whose records had been sealed since 1944, were officially granted veteran status by a slim margin in a congressional vote later that year. They received their medals in the mail more than seven years later.
On March 17, 2009, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson introduced a bipartisan bill to award the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. In May, the bill passed both the Senate and House of Representative votes.
There are now fewer than 300 surviving WASP, and 31 of them live in Florida.
For more information about the WASP, visit www.wingsacrossamerica.us, call the Wings of Dreams Museum in Keystone Heights at 352-256-8037 or visit www.wingsofdreams.org. §
Chris Wilson is a freelance writer living in Newberry. He may be contacted through the editor: editor@towerpublications.com.
