Learn more about some of the women who served with the WASP
Ann Baumgartner Carl
Ann Baumgartner Carl learned to fly in 1940 and entered Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) training during World War II. She was assigned to tow a target squadron at Camp Davis, North Carolina, flying Curtiss A-25s. She was transferred to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, where she became the […]
Patricia Blackburn Bonansinga
“I became interested in joining a military service available for women as World War II progressed. The only service branch which really interested me was the WASP program.” – Patricia Blackburn Bonansinga (September 10, 1921 – December 2, 2006) After taking flying lessons in Utah, Patricia earned acceptance into the […]
Colonel Jacqueline Cochran
Although she was born into impoverished circumstances in Florida in 1906, Colonel Jacqueline Cochran became one of history’s most accomplished female aviators. She learned to fly in 1932 while working as a cosmetics saleswoman. Three years later, Cochran became the first woman to fly in the Bendix Trophy Race, which […]
“Millie” Inks Davidson Dalrymple
“I was the absolutely minimum of everything that you could be to get into the WASP. I thought I could, and I applied myself and I made it. I think anybody who really wants to do something very bad, if they work at it, and they focus, and they concentrate, […]
Gertrude “Tommy” Tompkins Silver
WASP pilot Gertrude “Tommy” Tompkins Silver of the 601st Ferrying Squadron, 5th Ferrying Group, based at Love Field in Dallas. It was on this day in 1944 she departed Mines Field in Los Angeles for Palm Springs, on October 26, 1944, flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey. She […]
Elizabeth “Betty” Wall Strohfus
Home economics, shorthand and typing were common classes for most women in school in the 1930s, but those topics didn’t interest Elizabeth “Betty” Wall Strohfus – she had a heart for flying. She borrowed money to join a local flying club in her native Minnesota. After seeing an ad for […]
Margaret June “Peggy” Seip
Today, we honor Margaret June “Peggy” Seip, Class 43-W-5. Seip was among the 38 WASPs killed in plane crashes. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Seip earned her private pilot license in 1940 and was one of the first women to join the Wisconsin CAP. She went on to be a Link […]
Lois Maxine Dobbin Auchterlonie
After earning her Bachelor’s Degree and her civilian private pilot’s license, Lois Maxine Dobbin Auchterlonie paid her own way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas where she began WASP military flight training. Out of 95 female pilots who entered the 43-8 class, Lois was one of only 48 who successfully […]
Jean Downey Harman
“In an era when many women didn’t even drive cars, Downey’s office was an AT-6 Texan military trainer.” Jean Downey Harman, WASP Class 44-9. Hear Jean tell some of her amazing stories about her time serving in the Women Airforce Service Pilots in this 2010 interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3e146U9VY P.S. We heard […]
Elizabeth “Betty” Evert Greene
Elizabeth “Betty” Evert Greene, Class 43-W-5 first assignment after WASP training was at Camp Davis flying an A-24 Dauntless on radar tracking missions as well as both day and night missions flying a B-34 towing targets. After WWII, Betty helped found Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and served as a pilot […]
Elizabeth “Libby” Gardner
You might recognize this iconic photo of a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) in the pilot’s seat of a Martin B-26 Marauder, but do you know who she is? If you guessed Elizabeth “Libby” Gardner of WASP Class 43-W-6, you were right! Gardner was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1921. […]
Marie Mountain Clark
Born on a cold February morning in a small farm house in West Liberty, Iowa, Marie Mountain Clark, WASP Class 44-W-1, got an early start in aviation. It was the responsibility of Marie and her younger sister to turn on the aircraft marker lights on the Des Moines Radio Range […]
Caro Bayley Bosca
Before becoming one of the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft and earning her wings as part of WASP Class 43-W-7, Caro Bayley Bosca learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training Program at St. Mary’s College in Columbus, Ohio in 1941. After completing her CPTP training, Bosca worked […]
Enid Clifford Fisher
Enid Clifford Fisher, WASP Class 43-6, was born in 1917 in Everett, Washington. From a young age, Enid had an interest in flying, and negotiated with her parents to let her take flying lessons after she graduated from college. Not long after graduating from Oregon State University, Enid signed up […]
Mary Koth McCabe
Born in 1919 in a cabin in Washington State, Mary Koth McCabe, WASP Class 44-1, was described as a free spirit who believed, “If you don’t enjoy life, it’s your own fault.” After high school, Mary spent ample time on a Harley-Davidson, and eventually decided she wanted to learn how […]
Marie Muccie
“We can use you.” That’s what Jackie Cochran, wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), told young Marie Muccie after looking at the 300 hours in her flight log during an interview. Marie had a big hurdle to cross before she could join the WASP, though – she […]
Mary Helen Gosnell Chappell
During her time serving in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), Mary Helen Gosnell Chappell, WASP Class 44-6, ferried secrets. From top secret cargo, to scientists working on the development of the atomic bomb, to classified documents, Gosnell was frequently met by the FBI upon landing. Agents would escort passengers […]
Francie Meisner Park
Francie Meisner Park, WASP Class 44-10, was born in 1919 in Piper, Kansas. After the war broke out, Francie joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and learned to fly the PT-17, BT-13, PT-19, and the AT-6. During her service as a WASP, she was stationed at Goodfellow Army Air […]
Nadine Ramsey
Nadine Ramsey Class 43-W-5 overcame extraordinary challenges only to become an elite, trailblazing pilot. She was raised in Depression-era Kansas, and when she was 17, her father was arrested for spousal abuse. After her father’s death in jail, Ramsey dropped out of school to become a secretary to help support […]
Dorothy “Dottie” Hines Mosher
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A WASP By Dottie Hines Mosher Class 44-W-6 JOURNEY TO JOIN-UP Late October, ’42. When Roddy, Bunny and I started flying we had little hope of qualifying for the two groups of women pilots then existing; the WAFS – Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, and […]
Shirley C. Kruse
Shirley C. Kruse Class 44-W-6 “My time spent as a WASP was a never to be forgotten adventure, a great preparation for the wonderful experience of all that my life was to become.” – Shirley C. Kruse Shirley Kruse’s passion and interest in aviation began as a child. […]
Mary “Marty” Wyall
Mary “Marty” Wyall Class 44-W-10 “We didn’t care so much about the pay or the recognition, We just wanted to help our country win the war.” – Marty Wyall By her own recollection, being a WASP was the best thing that happened to Marty Wyall. Wyall graduated from […]
Florence G. “Shutsy” Reynolds
Florence G. “Shutsy” Reynolds Class 44-W-5 Reynolds, though she does not fly anymore, is often awakened by dreams where she is back in the sky, at the controls of a military airplane, remembering the WASP motto, “We live in the wind and sand and our eyes are on the […]
