Marylyn Myers was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 25, 1924, to Gaylord W. Myers and Mary B. Scoggins Myers. She grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and then in Des Moines, Iowa. She left high school to work for United Airlines in Des Moines as a flight agent, and to take flying lessons. Marylyn said “I just put my money into flying lessons. Because I just felt in my heart that sooner or later they would have to rely on girls. …flying is just – you LOVE it. Irregardless of what kind of an airplane you are in.”
In 1942, she became a licensed pilot and a member of the Civil Air Patrol. Marylyn wanted to contribute to the war effort as a pilot. She took the train from Des Moines, Iowa to Wichita, Kansas to try to find the WASP enlistment site, but was unable to do so. Disappointed, she took a cab and was told by the cab driver where the women pilots were enlisting. She enrolled and in December 1943 she was accepted to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)training program at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. After seven months of rigorous training, Marylyn graduated with class 44-W-5 on June 27, 1944, and served as a test pilot stationed in Pecos, Texas. Test pilots flew planes with reported defects to determine what needed to be fixed, and those that had been repaired, to check them out. She was also a flight instructor and ferried officers from base to base when needed.While stationed at Pecos AAB, Texas, Marylyn met Charles F. Holcomb, an Army Air Corps pilot. They married in September 1944, before he shipped out to Europe. The WASP were disbanded on December 20, 1944. Marylyn and Charles had one child, Cathy, in July 1945. After an early wartime divorce, Marylyn raised Cathy as a single mother in Denver, Colorado. She was drawn to aviation and worked in meteorology at United Air Lines for several years. She married William J. Peyton, Jr. (Bill) in 1962 in Denver, Colorado. He was an FBI agent in Denver, and a Veterans Administration attorney in Fresno, California.Marylyn and Bill were happily married for 40 years. They enjoyed retirement in Colorado and Arizona, loved to travel in their Winnebago, and danced to Big Band and swing music. They were both tall, and their heads could be seen above the crowd. They especially enjoyed their time in the Rocky Mountains, where Bill was a seasonal ranger.
She and Bill helped organize WASP reunions, provided a videotaped
interview for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, and
supported the National WASP WWII Museum. Bill died in 2002.
On March 2010, Congress presented the surviving WASP and
representatives of those deceased, with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Marylyn’s family accompanied her and another WASP
(Dori Marland 43-W-8) to Washington D.C. to receive the medal.
Marylyn remembered the thrill of flying to the end, She was always a
sky-watcher and enjoyed identifying the clouds and watching
the weather.
Written by: Ann Haub | Collections Director
Photos courtesy: National WASP WWII Museum Archives
Archives Contact:
Partner with the WASP Archive in achieving its mission to collect, protect, preserve, and provide access to materials that chronicle the WASP story, its legacy, and the personal and professional lives of its pilots. New artifacts are always welcome. Please call Ann Haub at 325-235-0099 or by emailing her at ann@waspmuseum.org.