Newsletters

Below is a list of our current and archived Hangar One newseletter:

Volume 2 - Issue 1

Volume 1 - Issue 2

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Volunteer

Volunteers are needed for giving tours, teaching classes, and greeting visitors.

If you enjoy telling a good story, we have a great position for you.

Come tell the story of the WASP: the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII.  Our museum is within sight of the runway where the women trained, and you’ll catch the wind of excitement they held as they broke barriers for women aviators who followed. You will enjoy flexible scheduling and a great flight crew.

Call 325.325.0099 or contact us through the website to volunteer as a docent, a teacher, or a greeter.

Camps

FlyGirls/FlyBoys - Aviation History Camp for Girls and Boys Entering Third through Fifth Grades

Don’t miss the first-ever Aviation History Camp at the National WASP WWII Museum June 23 through 27.

Choose morning classes: 9-12 noon or afternoon classes: 1-4.

$100 for members/$125 for non-members

Classes are limited to 15 students on a first come, first served basis.

Call 325.235.0099 for reservations or contact us through the website.

Classroom Activites

Fifth Grade Curriculum – Post Visit Activities

1. Sequencing and Summarizing Using Time Line Cards

Students will research significant facts and dates in American History, 1939-1950. Consider events or achievements in science, technology, government, religion, education and the arts. Assign pairs or groups of 3 or 4 one topic or year. Give each pair or group the following supplies: some blank note cards, markers, and poster tack. Students will report one fact and perhaps a drawing on separate cards. Affix a line made from painter’s tape to a wall in the classroom and tack the cards to it according to chronological order. Students should verbally summarize their findings to the class. Continue to add to your classroom time line all year long.

2. Creating Poems, Songs, and Posters that Describe Wartime Feelings

Read some war-era songs and poems aloud. Look up advertising from the mid 40s. Invite the students to create songs, poems or posters that express their feelings about wars or the current conflicts.

3. Planning Veterans’ Day, Memorial Day, or Aviation Day Events

The National WASP WWII Museum hosts public events on Veterans’ Day – November, Memorial Day – May, and now in March for Women in Aviation Day. This last event commemorates the first day the women arrived at Avenger Field. It falls during Women’s History Month.

Brainstorm as a class ways you could celebrate one of these events. Plan the music, food, games or other activities like speeches and theatrical performance that would take place. Consider the types of advertising that would be needed and add up the possible cost of your event.

4. Learn to Communicate Your School Mascot’s Name in Morse Code

Find a copy of Morse code and learn to spell your school’s mascot with it. Write it on the board and practice sending it by tapping the dots and dashes on your desk.

Eighth Grade Curriculum – Post Visit Activities

1. What it Took to Get an Eight Grade Education in 1895

Students will divide into pairs or groups of 3 or 4. Each pair or group will receive a copy of “What it Took to Get an Eighth Grade Education in 1895.” Each group will research the answers to three assigned questions and report the answers to the entire class. Bonus: What basic knowledge did the women pilots need to become WASP?

2. Patriotism: What Does That Mean?

Brainstorm as a class what patriotism means. Look up the word. Then define in your own words and with personal experiences to demonstrate it. If your students are not very diverse, ask a student from another culture, perhaps a recent immigrant, to share his or her view of patriotism. How did WASP demonstrate patriotism?

3. The Golden Rule in My School

The Women Airforce Service Pilots lived six in a room and twelve shared a bathroom. They had to work to get along well. There is no doubt that good manners and acceptance of personal responsibility went a long way to helping them be successful pilots. Most of them would have known “the Golden Rule.” The Golden Rule can be found in at least 21 world religions. It is the basic underlying principle for proper business ethics. What is it?

Here are some questions to help students discuss and practice the Golden Rule.

High School Curriculum – Post Visit Activities

1. My WASP Exhibit

Students will create a new exhibit design for the WASP museum. Students should research the WASP using the museum, www.waspmuseum.org, and TWU, http://www.twu.edu/wasp/, websites plus other sites and books. Many books are available at the Sweetwater County-City Library, http://www.sweetwaterlibrary.org/.

Sketches and a short oral presentation will round out this activity. (Please let us know if students have designs they would like to share.)

2. America at War: 1941-45

The Women Airforce Service Pilots provided a vital service during the years 1943 to 1944. Describe their role. Then think about the broader scope of WWII. Who were the participants? What caused the US to enter it, and what settled this war?

3. One View: A Student’s Look at WWII from the Point of View of a WASP, the Parent of a WASP or another Soldier

Brainstorm as a class these points of view and others you might imagine. Let students take on the role of a WASP, a sibling or other relative, a schoolteacher, best friend, pastor and another soldier. What might each of these people say to the WASP or write in a letter? What might the WASP say in a letter home or just after returning about the war in general and a specific experience?

4. America at War Today

Discuss the war today by asking students where soldiers serve and what they believe to be the mission of these soldiers. How is it different from WWII? Think about types of transportation and types of communication. Use a Venn diagram if that is helpful

5. American Aviation Today: Visit an Airport or Invite Airport Personnel to Your School

Invite a fixed base operator, a local pilot, a mechanic or a frequent flier to visit your school. Or visit an airport as a class. Learn about flight plans, aviation fuel costs, instruments and ratings. Prepare for you visit by reading aviation books, magazines and articles online.

6. Science Projects: Collaborate with the School Science Department to

  1. Demonstrate an air engine. (Assemble the following: a string attached to a fixed object like a chair running through a straw attached to a balloon filled with air and released.)
  2. Show wind direction. (Create a windsock.)
  3. Prove that an aircraft does not have to use an engine for thrust. (Build a glider.)

Tour Curricula

Fifth Grade Curriculum

Choose from these three tour options:

1. 30 minutes: 20″ tour + 10″ paper airplane activity
2. 45 minutes: 10″ introduction + 20″ tour + 15″ paper airplane activity
3. 60 minutes: 5″ introduction + 10″ math activity using log books + 20″ tour + 15″ exhibit response activity + 10″ paper airplane activity

The curriculum for 5th grade focuses on using critical thinking skills such as sequencing, categorizing and summarizing to understand the roles of women in WWII. Students will also explore technological developments during the war years and ways these changes and the war in general affected the US economy. Lessons on tour or available for use in the classroom will share music and art of the era, and they will explain the significance of Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day.

Logbook Activity
Students will look at the logbook that belonged to Eloise Huffhines Bailey. They will learn a little about her life and will add up hours in her logbook to see how much time she spent in one aircraft.

Exhibit Response Cards
Students will work singly or in groups to choose exhibits that in their opinion(s) correlate to the prompts on the cards. Cards should be placed below or beside the exhibit, not on the exhibit. The docent will guide students to piles of cards. Students will verbally state why they chose to pair a card with an exhibit.

Paper Airplane Activity
Students will create one or two paper airplanes. The docent will explain basic aerodynamics.

After your visit to the museum, check our website again for “Post-visit Activities for Fifth Graders.” Here you will find directions to the following activities.

  1. Sequencing and Summarizing Using Timeline Cards
  2. Creating Poems, Songs, and Posters that Describe Wartime Feelings
  3. Planning Veterans’ Day, Memorial Day, or Aviation Day Events
  4. Learn to Communicate Your School Mascot’s Name in Morse Code

TEKS: Social Studies 5(A), 7(C), 9(A)(B), 14(E), 18(D), 22(A)(B), 23(C), 24(B)(C)(E), 25(F), 26(C)

Eighth Grade Curriculum

Choose from these three tour options:

1. 30 minutes: 15″ tour + 15″ kite design activity
2. 45 minutes: 5″ introduction + 20″ tour + 20″ kite design activity
3. 60 minutes: 5″ introduction + 10″ poetry activity + 20″ tour + 25″ kite design activity

The curriculum for 8th grade focuses on using critical thinking skills to understand time by comparing and contrasting events from 1776 to 1865 with events in the 20th century, primarily, WWII. Students will discuss the importance of personal responsibility, differing points of view and patriotism.

Poetry Activity
Students will hear Anne Noggle’s “Sky High” poem and one of the camp songs. Name (or better yet sing) a popular tune and change it to include your school mascot.

Kite Design Activity
Students staying 60” will create and decorate a delta kite. Students with less time will decorate a template for a kite.

After your visit to the museum, check our website again for “Post-Visit Activities for Eighth Graders.” Here you will find directions to the following activities.

  1. What it Took to Get an Eight Grade Education in 1895
  2. Patriotism: What Does That Mean?
  3. The Golden Rule in My School

High School Curriculum

Choose from these three tour options:

1. 30 minutes: 20″ tour + 10″ rotor motor activity
2. 45 minutes: 10″ introduction + 20″ tour + 15″ rotor motor activity
3. 60 minutes: 5″ introduction + 10″ math activity + 20″ tour + 10″ primary source activity + 15″ rotor motor activity

The curriculum for high school American History students focuses on the use of critical-thinking skills to explain and apply these methods of interpreting the past: historical context and points of view. Students will identify reasons for and major events of WWII. They will learn about the impact of this war on American economy. They will see or look up maps and databases that will enhance their understanding.

Math Activity
Students will answer two math questions posed to WASP in training.

Primary Source Activity
Students will look at a variety of primary sources – copies of documents such as an Army Air Forces Diploma, an immunization register, a War Department “Notification of Personnel Action” or orders, and a Pilot’s Flight Log or logbook. Ask the students: Do they have any of these kinds of documents at home? What is the value of looking at these belonging to the WASP now?

Rotor Motor Activity
Explain the basic force of lift: the pressure differences caused by the shape of rotating blades or by rapidly moving air over the top of the blade/wing while air beneath the blade/wing is moving slower produces the lifting of an aircraft. A paper model has no motor so the only source of lift is the spin created when it falls. The spin will however, reduce the rat of fall by producing lift, resisting the force of gravity.

Source: Aeronautics: An Educator’s Guide with Activities in Science, mathematics and Technology Education - NASA

After your visit to the museum, check our website again for “Post-visit Activities for High School Students.” Here you will find directions to the following activities.

  1. My WASP Exhibit
  2. One View: A Student’s Look at WWII from the Point of View of a WASP, the Parent of a WASP or another Soldier
  3. America at War: 1941-45
  4. America at War Today
  5. American Aviation Today: Visit an Airport or Invite Airport Personnel to Visit You
  6. Science Projects: Collaborate with the School Science Department

TEKS: Social Studies 1(A)(B)(C), 5(B), 6(A)(B)(C), 8(B), 14(B), 19(B), 20(A)(B)(C), 21(D), 22(A)(B)(C), 23(A), 24(A)(B)(C)(D)(H), 25(A)(D), 26(A)(B)

 

 

Education

The National WASP WWII Museum provides educational programming for everyone. Contact us through this website or by calling 325-235-0099 for information about booking group tours.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) connected tours are currently available for students in 5th, 8th and High School American History. Teachers of elementary students in grades two through four may request a tour focusing on the life of WASP Charlyne Creger which features a story plus original photographs and memorabilia from her life.

Try to book your tour at least two weeks in advance. Schools may schedule any day and time during school hours. We welcome tours on weekends as well. There is no charge for tours.

Fifi’s Suitcase

Check out this new resource from the National WASP WWII Museum: Fifi’s Suitcase.

A treasure trove of lesson plans, books, photographs, artifacts and even clothing, Fifi’s Suitcase serves students in elementary and secondary grades. Lesson plans specifically geared for third and fifth graders include the following:

Lesson plans for grades eight and high school American History substitute a lesson on navigation for the ration books and recipes.

Lessons can be adapted for other grades.

The suitcases get their name from the WASP mascot designed by Walt Disney Studios. Fifi is short for Fifinella, the female counterpart of Gremlins. Learn more about gremlins and fifinellas (and widgets, too) in the book by Roald Dahl: The Gremlins. Fifi makes her debut in this wonderful tale told by a former Royal Air Force pilot and future writer of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Call the Museum at 325.235.0099 to book a week with this fun new resource. Let us know if you need the elementary or secondary level suitcase. The Region XIV Education Service Center van will deliver it to your school.

Reference Materials Available at the County- City Library Sweetwater, Texas

Alexander, Thomas E. The Wings of Change: The Army Air Force Experience During World War II. Abilene, TX: McWhiney Foundation Press, McMurry University, 2003.

Bostwick, Marie. On Wings of the Morning. Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2007.

Carl, Ann B. A WASP Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, l999.

Cochran, Jacqueline. The Stars at Noon. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, l954.

Cole, Jean Hascall. Women Pilots of World War II. University of Utah Press, l992.

Dahl, Roald. The Gremlins. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2006.

Dailey, Janet. Silver Wings, Satiago Blue. New York: Poseidon Press, l984.

Gott, Kay. Women in Pursuit. McKinleyville, CA: Author, l993.

Granger, Byrd Howell. On Final Approach: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII. Scottsdale, AZ: Falconer Publishing Company, l991.

Haynsworth, Leslie. Amelia Earhart’s Daughters: The Wild and Glorious Story of American Women Aviators from World War II to the Dawn of the Space Age. N.Y.: William Morrow, l998.

Keene, Julia Moberg. Skies over Sweetwater. Warwick, N.Y.: Keene Publishing, 2008.

Keil, Sally Van Wagenen. Those Wonderful Women in their Flying Machines: The Unknown Heroines of World War II. New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers,1979.

Langley, Wanda. Flying Higher: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. North Haven, Connecticut: Linnet Books, 2002.

Monde, Bennet B. A History of Avenger Field, Texas. A thesis presented to the faculty of the division of Graduate Studies, Hardin Simmons University, May 1980.

Moolman, Valerie. Women Aloft. Time-Life Books, l981.

Nathan, Amy. Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II. Washington, D. C. National Geographic Society, 2001.

Noggle, Anne. For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Air Force Service Pilots in World War II. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1990.

Rice, Melinda. Secrets in the Sky. Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press, 2001.

Rich, Doris L. Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane. University Press of Florida, 2007.

Rickman, Sarah Byrn. Flight from Fear. Santa Fe, NM: Disc-Us Books, 2002.

Rickman, Sarah Byrn. The Originals: The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II. Sarasota, FL: Disc-Us Books, 2001.

Rogers, Mary Beth. We Can Fly. Austin: Ellen C. Temple, 1983. 140-151.

Scharr, Adela Riel. Sisters in the Sky, Vol.2: The WASPS. St. Louis: The Patrice Press, l988.

Snapp, Henry F. “Pioneer Women in West Texas Skies: Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.” West Texas Historical Association Yearbook. 1994. Vol. 70. 19-39.

Stewart-Smith, Natalie Jeanne. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II: Perspectives on the Work of America’s First Military Women Aviators. M.A.Thesis, Washington State University, 1981.

Tanner, Doris Brinker. Who Were the WASP? Sweetwater, Texas: The Sweetwater Reporter, 1989.

U. S. Army Air Forces, Headquarters, Washington, D. C. Final Report on Women Pilot Program.

Verges, Marianne. On Silver Wings: The Women AirForce Service Pilots. New York: Ballantine Books, l991.

Willenz, June A. Women Veterans: America’s Forgotten Heroines. New York: Continuum, l983.

Williams, Vera S. WASPS: Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. Osceola WI: Motorbooks International, l994.

Yeats, E. L. & Hooper Shelton. History of Nolan County Texas. Sweetwater: Shelton Press, l975. 105-114.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Henderson, Sheila. “Zoot Suits, Parachutes, and Wings of Silver, Too.” Texas Highways. September 1987. 10.

Nancy Love Biography

Nancy Love BannerNancy Harkness Love was born on February 14, 1914 in Houghton, Michigan, the daughter of a wealthy physician. She developed an intense interest in aviation at an early age. At 16 she took her first flight and earned her pilot’s license within a month. Although she went to all the right schools, including Milton Academy in Massachusetts and Vassar in New York, she was restless and adventurous. At Vassar she earned extra money taking students for rides in an airplane she rented from a nearby airport.In 1936 she married Robert Love, an Air Corps Reserve Major. They built their own successful Boston-based aviation company, Inter City Aviation, for which Nancy was a pilot. She also flew for the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1937 and 1938 she flew as a test pilot, performing safety tests on various aircraft modifications and innovations. In one project she served as a test pilot on the new three-wheeled landing gear, which subsequently became standard on most planes. In another, she helped mark water towers with town names as a navigational aid for pilots.

In May, 1940, soon after the Second World War broke out in Europe, Nancy Love wrote to Lt. Col. Robert Olds. who was in charge of establishing a Ferrying Command within the Army Air Corps, that she had found 49 excellent women pilots, who each had more than a thousand flying hours and could help transport planes from factories to bases. Lt. Col. Olds took the suggestion to Gen. Hap Arnold, Chief of Staff, who turned it down.

In 1942, Robert Love was called to active duty in Washington, D. C. as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ferry Command. His wife accompanied him to his assignment and soon landed a civilian post with the Air Transport Command (ATC) Ferrying Division Operations Office in Baltimore, Maryland. She piloted her own airplane on her daily commute from the couple’s home in Washington, D. C., which caught the attention of Col. William Tunner, who was heading up the domestic wing of the Ferrying Division and was, at that moment, scouring the country for skilled pilots.

Nancy Love convinced Col. Tunner that the idea of using experienced women pilots to supplement the existing pilot force was a good one. He then asked the 28 year old Love to write up a proposal for a women’s ferrying division. Within a few months, she had recruited 29 experienced female pilots to join the newly created Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS). Nancy Love became their Commander. In September, 1942, the women pilots began flying at New Castle Army Air Field, Wilmington, Delaware, under ATC’s 2nd Ferrying Group.

By June, 1943, Nancy Love was commanding four different squadrons of WAFS at Love Field in Texas, New Castle in Delaware, Romulus in Michigan and Long Beach in California. The WAFS’ number had greatly increased because of the addition of graduates of the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas.

On August 5, 1943 Love’s ferrying squadrons merged with the WFTD and became a single entity: the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Nancy Love was named as the Executive for all WASP ferrying operations. Under her command, female pilots flew almost every type military aircraft then in the Army Air Force’s arsenal, and their record of achievement proved remarkable.

Between September, 1942 and December, 1944, the WASP delivered 12,650 aircraft of 77 different types. Over fifty percent of the ferrying of high-speed pursuit type aircraft in the continental United States was carried out by WASP, under the leadership of Nancy Love. Her personal contributions included some equally remarkable accomplishments. She was the first woman to be checked out in a P-51. By March, 1943, she was also proficient in fourteen other types of military aircraft. She was the first woman in U.S. military history to fly the B-25, flying it coast-to-coast in record time, and was one of the first two women to check out in a B-17. The WASP were disbanded on 20 December 1944.

At the end of the war, Nancy Love and her husband had the unique distinction of being decorated simultaneously. He received the Distinguished Service Medal, and she was awarded the Air Medal for her ‘Operational leadership in the successful training and assignment of over 300 qualified women fliers in the flying of advanced military aircraft’.

After the war, Nancy Love became the mother of three daughters, but she continued as an aviation industry leader, as well as a champion for recognition as military veterans for the women who had served as WASP.

Nancy Harkness Love died on October 22, 1976. Among the things she left behind was a box she had kept for more than 30 years. Inside was a handwritten list of women pilots she had compiled in 1940 and clippings and photographs of each of the women who had died under her command. Her job had not been easy, but the love and respect she received from the WAFS and WASP she commanded during WWII is indisputable.

WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish contributed this article. You can learn more about the WASP at http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

Hap Arnold Biography

Hap Arnold BannerGeneral ‘Hap’ Arnold, one of the greatest American military figures and Air Force proponents in the history of America, was born in Gladwyn, Pennsylvania on June 25, 1886. Following graduation from the United States Military Academy, he was appointed a Second Lieutenant of Infantry on 14 June, 1907.

In 1911 he entered aviation and became a flyer. He was detailed to the Signal Corps in April, 1911, piloting the Wright bi-plane. He was one of the first flyers taught by the Wright Brothers.

In June, 1912, this pioneering pilot, Hap Arnold, established a new altitude record when he piloted a Brugree-Wright airplane to a height of 6,540 feet. He participated in the Regular Army and National Guard movements in the States of New York and Connecticut and established several aeronautical records. On October 9, 1942, he won the first Mackay Trophy to be awarded for his flight demonstrations.

He progressed rapidly through the ranks, and by 11 February 1935 he had received the temporary rank of Brigadier General, and on September 29, 1938 he was named Chief of Staff of the Air Corps. With Hitler now marching across Europe, he became concerned with America‘s lack of combat aircraft. He discussed the US air power vs the German air power with President Roosevelt, and a decision was made to build 11,000 new combat aircraft. Gen. Arnold then commanded that civilian flying schools be established to train Air Corps pilots.

The Army Air Forces was established in 1941 and Major General Arnold became Chief of Staff for Air and Chief of the Army Air Forces.

During the early months of 1942, General Arnold, encountering a severe shortage of male pilots due to heavy losses of combat pilots, approved a plan, submitted by Jacqueline Cochran, to train young women pilots to fly military aircraft within the U.S. to relieve the male pilots for combat duty. On 14 Sept 1942, the Womens Flying Training Detachment was established at the Houston Municipal Airport, with Jacqueline Cochran as its Director. Three months later, because of a lack of military training facilities and housing in Houston, Gen. Arnold approved moving the training program to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.

In May of 1943, General Hap Arnold authorized Jacqueline Cochran to see to developing a suitable uniform for the women pilots. He wants it to be ‘blue‘. In concurrence with the new Santiago blue WASP uniforms, on Aug 20, General Arnold, CG/AAF issued orders that ‘The acronym for all AAF women pilots will be WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) period.‘

March 22, 1944 General Arnold appeared before the House Military Affairs Committee to request commissions for the WASP. He leaves immediately for Europe to participate in the D-Day invasion, and the bill fails to pass.

June 26, 1944, following the defeat of the bill to include the WASP as officers in the Army Air Force, General Arnold orders that the WASP be discontinued in December, 1944.

General Arnold retired from the service on 30 June 1946 with the ratings of Command Pilot and Combat Observer. His many accomplishments, of both personal and national significance, gained him the distinction of becoming the first five-star General of the United States Air Force on 7 May 1949, by an act of Congress.

He died on 15 January 1950 of a cardiac condition.

General Arnold received the Distinguished Flying Cross in November, 1936, and the Distinguished Service Medal in October, 1942. He was awarded the Air Medal in March, 1943, and in September, 1945, he received the Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Service Medal. In October, 1945, he was awarded a second Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Service Medal. His other awards included: The World War II Victory Medal; American Defense Medal; American Theater Ribbon; Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon; European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, 1943; U.S. Military Badge No 1; Morocco’s Grand Cross, Grand Officer of the Commander (Ouissam Alaouite); Yugoslavia‘s Sun in the degree of Grand Aztec Eagle; Mexico’s Order of Military Merit; and England‘s Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

The H. H. Arnold Award was established in honor of General Arnold by the Air Force Association in 1948. It is presented for the ‘most outstanding contributions toward the peace and the service of the United States in the field of aviation.‘ The Arnold Air Society Squadrons at outstanding universities all over America with AFROTC (Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps) programs are so named in his honor.

General Arnold had but one theme: ‘It‘s got to be done and done quickly, so let’s get it done.‘ Let not there be any doubt of the WASP’ pride in General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, the man who, among his many accomplishments, authorized the creation and naming of the WASP-a man who ‘had the imagination to see success and the confidence to create it’.

WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish contributed this article.  You can learn more about the WASP at http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

Jackie Cochran Biography

Cochrane BannerJacqueline Cochran was born, date uncertain, near the sawdust roads, cotton fields and small sawmill town of DeFuniak Springs in West Florida. She grew up in poverty, never owning a pair of shoes until she was nine. Her poverty and lack of education did not deter her. She went from being a barefoot girl, who stole chickens to help feed her family, to a decorated pilot who dined with Kings, Queens, Presidents, and Premiers.

Young Jacqueline Cochran‘s first job was sweeping the floor and being a ’shampoo girl‘ in a beauty parlor, but the word ‘can‘t’ was not in her vocabulary. She loved the sight of an airplane and believed that one day she would fly. She read, she listened, she asked questions and she never took ‘no’ for an answer. She believed in hard work, persistence and God–not necessarily in that order.

In 1932 she earned her pilot‘s license, and in 1934 she entered her first air race. She became best friends with aviatrix Amelia Earhart, and by 1935 she had entered her first Bendix Air Race and owned a multi-million dollar cosmetics manufacturing company

Jacqueline Cochran married Floyd Bostwick Odlum in Kingman, Arizona on May 11, 1936. In 1937 she won first place in the women’s division of Bendix and was the first woman to make a blind landing. She was awarded her first of 15 Clifford Burke Harmon International Trophies of the International League of Aviators as the outstanding woman flyer in the world. In 1938 she took first place in the Bendix Transcontinental and received the General Willie E. Mitchell Memorial Award as the person making the greatest contribution to aviation that year.

In 1939, as Hitler‘s Nazi troops were marching across Europe, Jacqueline Cochran began to consider the possibility of America becoming involved and the possible future need for women to assist in flying America’s military aircraft. She conferred with the wife of President Roosevelt and, at her suggestion, approached General Hap Arnold with her plans for using women pilots, if they were ever needed. He rejected her plans.

In April, 1940 Cochran breaks the 2,000 kilometer international speed record and the 100 kilometer national record. She wins the Minneapolis Air Classic Award as the outstanding woman pilot and receives her third of four trophies from the Women‘s NAA as the outstanding woman pilot for ‘38, ‘39, ‘40, and then ‘41. She established a woman’s national altitude record and broke the international open-class speed record for men and women. She won the McGough Memorial Award and the American Legion award.

From 1941 to 1943 Jacqueline Cochran was the President of the 99s, an organization of women aviators founded in 1929. In 1941 General Hap Arnold asks her to go to England to study the program of the women pilots flying with the Royal Air Force. In June, 1941 she becomes the first woman to pilot a bomber across the North Atlantic.

As the request of General Arnold and Britian‘s Chief/Air Mission, she organized a group of twenty-five American women pilots to fly for Great Britian. She accompanied them to England and remained to assist with plans for the newly arrived American 8th Air Force.

By the Spring of 1942 there was a severe shortage of male pilots. General Hap Arnold asked Cochran to return to the United States and put her plans (to train women pilots to fly America’s military aircraft) into operation. On September 11, 1942 she is appointed Director of Woman‘s Flying Training for the United States. The first class of women pilots reported for training at the Houston Municipal Airport on November 11, 1942. Three months later, the program was moved to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas

The experimental flying training program was successful, and in July, 1943 Cochran is appointed to the General Staff of the U.S. Army Air Forces to direct all phases of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program at 120 air bases all over America. On 20 December 1944 the WASP program was discontinued and the WASP disbanded.

In 1945 Jacqueline Cochran received the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal, travels to the Far East and witnesses General Yamashita’s surrender in the Phillippines and was the first woman to enter Japan after WWII.

After the war, Jacqueline Cochran continued to participate in air races and to establish new transcontinental and international records. In 1953 she became the first woman to exceed the sound barrier. (She still holds more international speed, distance and altitude records than any other pilot, male or female.) In 1971 Jacqueline Cochran was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio-the first woman to be so honored. (additional accomplishments, titles, and honors .)

On August 9, 1980 Jacqueline Cochran died at her home in Indio, California. Memorial services were held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Jacqueline Cochran went higher and faster into the frontiers of aviation than any woman before, breaking through the glass ceiling and the sound barrier–from rags to riches-blazing a trail for other heroic women to follow. She was truly ‘one of a kind’.

What drove her? What made her special? There‘s no simple recipe for success but she did leave a message for the next generation: ‘If you will open up your power plants of vitality and energy, clean up your spark plugs of ambition and desires, and pour in the fuel of work, you will be likely to go places and do things.

WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish contributed this article.  You can learn more about the WASP at http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

WASP Memorabilia


WASP Apparel


WASP Books


Community Partners

The following businesses and organizations actively support the National WASP World War II Museum by donating a portion of their time or services to the museum on an ongoing basis.

Avenger Air - John Howard, FBO
317 Homer K. Taylor Drive * Sweetwater, TX 79556 *325.235.8478

Kearney Plumbing Company - Carroll Kearney, Owner
3300 E. Broadway * Sweetwater, TX 79556 * 325.235.3210

Lewis Pest Control Service - Bill Lewis, Owner
201 W. Bradford Lane* Sweetwater, TX 79556 * 325.235.5772

Ludlum Measurements - http://www.ludlums.com/
501 Oak Street * P.O. Box 810 *Sweetwater, TX 79556 *325.235.5494

SavvyDog Design, LLC - Web & Graphic Design services
107 Cypress Street * Roscoe, TX 79545 * 325.766.3118

Texas State Technical College West Texas- www.westtexas.tstc.edu
300 Homer K. Taylor Drive * Sweetwater, TX 79545 *325.7300

In Honor

Donations have been made to the National WASP World War II Museum in Honor of the following individuals:

WASP Lovelle Richards Benesh, 43-W-1
by Major Ira Cline, C-17 IP, USAF

WASP Evelyn “Pinky” Brier, 44-W-9
by Joyce Hanson

Gifts

The following individuals have made generous gifts in support of the National WASP World War II Museum:

Air Force Members

Air Force ROTC Members

We encourage you to SUPPORT your local AFROTC Squadron who SUPPORT THE WASP WWII MUSEUM!

AAS National Headquarters 2004 - 2005

DET 001 Lt. General David J. McCloud Squadron
University of Alaska * Anchorage, AK

Congressional Members

Texas Legislators

If these are your representatives, please tell them “Thank You!” If you don’t see your representatives, ask them to join. We would love to list them as WASP Museum supporters.

Senator Kip Averitt – District 22
River Square Center * 215 Mary, Suite 303 * Waco, TX 76701 * 254-772-6225

Senator Gonzalo Barrientos – District 14
P.O. Box 12068 * Austin, TX * 512-463-0114

Corporate Members

Four Star General Members

Baylor University Communication Studies - Dr. Michael Korpi
Waco, Texas 76706 * 254-710-1511

Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce - Lynn Adams, Ex. Vice President
P.O. Box 1148 * Sweetwater, Texas 79556 * 325-235 – 5488 * 1-800-658-6757

Three Star General Members

Two Star General Members

Silver Wings Members

Bronze Wings Members

Homecoming 2008

Join us Saturday, May 24, 2008, for our annual Open House and Barbecue Dinner.

Open House begins at 10:00 a.m. with WASP movies, activities for students, and displays by history re-enactor Pam Burkholder. Tentative evening event speaker is General Susan Desjardins, Commandant of Cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy.

The barbeque dinner begins at 7 p.m. followed by a Memorial Flag Ceremony at sunset. Big Band music provided by the Sweetwater Municipal Band will follow. Dance or dream the night away listening to the big band tunes of the 1940s.

Dinner is $10 for WASP, $20 for museum members, and $25 for non-members. You may send dinner reservations with your check payable to the National WASP WWII Museum, P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, Texas 79556.

Come in period costume if you like!

Avenger Field & Beyond

Avenger Air: Stop by and visit with Airport Manager John Howard, a great supporter of the museum who knows about all the other places to visit nearby. The runways may be new, but the view is the same–over 60 years later. Ask John about the two beige hangars at the back of the Texas State Technical College campus. They are original to Avenger Field, although the hangars are now used for maintenance and storage.

Wishing Well: Be sure you see the the original Wishing Well across the runway from Avenger Air. Inside the wishing well is the original plaque placed on site by General Hap Arnold, and “The Trainee,” a statue created by WASP Dot Lewis.

Memorial Wall: See all of all the names of the women who went through WASP training, listed by class. An historic marker is nearby.

Memorial Plaque: Inside the Temple Dickson Building (near the wishing well) is a unique Memorial Plaque featuring a WASP and a trainee along with the names of the 38 WASP & trainees killed while in service to their country. The plaque was created by WASP trainee Jewell Estes and donated by WASP Charlyne Creger.

Nolan County Courthouse: See the Fifi statue in the lobby.

Downtown: Some of it is pretty much like it was 60 years ago when the WASP were there, including the Texas Theater!

Historical Marker: Look for the official historical marker right off Interstate 20 near the Avenger Field exit.

Inside Hanger One

Banners of the Leaders: Made possible by donations from Lt. Col. & Mrs. Clay Wilkins, and WASP Leta Shirley, banners featuring Jacqueline Cochran, Hap Arnold and Nancy Love, the most important leaders in the history of the WASP, take the spotlight.

Biography of Jacqueline Cochran

Biography of General Hap Arnold

Biography of Nancy Love

The Hand Prints: Twenty-nine WASP placed their hand prints in cement during the premiere event at Hangar One, May 26, 2005. Read all about these wonderful women as you put your hands in the hands of the WASP!

Filmstrip: The filmstrip features over one- hundred photos of WASP including their names and classes. The filmstrip was made possible by a donation from WASP Virginia Hagerstrom, 43-W-4.

WASP Time Line from 1939 to 2005: The history of the WASP and America in World War II was researched and written by WASP Deanie Parrish.

Fifinella Patch: You won’t be able to miss an oversize recreation of the original “Fifi Patch” worn on WASP Deanie Bishop’s A-2 jackets when she trained at Avenger Field. Fifi or “Fifinella” is a cartoon character, created by Walt Disney and lent to the WASP as their mascot during WWII. This exhibit is made possible by a donation from WASP Ruth Fleisher For more on Fifi online: http://www.wingsacrossamerica.org/wasp/fifi.htm

Sleeping Bay: Made possible by a generous donation by Eloise Mountain Wright in honor of her sister, WASP Marie Clark and by the Abilene and Sweetwater Rotary Clubs, this is one of our most popular exhibits.  See how the WASP lived, six to a room or bay at the base.  They really loved their country and wanted to fly!

Avenger Gate: On the north side of the hangar is a recreation of the gate that stretched across the road where the guard shack stood, guarding the entrance to Avenger Field in 1943 & 1944.

Giant Wings: In the center of the museum you will see a giant depiction of the WASP Wings made possible by a donation from WASP Marie Mountain Clark, 44-W-1.

“The Graduate”: WASP Dot Lewis sculpted this sister statue of “The Trainee” in the wishing well. This statue is dedicated to WASP Shutsy Reynolds and the selfless volunteers from the WASP WWII Stores who toiled without thanks or honors working to honor the WASP of WWII at air shows and events across America.

The Outhouse: Built by Tom Henderson, this outhouse is a recreation of one of the original outhouse used by WASP trainees at an auxiliary field nearby. The chimney on top was donated by Cliff Etheredge. He remembers his dad getting the phone call to ‘move the cattle’ on the days when the trainees would be flying off the field.

HONOR, COURAGE, SACRIFICE, PATRIOTISM, COMMITMENT: Notice the banners stating some of the values of the WASP. The banners were made possible by a donation from WASP Murial Rath Reynolds.

Flags: Flags represent every state WASP entered training.

State Rosters: A WASP roster by state lists WASP’s state of origination.

Map of the WASP Duty Stations, 1943-1944: See where the WASP worked after training in Sweetwater.

AT-6 Cut Out: Sit behind the poster and have your picture made! This unique airplane was the favorite training plane of the WASP.

“Best Kept Secret”: Put your face here and have a friend take a photo.  You’re a WASP!

Contact Us: E-mail Sent

Thank you for contacting us. Your email has been sent.

Contact Us

Please fill out the form below to send us an e-mail, or contact us at the address or phone number below.

National WASP WWII Museum
P.O. Box 456
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
325.235.0099

Map

National WASP WWII Museum
210 Loop 170 - Exit 241 from Interstate Highway 20
Sweetwater, Texas

Memorial Campaign

National WASP Memorial Campaign

Goal: To build a permanent memorial at Avenger Field to remember the WASP, honor their service and educate and inspire future generations.

All contributions go for design and building the National WASP Memorial. To donate to this project, please visit our Donations Page and follow the instructions you find there. Please make sure to indicate that your donation is specifically in support of the “Memorial Campaign”.

WASP Partners

The following organizations and websites have informational and educational resources about the WASP or related subjects. These partners support the National WASP World War II Museum by linking to our website or by sharing information about the museum with their members and visitors.

ALIC: Archives Library Information Center -
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/a_people_at_war/women_who_served/wafs_wasp.html

American Airpower Heritage Museum, the educational affiliate of the Commemorative Air Force, Midland, TX. www.airpowermuseum.org. www.commemorativeairforce.org. 432-563-1000.

Ken Arnold’s Page about Charlyne Creger - http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Runway/9601/wasp.html

Big Country CAF Squadron - 325.676.1944

Commemorative Air Force: 3rd Coast Squadron - http://www.thirdcoastcaf.org

EAA, Young Eagles Program - www.eaa.org

Fantasy of Flight - http://www.fantasyofflight.com/

Federal Aviation Administration - http://www.faa.gov/education_research/

Stephen McDonnell’s WASP Page - http://www.imiuru.com/Family/FlyingMcDonnells.html

Naval and Military Museums and History of Texas - www.texasmilitarymuseums.org

The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots - www.ninety-nines.org

North Texas Association of Aviation Museums - www.notaam.org

Operation Fifinella - www.operationfifinella.org

Pioneer Museum - 610 E. Third Street * Sweetwater, Texas 79556 * 325.235.8547

Radio Diaries - www.radiodiaries.org

SkyUnlimited - http://www.skyunlimited.net/texans_harvards.htm

Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum - http://www.nasm.si.edu

Sweetwater County-City Library - http://www.sweetwaterlibrary.org/
206 Elm Street * Sweetwater, TX 79556 * 325.235.4978

Texas Heritage Trails Program - www.texasfortstrail.com

Texas Historical Museums Guide - http://www.censusfinder.com/texas-historical-museums.htm

Texas Woman’s University WASP Collection - http://www.twu.edu/library/wasp/wasp_browse.htm

WASPs Remembered by Those Who Knew Them - http://wwii-women-pilots.org/

Wings Across America - www.wingsacrossamerica.us

Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum and Warbird Restoration Center, Keystone Heights Airport (42J), Florida - www.wingsofdreams.org

Women in Aviation, International - http://www.wai.org

Photo Gallery

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Store

Welcome to the WASP Museum online store! Click on the buttons below to see the different types of products we offer.

WASP Apparel Banner

WASP Books

WASP Memorabilia

Memorials

Memorial donations have been made to the National WASP World War II Museum on behalf of the following:

WASP Kate Lee Adams, 44-W-2
by WASP Ann Moss

WASP Esther Mueller Ammerman, 43-W-8
by Huldah Sunday School Class, Deer Pary Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky

WASP Marie Barrett, 43-W-7
by Pat Brown

Cpl Cecil G Bennett USAAC
by Roy Bates

Become a Member

Be a part of this exciting organization whose mission is to educate and inspire generations with the incredible history of the WASP. Select one of our levels of membership below and join today!

Join Online: You may pay by credit card online instantly using PayPal. Just select the Level of Membership you’d like from the list below and click on the “Join Now” button for that membership level and you will be connected to Paypal to make your membership donation. If you are not a PayPal member, it just takes a minute, costs nothing to join and allows you to use your credit card ‘instantly!’

Click here to join now!

Join by Mail: Print out our Membership Form and mail it in with your credit card information. You may make checks payable to the National WASP WWII Museum, INC. and mail them and the form to:

National WASP WWII Museum
PO Box 456
Sweetwater, Texas 79556

Levels of Membership:

CADET MEMBERSHIP - $10.00

THE AVIATOR MEMBERSHIP - $25.00

BRONZE WINGS - $100 to $499

SILVER WINGS - $500 to $999

ONE STAR GENERAL - $1,000 - $2,499

TWO STAR GENERAL - $2,500 to $4,999

THREE STAR GENERAL - $5,000 to $9,999

FOUR STAR GENERAL - $10,000 +

Other Membership Benefits:

  1. Members only events
  2. Members only discount for May Homecoming
  3. Members only discount for Summer Camp

Give a Gift Membership or Memorial Donation

To give a Gift Membership or to make a donation in honor or in memory of someone special, please contact us by email or call us directly at 325.235.0099.

Site Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Sweetwater, Texas?

You think it’s the middle of nowhere? It’s on the way to everywhere…and a wonderful destination all it’s own!

Sweetwater is the one place in the world that can claim to be the home of the WASP. Over 60 years ago, citizens of Sweetwater participated in a unique experiment–and helped make a difference in the world.

Originally begun at Howard Hughes Field in Houston, Texas as the Women’s Flying Training Detachment or WFTD, the program moved to Sweetwater to take advantage of larger facilities and better flying weather.

Annual average temperature: 66 with sunshine an average of 327 days a year. The museum is just 193 miles west of Ft. Worth, 220 miles west of Dallas, 42 miles west of Abilene, 123 miles southeast of Lubbock, and 107 miles east of Midland.

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When are you open and what’s inside?

Thanks to the City of Sweetwater, the Museum now has 55 acres of land on the same landscape as Avenger Field. The Museum is located a renovated 1929 hangar filled with WASP displays. It was officially dedicated in May of 2005.

Visit “Hangar One” (named for the original WASP Hangar) Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Call or e-mail for group tours or visits at other times.

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What do you have planned for the future?

Fund raising efforts are underway to build a climate-controlled facility that will enable us to showcase delicate memorabilia and uniforms, provide education classrooms and research tools, and share exciting new interactive exhibits. This two-story structure will evoke memories of the old tower at Avenger Field and provide a scenic look-out to the site of the training base.

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Why should there be a National WASP WWII Museum?

Proper Honor. WASP history was greatly overlooked for 60 years. The opportunity to honor these pioneering heroes where they trained may never come again. It’s the right thing to do, at the right time.

Education and Inspiration. Our mission to educate and inspire all generations (especially children) with the extraordinary lives and testimonies of the first women in history to fly American military aircraft will give these students the kind of role models that embody values that will inspire everyone. In addition, our educational programs for Girl Scouts seeks to inspire girls and young women to explore the fields of aviation and aerospace. Summer Aviation History camps for students entering grades three through five, Fly Girls/Fly Boys, provides both boys and girls the opportunity to spend time at the museum learning the history and science of flying.

Entertainment and Appreciation of History. The Museum seeks to provide an easily accessible destination for fly-ins, lectures, concerts, symposiums, jamborees, camps and other events that will bring entertainment and history together. Let us know when you’d like to book an event, and watch for upcoming public events on our home page.

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What can I do to help?

Volunteer. Volunteers are needed to give school tours, welcome visitors and assist with light repairs. Volunteers will always be the heart of the Museum.

Join the Museum. You can join us by making a donation or a gift in honor or memory of someone special or by becoming a member. Click on “Membership” on the tool bar on our home page. Semi-annual newsletters will give you the inside scoop, and you will receive special membership discounts.

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Who is in charge?

Marianne Wood is the museum director. She reports to the Board of Directors, listed below.

President: Bill Johnson

Vice-President: Peter Fox

Secretary: Carol Cain

Treasurer: Jeannette Bryant

Membership Chair: Sandra Spears

Director: Johnnie Lou Avery Boyd

Director: Alan Carmichael

Director: Judge Tim Fambrough

Director: Sherrie Parks

Director: Greg Wortham

Director: Dave Zobrist

The National WASP WWII Museum

Plane PhotoThe National WASP WWII Museum seeks to educate and inspire every generation with the history of the WASP: Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, the first women in history to fly American’s military aircraft, and who forever changed the role of women in aviation!

The museum is conveniently located just minutes off Interstate 20 at 210 Loop 170 in Sweetwater, Texas. Pilots flying over Sweetwater can land at Avenger Field - the Sweetwater Airport (SWW). The museum is a short distance away. For assistance with directions or in setting up special tours, call 325.235.0099.

Regular days and hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

About The Museum

Welcome to the WASP Museum!

Avenger Field TowerBuilt in 1929 and originally the home of the Sweetwater Airport, Hangar One now houses the National WASP WWII Museum. Look for a poster in the lobby which highlights a little of the rich aviation history of Sweetwater. During WWII, this hangar was on the “Civilian Side” of Avenger Field, where commercial planes landed. The military side was located where the Texas State Technical College campus is today.

“Hangar One” was named by the Board of Directors of the National WASP WWII Museum in honor of the original WASP training hangar located across the runway where the Fixed Base Operation (FBO) is today.

Outside Hanger One

Feel the Wind! Look across the flight line and out into the West Texas landscape. It is just like it was when the WASP were going through AAF flight training at Avenger Field.

Flags stand watchThree thirty-five foot flagpoles stand watch as the flags flap in the wind. Given in memory of Lt. Col. Bill Parrish and the 38 WASP who died serving their country, the U.S. flagpole was donated by WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish, 44-W-4. The Texas flagpole was given in honor of Betty Rose Wortham, Sweetwater’s Outstanding Citizen 1995 in recognition of her decades of commitment and efforts on behalf of the WASP reunions in from 1972 through the opening of the National WASP WWII Museum. It was donated by the Wortham family. Donated by Laura Morrow, the WASP flagpole was given in honor of WASP Ruth Florey, 43-W-4, Laura’s mother.

WASP Shutsy Reynolds, 44-W-5, designed the WASP flag. If you see the WASP flag flying, something special is going on. Look for a live WASP!

Look Around the Lobby

WASP Lobby MuralThe lobby mural is filled with photos of WASP training from Avenger Field, 1943 and 1944. Stand-up cutouts in the lobby include WASP Charlyne Creger, 44-W-10 and WASP Deanie Parrish 44-W-4. Posters in the lobby highlight aviation in Sweetwater, planes flown by the WASP, and the original layout of Avenger Field in 1943, 1944. Planes of the WASP on display in the lobby include the AT-7 and PT-19. WASP flew 77 different types of aircraft, on every type of mission in the Army Air Force, except combat. No WASP ever flew outside North America. The WASP wings–perhaps the most unique wings in all the world, were designed for the WASP–with a diamond in the center that symbolizes the shield of Athena–Greek goddess of war.

Around the top of the lobby walls is a film strip featuring 119 WASP who have been interviewed as part of the Wings Across America project. Uniforms on display in the lobby showcase the dress uniform with Santiago Blue jacket & skirt and the Eisenhower jacket and pants of the flying uniform.

Gifts

WASP Dorothy Lucas, 44-W-7
WASP Elaine Harmon, 44-W-9
WASP June T. Bent, 44-W-3
WASP Roberta Jane Fohl, 44-W-9
WASP Jane Doyle, 44-W-4
WASP Margot Harvey Veal, 44-W-5
WASP Joan Lemley, 44-W-5
WASP Jacqueline Carmine, 43-W-8
WASP Joan Frost, 44-W-8
Dr. Robert T. Dorr WASP Bee Haydu, 44-W-7
WASP Sara P. Hayden, 44-W-10
WASP Anne Griffin Gleszer, 44-W-9
WASP Madge Leon Moore, 44-W-4
WASP Betty Archibald Fernandes, 43-W-4
WASP Lorraine Bain, 44-W-5
WASP Doris Nathan, 44-W-1
WASP Eleanor Lawry, 43-W-6
WASP Lois Nash, 43-W-8
WASP Lorraine Rodgers, 44-W-2
WASP Sylvia (Sunny) Miller Burrill, 44-W-7
WASP Maggie Gee, 44-W-9
WASP Sue Parish, 44-W-6
WASP Scotty Gough, 44-W-7
WASP Caro Bayley Bosca, 43-W-7
WASP Ruth Helm, 43-W-2
WASP Gwen Linder, 44-W-5
WASP Ola M. Rexroat, 44-W-7
WASP Annelle Bulecheck, 44-W-2
J.C. Pace, Jr.
Brig. Gen. Whitie Miller, USAF Ret.
Eva Dyce
Jeary Flener
Diana Larson
Bobbie Burns Roe
Bill & Barbara Vance
Harvey Peterson
Sharylee Keller Wright
Phillip M. Pellerin
Jeanne & Honey Godwin
Major Bennett Monde
Dr. Noland Harvey
Nancy S. Cook
Mr. Bill Rice
Alice P. Kenmore
Grace Thorman King
Peter & Shelia  Fox
Susan & Bill Johnson
Lelia Tokuyama
Claire Benson
Mr. Ron Stein, TEXAS TST. Inc.
Fred Bauer, Jr.
Charles Duncan
Elitha Douglas
Katy Hoskins
Larry Meidell
Jimmie N. Dunlaney
AG FLIGHT INC.
Bruce G. Gutherie