W7lSl'

NEWSLETTER
SPECIAL EDITION
Editor - Betty Cross

VOL. XIII

December

1976

eral at Martha's Vineyard. Instead would those who

desire, send a contribution to The American Cancer
Society or the cancer wing of the M.D. Anderson Hospital, c/o Dr. R. Lee Clark, 6723 Bertner Blvd.,
Houston, Texas. Acknowledgments can be sent to
Robert Love and family. We have lost a fine person who
led well in time of great need.
(Following is an article printed in the Vineyard Gazette, October 26, 1976,)
MRS. ROBERT M. LOVE, PROMINENT AVIATRIX

"HEAVENLY

FLIGHT"

NANCY HARKNESS LOVE

We were all saddened to learn that Nancy Love passed away at 6:30 a.m. Friday, October 22, 1976.
Nancy had been selected as recipient of the Award to
be given at the Hot Springs reunion. When Bee Haydu
telephone the Love residence the beginning of October
to determine whether Nancy or someone in her family
would be attending the reunion, she learned that
Nancy might not live that long. Consequently Ann
Atkeison, Chairman of the Awards Committee immediately had the Award engraved and sent to Nancy's
home: 5235 Hidden Rd., Sarasota, Fla. 33581, so she
could see and enjoy it. October 10th, Marky Love,
Nancy's daughter, wrote: "The Award arrived last
Thursday (7th) and Mum has asked me to convey her
thanks and appreciation. We have hidden the Award
and will not mention it until the presentation is made
at the end of October. At this point we have almost
begun to wish that Mum had less of a fighting spirit;
although completely aware of it she continues to defy
her impossible situation. It is at the same time awful
and wonderful to be with a person who simply can not
or will not give up. Thank you for your understanding."
In telephoning us at the reunion, Marky Love requested there be no flowers sent to the private family fun-

Mrs. Robert M. Love, the former Nancy Harkness,

long a prominent resident of the Vineyard, died in Sarasota, Fla., on Friday after a long illness.
Mrs. Love had won prominence in a number of ways'
but will be remembered here first of all for her personality and friendship. She was the daughter of Dr. Robert
Bruce Harkness and Alice Chadbourne Harkness of Kennett Square, Pa. Her marriage to Mr. Love took place in
1936.
When Mr. and Mrs. Love first came to the Island they
bought extensive property on Sengekontacket Pond
near the Trade Winds Airport. Later, after selling this
property, they bought the Wallace E. Tobin house on
the Lagoon.
Mrs. Love had become a pilot in 1930, and in World
War II she organized a group of 25 women pilots who
formed an experimental command for ferrying Army
planes from factories to bases. Her husband was also a
flyer, organizer of Allegheny Airlines, and after they
came to the Vineyard it was a commonplace thing for
them to fly their children off-Island to the dentist or
for some other purpose.
Officially, Mrs. Love served as commanding officer
of the Women's Auxiliary Ferry Service and, later, executive officer on the staff of the commanding general
of the Ferry Division, Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots,
the organization which replaced the earlier service. Although most of her wartime flying was in this country,
Mrs. Love managed a flight around the world during
which she did at least half the flying and herself flew
over the Hump. Her standards for all planes were a
model of care and efficiency, and she rose to aviation
prominence because of this as well as her pioneering and

piloting skill. At the end of the war

she held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Mrs. Love was an able sailor and accompanied her husband on many cruises,
and she encouraged and participated in
the horsemanship of her daughters.
She is survived by her husband her
daughters, Mrso Hannah Robertson of
Candor, N.Y., Miss Margaret Campbell
Love of California and Miss Alice Harkness Love of Alaska.
A memorial service will be held on
Friday at 2 p.rno at Grace Episcopal
Church in Vineyard Haven with the Rev.
Donald H. Lyons officiating. It is suggested that memorial gifts be sent to
the American Cancer Society in place of
flowers.
YESTERDAY HOT SPRINGS
TOMORROW HOLLYWOOD

Those of us at the reunion at one time

or another noticed a gentleman recording
experiences of the WASP's when they were
in service from various WASP's there.
Joe Haydu, Dedie Deaton and Bee Haydu
approached this gentleman with a request
that an agreement be entered into with
him. that if his proposed TV series based
on WASP experiences materialized, the
Order of Fifinella would share in the
profits.
He replied that he could not
do this at this time and said he would
be less than honest if he made any promises. The Order of Fifinella have no
agreement s with him.
Since the reunion, Bee Haydu has received two requests for information about
the WASP'S during their service years
that would result in either a TV series,
TV Special, movie, book, play, musical
or all of these. Bee was offered personal gain but told both of these parties that the Order .of Fifinella should
share in profits.
Before seeking any
information about the WASP's, both of
the se partie s are willing to enter into
a legal agreement with profit sharing
for the Order of Fifinella.
It certainly would be more beneficial for the
organization if we pursue one of these
2 source s. The Executive Board will be
given details of any offers and negotiations. If a transaction can be cons-

ummated, they will make the decision.

Legal assistance will be sought before
entering into any binding agreement.
Sane of the member s of the Order of
Fifinella are writing books or planning
similar projects mentioned above. In
the event any of you would like to have
your works considered by an agent who
would represent the Order of Fifinella,
please contact Bee Haydu at once in
order that this information can be included in the negotiations.
With a project such as this, we must
have information from each and every
one of you. Incidentally, we need much
the same information for the Militarization Hearings which are due to come up
the end of Jan. or beginning of Feb.,
1977 and which is covered in detail in
this Newsletter.
We urge each of you to
do the organization and each member a
good turn (especially those of us who
might be more neecty),sit down as soon
as you read this and either write or
tape record your experiences.
You may
want to make a notation that this is for
the Order of Fifinella.
Send it to:
Bee Haydu, Pres. Order of Fifinella
10330 N. Military Trail
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 33410
"""December 31st DEADLINE"""
She will have a committee in the area
help catalog the information and send it
where currently needed.
1. Any experience you had that was
"dangerous" or where you were almost ki.lled, or that was different
from the usual.
(Preferably accompanied by pictures - although you
could forward them at a later date.)
2. Any time you were reprimanded,
threatened with Courts Martial or
similar experience (demerits we received after S. M. I. - Saturday
Morning Inspection - would fall in
this classification)
3.

Tell about or copy of any of these:

a. Order to report - anYWhere
b. Flying Order s
c. Oath to defend your country you
might have signed or given verbally

d.

Verbal or written orders to guard

or protect your airplane

4.

Issuance of firearms for use in line

of duty

5.

Any humorous flying experience OR

unusual and for humorous experience
whether flying connected or not but
while in service.

Brief HistoFY on WASP Struggle for Militarizationl

June 1944:

6. Where were you stationed?

What were you flying?
you in service?

How long?
How long were

In sending this infol~tion,

please indicate whether or not:
A. You want any pictures andf or other
material returned.
B.

If we can use this information in

connection with our fight for militarization (hearings, etc.) or for
books, TV, movies, etc. or for publicity or for all these purposes.

If you do not want the return of items

you send, they will be given to our Historian, Marty Wyall. At some future
date arrangements will be made as to
where the Historian's collection should
be finally "1aid to rest". This is sorrething that each of us should be thinking
about so the records will go where the
majority would like to see them placed.
Girls, this is the year of the WASPS.
If you agree with the above, sit right
down and GIVE US INFORMATION.
Don't be
left out of the WASP story. How great
that the Order of Fifinella can share in
the profits, publicity and perhaps finally be assured a place in history.
Editor's Note:

This Special Reunion

Issue of the Newsletter
is primarily printed to
distribute urgent information about Militarization.

MILITARIZATION
Colonel Wm. Bruce Arnold
1625 Eye Street, N.W. Suite 419
Washington, D.C. 20006

May 1972:

March 26,

May 1975:

September

Congressman John W. Costello

introduced Bill HR 4269 for
WASP militarization of those
already trained and adding
5,000 more women. It was
defeated by 19 votes, due in
large part to criticism initiated by the House COJIDD.ittee on Civil Service (the
Ramspeck Committee) after
receiving letters and phone
calls by a strong lobby of
male civilian pilots. During the period between the
deactivation of the WASPs
and the pre sent, several
WASPs working individually
managed to have members of
Congress initiate bills
which would benefit WASPs
in some way or other, but
the se bill s had no backing
and were dropped. It was
not until the 70' 3 that a
concentrated effort was initiated.
Bill HR 15035 was introduced
by Congresswoman Pat.sy Mink
but failed to be considered
by the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
This was
the first indication of the
hostility to be encountered
by the Veteran's Administration.
1975: Bill S 1345 was introduced by Senator Barry Goldwater but died in Senator
Vance Hartke's Veterans'
Affairs Committee.
Bill HR 6595 was introduced
by Congresswoman Mink but
died in Congressman Ray
Robert's (Texas) House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
10, 1976: Bill HR 71 provides
any citizen of Poland or
Czechoslovakia who, during
World .War II, fought on the
side of the allies and who
has been a citizen of the
U. S. for at least 10 years
by virtue of such service,

hospital and domiciliary

IQ.amathFalls, Or.
care, medi.cal services from
'l7601 (WATTS
line)
the VAto same extent as if
Co-Capt~
Isabel
Martell,
Box
such service had been per1158,
Molalla,
Or.
formed in the ArmedForces
'l7038
of the U.S. July 21, 1976
the House passed this Bill.
Sect. 2 (Nev. Ariz., Colo., N. Mex.,
September 10, 1976 on the
Okl. )
noor of the Senate, Senator
Captain: Ruth Dailey Helm,
Barry Goldwater added an
Thunderhead Ranch,
amendmentto this Bill (with
Rt. 8, Box 336,
a GREAT
speech) to have WASPs
Tucson, Ariz. 85730
included in HR71. Senate
(WATTS
line) 602passed the Bill with the a791-762:7
mendmentby voice vote.
Co-Capt: Nell Bright 353 E.
September 14, 1976, HR71
ThomasRd. #308
went to the House who refusPhoenix, AZ85012
ed to consider the Bill with
Sect . 3 (Texas)
the WASPamendment. Arter
Captain: Ruth Florey, Rt. 1,
much back and forth discussBox 464, Odessa,
ion, WASPswere eljmjnated
'llx. 79763
from the Bill (but the Bill
Co-Capt: Jacqueline Hart
was passed) but Senator
Morgan, 8811 Dover,
Goldwater was promised in
Houston, Tex. 77017
writing hearings in the early
713-643-8926
part of next year. Wewere
CALIFORNIA
WING
told that the reason we were
dropped from. the Bill was
Sect. 1 (LoA...area)
that no hearings on WASPshad
been heldl Investigation
Captain: Adele Beyer, 1756 N.
Serrano Ave., L.A.,
showedthat no hearings were
held on HR71.
Cal. 9002:7
With the new Congress next year,
Co-Capt: Nona Holt Pickering,
Barry Goldwater will introduce a new
19429 Kittridge St.,
Bill on our behalf in the Senate and
Reseda, Cal., 91335
CongresswomanLindy Boggs will intro213-344-2956
duce a similar bill in the House.
Sect. 2 (N coast area)
Captain: Cappy Johnson,
WHAT
00 WE00 NOW?
or "REDALERT"
4175 Kenneth Ave.
Fair Oaks, Cal.,
1. W. have set up a Communications
95628
System which will act as does a chain
Co-Capt: NEEDONE(Write
letter.
Wherever possible, try to obBee Haydu)
tain the use of a WATTS
or 800 line.
Sect. 3 (Inland Calif.)
(Businesses will frequently
donate this
NEEDCAPTAIN
ANDCO-CAPTAIN,
after their normal world.ng hours it apppreferably saneone from
roached.)
Manyof you have already volFresno area.
unteered to help.
"Captains" for some
EASTERN
WING
sections of the country are:
Sect. 1 (Minn., Wisc., Iowa, Ill.,
WESTERN WING
Mo., Ark., La.)
Sect. 1 (Wash., Oregon, Idaho, Utah,
Captain: Charlene Creger,
Mont., Wyo., N & S Dak.,
3048 Sandra Dr.,
Neb., Kan.)
Shreveport, La.71109
Captain: Peggy Eccles, 909
Co-Capt. Julie Jenner Stege,
Lema Linda Dr.,

22W 724 Sycamore Dr.,

Glen Ellyn, Ill.
60137
Sect. 2 (Mich., Ind., Oh~o, KyAi )
. W. Va., Tenn., Miss.,
a.
Captain:

Doris Tanner, Box

733, Union City,
Tenn. 38261
Co-Capt: Mary Ellen Keil, 56
S. Chesterfield Rd.,
Columbus, Ohio 43209
Sect. 3 (N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.)
Captain: Frankie Lovvorn Bretherick, 8233 Waverly
St., Sarasota, Fla.
33580
Co-Capt: Evelyn Trammel, 1450
Howell Mill Rd., NW,
Atlanta, Ga. 30318
404-351-3240
Sect. 4 (Va., Md., Wash. D.C., Del.,
Penn., N.J., ct., R. I.)
Captain: Norma (Penny) Hall
Houghton, 560 N. St.,
S.W., Apt. N-5l2,
Washington, D.C.
20024
Co-Capt: Joan Gough Frost,
1254 Rydal Rd.,
Rydal, Pa. 19046
Sect. 5 (N.Y., VT., Maine, N.H.,
Mass., Long Island)
Captain: Emily Chapin, 37
Hardscrabble Rd.,
Briarcliff Manor,
N.Y. 10510
Co-Capt: Mary MacLeod Loomis,
Proctor St., Manchester, Mass. 01944
ALASKA-HAWAII
- Any volunteer s1
Please contact the Captain in your area
if you would be willing to make phone
calls between 5 and 7 when the time
comes. Note to Captains:
A suggested
operating procedure is on its way.
2. Bruce Arnold will be notified, say,
one week prior to the Hearings,
which he is already preparing for.
When he gets this info. all the
"Captains" will be notified being
given the word "Red Alertlt and the
date, tline and place of the Hearings.

3. When the word "Red Alert" reaches

you, do any or all of the following:
Mail 0 Grams (preferrable since
they receive immediate attention) or write:
Senate Chairman of Veterans
Affairs Committee (A MUST)
House of Rep. Chairman of
Veterans Affairs Committee
Your Senator & Congressmen
Get newspaper, radio, TV publicity.
4. In advance of "Red Alert", be contacting organizations such as 99's,
Zonta, NOW, WEAL, relatives,
friends, any sympathetic organizations explaining our long fight.
Ask them to help us by doing #3
above just prior to the Hearings.
(We want Washington D.C. bombarded at that time.) Organizations
such as the Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Disabled American Veterans
and American Legion, according to
the Veterans Affairs Chairmen,
have come out strongly opposing
our obtaining militarization.
If
you approach any of these groups
on a local basis, feel them out
carefully. If they sympathize with
us, then ask them to so notify
their Washington, D.C. offices.
The support of these groups would
aid us greatly.
Their opposition
would hurt us greatly.
5. If you are able and desirous of
coming to the Hearings, wear your
uniform or if you have none, a similar tailored dark suit with white
blouse and your wings would look
good. We are attempting to organize a committee in the Washington,
D.C. area to locate housing in
people's homes for those of you who
would have to RON. As of this report, Norma (Penny) Hall Houghton,
560 N. St., S.W., Apt. N-5l2, Wash.,
D.C. 20024 will be in charge or if
unable will tell you who is.
YOUR AtvINUNI~ON
1. Listed below are excerpts from a
well wrj tten artj.c=_eby Paul.a Bernstein

of the N.Y. Daily News (Sept. 7, 1976)

which gives good points: "THE FORGOTTEN
WOMEN OF ~"ORLD WAR II. Where are the
women pilots who made aviation history
in World War II? A nationwide search
has begun for the 1,074 members of the
Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
who flew hundreds of missions over the
continental U.S. and Canada from 1942
until the end of 1944. WASPs were not
just co-pilots, but first pilots on all
the fighter planes and cargo planes,
lithe hot pursuitsll such as the P-51,
P-40, P-47, P-38, P-39. They also
checked out and flew domestic missions
on such twin-engine bombers as the B-26
and B-25, and many were assigned to four
engine craft such as the FlYing Fortress, B-1?, B-24, and even the Superfortress B-29. In addition, the jet
fighter, just coming into its own at
that time, was checked out and piloted
by a WASP. Cross-country flights with
all-woman pilot crews were by no means
uncommon.
The WASPs ferried thousands of new
fighter planes from factory to points
of embarkation for the battle-front.
They ferried combat-weary planes back
to maintenance and repair stations.
They towed target sleeves behind their
planes so fighter pilots could practice
with live ammunition at a moving target.
They towed gliders; they taught instrument fli~~t controls; they tested radio
controls.
And then it was IIget out, girls, the
guys are back. II
Gen. H.H. 'Hap' Arnold, chief of the
U.S. Army Air Force back then, put it
a more polite way: "You have freed
male pilots for other work," he told
the WASPs when they were disbanded.
"The situation is that if you continue
in service you will be replacing, instead of releasing, our young men.1I
The WASP's, of course, were delighted that combat losses among male pilots
were lower than anticipated.
Yet they
never expected their country to turn
its back on women pilots and not only
deactivate them, but forget them. Due
to the experimental secrecy of their
program, they received little recognition at the time, and during the in-

tervening 3D-plus years, the country

has largely overlooked the contribution
they made toward winning the air victory
in World War II.
The WASP's, although serving under
military discipline and flying military
aircraft, received no benefits of any
kind. They had no insurance, no hospi talization, no GI bill, and no veterans'
benefits.
The 38 WASPs who lost their
lives in service received no consideration.
A bill in 1944 to militarize the WASPs
was defeated by a small margin due to
tha well-supported efforts of male civilian pilot organizations who were facing
the draft. If we got flying jobs, they
wouldn't have flying jobs.
According to a Washington spokesm~L
for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, VA. officials oppose the bills because they want to define IIveteransll narrowly, fearing other civilians who served under military jurisdiction may seek
similar benefits.
They cite the men who
chose alternative service during the
Vietnam War.
Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona),
the Senate sponsor of the bill to give
WASPs recognition and now a retired Air
Force Reserve Major General, flew with
WASPs in the Ferrying Command at New
Castle, Delaware.
IlThese ladies flew 60 million miles
for the Air Forces, equal to 2,050 times
around the globe,1I he said. IITheir performance was equal in every way to male
pilots and was better in same instances,
such as towing targets for gunnery practice. They flew the same routes and
the same aircraft that male pilots did
within the U. S. and Canada. They were
under military discipline and subject
to all military rules and regulations.
They received no benefits such as insurance and hospitalization, and it is
long overdue that they acquire this
entitlement."
"It would only cost $90,000 a year,1I
said Terry Emerson, legislative aide to
Senator Goldwater.
Emerson cannot understand the VA objection based upon
the premise that other groups might demand the same benefits.
IlThat has nothi.ng to do with this,ll he insisted.

"let others have hearings and prove

their case. Then, separate legislation
could be passed for them on their own
merits. II
2. List of reasons why we are different from other groups who are seeking
militarization which is what the Veterans' Affairs Committees fear:
These women pilots of World War II are
being denied veteran I s benefits becau se
unthinking members of Congress are
classifying them in the same status as
other civilians who did war work. This
comparison is unjust:.

None of the other groups were organized from the outset to become a part
of the Army Air Corps when proven
operationally effective.
None of the other organizations were
tested and made to prove their military capabilities before being militarized.
None of the other organizations during recruitment of personnel stated
to new members that they were to be
militarized.
Same girls before being
accepted were made to swear that they
would remain in the WASPs after militarization.
None of the other organizations required their members to take the same
oath of office that the male officers
took.

None of the other organizations were

sponsored for militarization by a
major component of the U.S. armed
forces during the war years.

None of the other organizations had a

militarization bill passed by the
House Committee on Military Affairs.

None of the other organizations organized a special staff officers

school and sent their personnel to
this school in preparation for militarization.
None of the other organizations

de-

corated their individuals by military

orders in military ceremonies.

None of the other organizations have

had recommended1for them hospital and
insurance benefits in a House committee report yet denied them by inaction of that committee.

None of the other organizations had

militarization refUsed their personnel through a biased decision by the
Comptroller General of the Army who
ruled "that the authority required
extended only to men and could not be
regarded as authority for commissioning women officers in the Army of the
United States."

Thirty-eight of these wanen died for

their country in military aircraft during
World War II; yet their surviving comrades have been denied veteran's benefits.
CONDENSED FACT SHEET ON WASPS
WASPs served in uniform as part of the
Air Corps from Sept., 1942 to December,

1944.
25,000 applied for WASP training

1,879 were accepted

1,074 succe ssfully fini shed training
916 remained at deactivation Dec. 20,
1944.
38 died while in active service
Wages paid for WASPs while in training,
$150 per month. After graduation $250
per month. Fran this they paid their
own food, lodging, some clothe3, personal travel to and from home.
Approximately

850 WASPs still living

(1976)
WASPs performed

these duties!

Flew over 60,000,000 miles of operational flightso

Ferrying
12,600 ferrying operations
miles of ferrying)

(9,200,000

....
3,000 aircraft ferried (2/3 of the
pursuits were ferried by 35
women at one base in less than
1year)
77, at least, different types of
aircraft ferried
During the last year and a half of
their program, only WASP s were allowed
to ferry the P47's from the factory.
Training Command
Searchlight and tracking missions
Towed target sleews behind planes so
fighter pilots in combat practice
could learn to aim at moving targets
with live ammunition.
Towed target sleeves behind planes so
anti-aircraft batteries could practice shooting live ammunition at a
moving target (1 WASP killed because
of this operation)
Instrument and flight instructors for
male pilot s training for combat
Radio controlled drone flights
Towing large gliders
Airline operations for military transport
Simulated strafing and bombing assignments
Test flying
Utility flying
Smoke laying and other chemical missions
New aircraft and engineering testing
Administrative flying
Piloting for navigation and bambadier
students
Breaking-in engines (special 'flying necessary after an engine over-haul)
"Seel These planes aren't really dangerous to fly."
(p39 had become known as "flying coffin" and male pilots did not want to
fly them. Gen. Tunner (from his book
"Over the Hump") had WASPs checked out
in P 39's which they flew strictly according to "Specs", then made certain
"male pilots see girls flying these.
When reputation of Superfortress B29
was being questioned, Lt. Col. Paul W.
Tibbets, Jr. checked out Mrs. Dorothea
Johnson Moorman and Dr. Dora Dougherty
Strother w~ich they then flew to B29
bases allover the country)
Checked out in first jets (Ann G. Baumgartner)

WASPe were trained the same as male

cadets in all aspects (calesthenics,
drill., morse cods, ground school, fiying
pri.mary, basic, instruments and advanced.
" Trained in military courtesy.
Subject
to military orders, and discipline.
If
given a salute, returned it. Many WASPs
attended Officers Training School.
At graduation were issued one dress
uniform, work uniform, overcoat.
Additional clothing was paid for by the
WASPs themselves.
Flew every military aircraft manufactured for WWII from the smallest trainer to the Superfortress B29 and the Jet.
Flew only in the U.S. and Canada.
Subject to check rides during training
by military pilots.
During training Saturday Morning
ections were held.

Insp-

Some WASPs ferrying certain planes with

"secret" equipment aboard were issued
firearms and told if they had forced
landing to guard the plane with their
lives and if they felt the situation was
such that the classified material would
be compromised, to shoot a spot on the
fuselage marked in red which would trigger a destruct mechanism.
YOU ARE NOT FINISHED YET
AFTER the hearings, the bills will go to
the floor of the Senate and House for
vote. Everything you did for "RED ALERT
#1" must be done again. In seeking publicity, reporters love to have follow up
stories. This is your I1foot in the door"
to continue getting publicity.
Same
holds true in contacting organizations
to assist us.
CONCLUSION
Each of you is a committee of one to
carry out this huge project. We do not
have the funds to have a lobby, newspaper clipping service, phones unlimited, etc. Therefore you must act as a

committee to carry out each of the tasks

mentioned above. Remember, send information outlined in article entitled
YESTERDAY HOT SPIUNGS, TOMORROW HOLLYWOOD. When getting publicity, send 2
copies of article to Marty Wyall. BE
SURE TO SEND COMPLETE PAGE. 00 NOT CUT
ARl'ICLE OUT. Send one copy (full page)
to Bruce Arnold.
Senator Barry Goldwater has asked Bruce
to collect full pages so that he can
make up a booklet to impress the various senators.
If you will serve on Communications
System, send information either to your
"Captain" or Bee Haydu. Prepare NOW
for "RED ALERT. II Had we been better
organized in 1944, we might have gotten
militarization then. We are organized
nowo
LET'S 00 ITI

################
NEED DONATIONS
W. have had and will be having very
high expenses having to with our fight
in Washington, D.C. for militarization.
If anyone is 50 inclined to donate
towards this, it would be greatly appreciated.
This should be tax deductible.
Mark your check "donation" and note
that it is for the militarization fund.

Tons of letter writing which our treasurer, Betty Nicholas, can attest to
since she gets my postage bills.
In answer to an S.O.S. from the Militarization Committee, attempted to alert
as many of you as possible as to what
was happening in Washington, D.C. as
well as writing letters, mail-O-grams,
and phone calls for Bills before Senate
and House of Representatives.
Telephone conference s with various con:unittees.
Gave 3 newspaper and 1 United Press Int'l.
report which covered the entire country.
Gave 3 radio interviews.
Gave 3 TV interviews.
And, yet, I hasten to add that what I
have done has been exceeded by the officers and many very active committees.
They will be reporting individually in
the Newsletter.
None of my activities would have been
possible without the help, cooperation
and advice of my husband, Joe, and our
3 off-spring, Joe, Steve and Diana.
Our organization has been more active
this past year and will be next year
than ever before. Nothing is possible
without the assistance not only of the
officers and committees, but of each
and everyone
of you. That is why we
have had a good year and will have an
even better one next year. THIS IS THE
YEAR OF THE WASPIllll
1 I CONSI DER OTHERS

11

liTHE PREZ SEZ"

I would like to briefly report my activities since the Reno Reunion.
Called 2 Board Meetings (we try to have
one a .year).
Appointed 2 new committees (Membership
and Publicity)
Attended dedication of Fifinella Statue
at Sweetwater, June '76.
Attended unveiling of WASP uniforms at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum, Aug.
11, '76 accompanied by extremely interesting talk to WASPs in attendance as
well as general public by Dr. Dora
Strother, which my daughter, Diana,
recorded.

We realize there are some WASP's who,

during WWII, would have resigned had the
WASP's been militarized.
Whether they
would have done this for lack of patriotic feelings, which is how it would
have been interpreted, or not, is not
known. Even today there are a very few
who object to our seeking militarization.
If one or two become too vocal, it will
destroy everything 50 many of us for so
long have been fighting to attain.
Some have said, "Why bother about this
now after so many years?" The answer
is that it would be helpful to those of
us who are not as fortunate financially
as are other 8. We do have some. However, they are not looking for a "hand-

out" How proud they would be if they

could not afford medical care, for instance, to be able to obtain this on
their own by going to a Veteran's Hospital and saying "I servedl". Some military benefits would mean a great deal
to some of our mambers.
Please keep
the se thing s in mind any time you are
tempted to say something that might be
harmful to others.

Expenses for Editor, Advance on

Reunion, Secretary Records)
Balance - - - - --- - - - -

$1.337.67

"It's That Time"

TREASURER'S

'*

REPORT

ORDER OF FIFINELLA REUNION

Hot Springs, Arkansas
October 23, 1976
$1,060.42

On Hand June 1975

Income:
Dues
Dues
Dues
Dues

1975
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78

$ 175.00
2,657.50
940.00
10.00

Sale Items

167.50

Reno Reunion Refund 3,120.48

7,070.48
Total on Hand & Income

8,130.90

Disbursements:
Board TranI
$1,929.48
Insignia, trophies,
Engraving
276.78
Telephone calls
154.49
Hotel for Board
Member
55.07
Printing
2,368.24
Postage
1,159.95
Roster & List
Maintenance
107.07
other Misc.
742.15
(Scrapbooks,
Flowers, Rubber
Stamps, Incidental stationery

DUES

If you have not paid your dues for the

1976-1977 year, it would be appreciated
if you would send them along to our
Treasurer as soon as possible.
If you
have made payment from July lon, your
dues are current; prior to that time,
dues are now due. Please send to
Betty Nicholas, 125 W. 82nd St., Indianapolis, Ind. 46260.
Members who have paid and did not attend
the reunion will receive their membership cards shortly. To save postage,
we distributed cards at the reunion to
those who had paid for the current year
and at the reunion. To those of you who
couldn't make the reunion this year,
we're sorry. "It was a splendid one in
a lovely setting and I would like to
add my thanks to the chairman, J. R.
Smith (Snrl.tty)
Betty Nicholas".
ROSTER
We hope to have the new roster in the
mails by January, 1977. The insert in
this issue should be mailed at once since
it will give us information to compile a
more complete roster.
DOES ANYONE KNOW THIS STORY?
In a letter of support for our cause in
Washington, D.C. from Henry A. Fryer,
9503 Salisbury Dr., El Paso, Texas,
79924, Oct. 6, 1976, amongst other things
he said:

6,793.23

"During my service in the Army Air Corps,

I had corne into contact wit.h WASP pilots
a number of times. Some of the places
that I had met some of the "Lady Pilots"
as we called them, was at Hamilton Field

in California, Carlsbad Army Air Field

in New Mexico, and at Harlingen, Texas
when I went through Aerial Gunnery
School. If my memory serves me correctly, one of the tow planes was knocked
down into the Gulf. I don't know what
happened to the pilot. II He would like
information on this incident and so
would Col. Bruce Arnold and Bee Hayduo
If anyone knows about this, please write
Col. Arnold and/or Bee Haydu.
REPORT FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
I have been acting as an assistant
to the other officers, and it has been
my pleasure to in three main ways:
First, to relieve our treasurer by
handling the various items for sale
which you have seen in our sales room.
I sincerely thank the good volunteers:
Scotty Gough, Jean Frost, Marty Wyall,
Beverly Beesmeyer, and especially Jacqueline Riley Zerlaut who continued
working Sunday morning and writing your
orders until 6:00 PM.
Second, to assemble the ideas of all
our officers who served as a camnittee
for the last year and a half to provide
us with By-Laws and Standing Rules.
These have been turned over to Virginia
Hash until the legal work is done, after
which Lois Auchterlonie will work with
me to prepare the Standing Rules for
approval.
We need these instruments to
ensure that our organization will continue and maintain the high traditions
set by those who have kept us going for
32 years.
Third, to look for THE place and time
for our next reunion. Our suggestions
are the Washington, D.C. area; Florida,
Disney World area; a cruise on the Mississippi via Delta Queen or Mississippi
Queen; and Colorado Springs, provided
there is a possibility of a tie-in with
the Air Force Academy. We'll be trYing
for 1978.
SHOPPER'S

CORNER

If those of you at the reunion were

surprised at the activity in our IISales
Roomll, so were your volunteer saleswomen.
This was our first attempt to have our
sale items together; we thank you for
your support and patience.

$25.00
WASP wings, sold to grads only
10.50
Small wings, 1" pin, sterling
9.00
Fifi pins
1.15
Fifi decals, large, outside
1.40
Fifi decals, small - three
Fifi bronze sculptures
5~"
55.00
(by Dorothy Swain Lewis) 7-k"
155.00
Fifi stationery, 40 sheets
40 env.
3.60
Fifi notepads, 50 sheets
1.15
T shirt (C) blue with white
8.00
Fifi flocking*
(C) blue with navy
8.00
Fifi flocking*
T shirt (Z) white, navy neck
and sleeve piping, navy Fifi*
6.50
*Specify size, S, M, L,
child or adult
Needlepoint Fifi kit
Postage has been included for all
items.
Order from: Sara P. Hayden
22 Stadium Road
Methuen, Mass. 01844
Shirts, with hand painted Stearman and
Fifi - - $30.00 plus shirt
Order from: Beverly Beesmeyer

R.R. #3
Grove, Okla. 74344
30th Memorial Reunion Book
40 left
Order from: Betty Nicholas
125 W. 82nd St.
Indianapolis, Ind. 46260
Above report from Sara Hayden,
Vice-President
" A.TTENTION"

Pleasel!!
Any one who took pictures
from blue table and beard in Hospitality
Room return same to Charlyne Creger as
these are original photographs and negatives are ~
available.
They're needed to make negatives.
Charlyne Creger
3048 Sandra Dirve
Shreveport, La. 71109
FElJJJW WASP
Subject: Motion Picture Films

The black/white footage of WASPs, produced by the A.A.F. in 1944 is in the

Air Force's Film Depository at Norton
AFB, Calif. (San Bernadino).
If some
of you would like to purchase duplicate
pr~ts, it is available at the following
prlces:
7i a foot without sound
10i a foot with sound.
Requests for prints are to be made
through the Secretary of the Air Force,
Office of Information.
Since I am assigned to this office, in my Reserve assignment, I will be happy to coordinate
requests for footage.
(Minimum order
$20)
Let me know your wi she s while here at
the Reunion, or write me at my home
address:
Betty Jane Williams
5935 McDonie Ave.
Woodland Hills, Ca. 91367
MEMBERSHIP
Chairman:

COMMITTEE

Ziggy Hunter
838 Havenwood,

Dallas, TX.
75232
Ph. (214) 224-2905 or
352-5204
"Operation Search" for lost WASPs
continues.
A report on our pre-reunion
activity follows (as presented at the
reunion).
Post-reunion results continue to excite us.
Through the efforts of all those
WASPs who took our news release and made
a personal trip down to the editor of
their local media" we are still reaping news coverage with a local angle.
Reporter s from metropolitan newspaper s
throughout the country have called for
information on addresses and phone
numbers of the WASPs in their circulation area and have followed up with excellent coverage and with listings of
those WASPs lost in their area. It is
this sort of continuing cooperation
which brings in new finds in every
mail.
Our Secretary-Treasurer
Betty Nicholas has a membership card ready for
all Order of Fifinella member s thi s

year. Let's all get one in our wallets

for 1977. Dues are $10 per year and a
membership form is enclosed.
We are
trying to get roster information upto date through these forms so, if you
haven't already done so, please get
this in to us at once.
A SPECIAL PLEA TO ALL OF YOUI
Please let us know immediately if there
is a change of address or phone number
or marital status. Only those who work
on the membership committee can really
appreciate the difficulty of locating
one of you when you change your name
and residence or change the listing of
your phone number.
Please keep us informed immediately of any changes.
And let us know of any other WASP who
may have changed her status.
As we said in our report to the reunion:
"You're not only welcome but
WANTED. II
REUNION REPORT
OF
ME)1BERSHIP COMMITTEE
"0peration Search" actually began
the week after Christmas of last year.
Our Goal: To search, find and contact every pilot and staff member connected with the WASP program.
This included every single Yankee
Doodle Gal who was a trainee in the
program--there were 1830" all told;
all the WAFS--28 original s; every flight
instructor-numbers
unknown;
the several staff advisors--some 18 in all;
the ground instructors and all those
others who worked in some capacity with
the training program.
A secondary goal was to enlist the
media in our search in this bi-centennial year and get some recognition for
the WASP by letting the reading public
know why we wanted to find the se--quote
-FIRST women pilots who Dew with the
Air Forces.
The excellent groundwork left us by
previous membership chairmen and secretaries gave us a starting list of more
than 1000 listings in the last roster.
We found right off, however, that we
not only had a lot of lost WASPs but
we had also a big bunch of misplaced
ones.

Our first task of recruiting 64 WASP

membership representatives to work from
a state and local level was helped by
George Haddaway, an ardent WASP friend
as most of you know. He obtained an '
interview. for us with the Security department l.Il E Systems in Dallas. When
we told the department head the story
they cleared Jewel Este s of 44-10 and'
myself to go in and work two nights a
week at their long-distance facilities.
Ruth Hageman Wheeler of 43-5 helped
set up a card file of all lost WASP
This we broke down into geographicai
seParation and by classes. Lists
were prepared from these with past
addresses and other clues we could
find in old rosters, Avengers, Newsletters and from classmates.
As each
membership representative was recruited, we sent a packet, including appropriate lists, a news release instructioDs on hO'flto prepare add! tional
news stories, a membership form, and
a suggested search and contact procedure. These went to 62 members we
recruited outside Dallas for the membership committee.
As we were building the committee
we began contacting those WASPs who '
seemed most locatable.
Jewel Estes
used the Area Code book provided us
by the district manager of Bell Telephone and spent her time securing a
a phone number from the LD in! ormation in that area while I talked with
the number's current resident.
We'd usually start out by saying
something like "We1re looking for a
WASP, a member of the Women's Airforce
Service Pilots, who flew with the Airforce during WWII." In one instance,
after we had been referred from one
person to another member of the family
to a family friend--everybody wanting
to help find this person--we dialed
and was about to go into our act with
"We are looking for a WASP named so
and SOli when the voice on the other
end answered, IIOrkin IS Pe st Control."
WE c~anged our approach at that ,point.
S~nce E Systems is in Garland not
Dallas, we figured we drove about
3600 miles, made some 5000 personal

contacts by phone, counting the LD

operators, xeroxed something over two
thousand forms, baked 37 cakes for the
crews who helped us, mailed out at
least one letter and packet to some
400 WASP graduates and trainees, as
well as several to instructors and
other personnel, (each one got a news
release--hence our good coverage),
recorded and made up lists on each and
all finds and had some pretty wonderful conversations with some 300 to 350
lost or misplaced WASPs.
WE especially wanted to make sure
that all the trainees, as well as
graduates, learned about the Order of
Fifinella and that they were not only
welcome but wanted at the reunions and
as members.
One of the most interesting and
longest distance search went as far as
the I[ouse of Lords in Great Britain.
Inquiry to an author of a book on Flying Saucer s with the same name as one
of our lost WASP brought a letter from
England where the author's brother had
just died and left him to succeed to
his seat in the House of Lords.
None of this could have beea accomplished without the help of all the
WASPs already located and especially
the Membership Camnittee and its vice
chairman, Charlyne Creger, as well as
the constant and continuous help of
Jewel Estes.
(All membership committee members present were introduced.)
HMe ssage from Jackie**
Miss Jacqueline Cochran wrote a line
to our Prez, Bee Haydu, sending her
regrets she could not attend the Hot
Springs reunion as she has been ill.
She ~ent her regards and we all hope
she ~ s greatly improved and will be
able to attend the next reunion.

REUNION TELmRAMS
~O~Y ~AN~T JOIN YOU. BEST WISHES FOR
It. DELIGHTF UL CONVENTION.
YOU I RE A GREA'1"
GROUP OF LADIES AND A TRIBUTE TO OUR
COUNTRY S~~ YOU IN THE AIR - BARRY
GOLDWATER
A

DEEPLY REGH.c:.T
THhT I CANNOT BE WITH
YOD DURING yeUR REUNION IN HOT SPRINGS
BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM VtiTH
YOU IN SPIRIT AS ARE ALL TRUE A}mRICfu~S
WHO REALIZE THE GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS
YOU MADE FOR YOUR COUNTRY DURING THE
DARK, DIFF'ICULT DAYS OF vJOHLD WAR II.
ALONG WITH MY BEST \VISHES, I OFFER MY
SUPPORT IN YOUR FIGHT TO G~! THE RECOGNITION THAT YOU JUSTLY DESERVE.
SINCERELY. LINDY BOGGS, CONGRESSWOMAN
LOUISIANA.
SOVIET WOMEN AIRFORCE PILOTS VETERANS
WORLD WAR TWO SEND GRE.C,!'INGSTO AlIJERCAN WOl'lENAIRFORCE PILOTS PARTICIPANTS
OF COMMON STRUGGLE OF NATIONS OF ANTIHITLER COALITION AND HIGHLY VALUE THEIR
CONTRIBUTION TO COMPM~E DEFEAT OF GERMAN FASCISM IN 1945 STOP SOVIET WOMEN
FORMER AIRFORCE PILOTS WISH AMERICAN
WOMENS AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS ASSOCIATION SUCCESSES IN STRUGGLE FOR PEACE
AND EXPRESS THEIR HOPE FOR FURTHER EX.TENTION OF OUR FRIENDLY CONTACTS STOP
"
SOVIET WAR VETERANS COMMITTEE GROUP OF
wOMEN AIRFORCE PILOTS VETERANS OF WORLD
WAR TWO.
Many more received from various members
of Order of Fifinella too numerous to
reprint but for which we wish to extend
our Thanks.
MlliORIAL COMMITTEE
Unfortunately Dora Strother has found it
necessary to resign as Chairman of the
Memorial Committee because of business
and other committments.
We want to
thank Dora and her Committee for all the
work they have done. Joan Gough Frost,
1254 Rydal Road, Rydal, Pa. 19046 has
consented to chair this committee.
She
has been given the information on statues and plaques already submitted for
consideration and requests that you all
continue to send her your suggestions
and/or models, sketches. It is desired,
if possible, to use the talents that
exist wi thin our organization.
Make your
checks payable to WASP MEMORIAL FUND" and
mail to: Betty Nicholas, 125 W. 82nd St.,
Indianapolis, Ind. 46260 who is opening
a separate account for these donations.

"You will be notified at a future date

where to send funds if you desire to contribute t0wards this project and how to
make your checks payable to properly be
able to take advantage of an income tax
deduction. "
HISTORIAN I S REPORT
at the
HOT SPRINGS REUNION
22 - 23 - 24 October
1976 - our Bicentennial Year - has been
a busy year for museums allover the
country, and the W W II WASPS have been
chosen for many exhibits.
On July 1st
the Smithsonian Institute opened their
Air & Space Museum in which the WASP
are on display. Many of these articles
had been in storage for years because of,
lack of space.
August 11th - Wright-Patterson Air Force
Museum invited Dr. Dora Dougherty Strother to officially unveil the WASP
display case. (Pictures of this ceremony were on the bulletin board in the
hospitality roam.) Dora also lectured
about the WASP Program in the auditorium to all visitors that day. There
were ten WASPs and one instructor in
attendance.
Wright-Patterson has an hermetically
controlled atmosphere for preserving
article s which must be stored in order
to replace the ones on display. They
now have hundreds of WWII uniforms to
make it possible to see these exhibits
a century or more from now. If your
uniforms are not being worn and are
only stored in your attics, then, why
not place them where they can be preserved? The longer they are neglected
the more they will deteriorate.
There is one thing that concerns me
because in our midst today there are
many items of real historic value.
Same of these things will not be preserved for future generations, but will
be discarded as junk after we are gone.
We must plan for the disposal of our
personal things which we treasure now,
and put them in the proper places where
we want them to go. Do not let someone
else make that decision.

I talked with the curator of the AF

Museum at Wright-Patterson, Mr. Royal
Frey in August about how I could get
the WASPs motivated into making a decision to this problem.
He said I must
instruct you to write your wishes in
your wills as one solution. Most of us
are not going to take the trouble to do
that, so then the next thing to do is
to talk it over with your family or
closest friend as to where you want
your material to go.
If you have your things boxed in storage, write on them - "Do Not Open,
Deliver 'fo --(where it is to go).f1
If you have books, magazines, or personal diaries concerning the WASPs,
write on the front of them who is to
receive that material.
Of course, the
most ideal way to dispose of your momentoes is to do it NOW, while you can personally attend to the details.
Where to put these WASP materials?
Do
not ignore your local historical museum. You may be the only WASP in your
community, and the people would be
proud to display your WASP material.
Visit your museum, look it over and talk
to the curator. The Order of Fifinella
is always looking for material, because
we should be the reservoir of research
material.
Eventually, the OOF will be
history and the Historian1s collections
will be deposited in one or more museums. Many of you WASPs have expressed
concern that the OOF should be placed
soon in a facility where it can be
microfilmed and available to researchers.
There are new museums cropping up
here and there that are anxious for
WASP material.
The newest is International Women's Air & Space Museum,
Inc. in Dayton, Ohio under the auspices
of the Ninety-Nine 5, Inc. Dori 5 C.
Scott is the organizer and President.
Radcliff College. in Cambridge, Mass. is
where Jacqueline Cochran is depositing
most of her memorabilia.
Radcliff ha. s
just received a grant from the Ford
Foundation which processes all the material in the Women's History Center.
These are a few of the places which
want your WASP material. Please con-

sider them carefully and attend to this

matter before the end of 1976. If you
want the Historian to have your things
or to deliver thelle articles in your
name to the museum of your choice,
write me:
MARTY WYALL
P.O. OOX 921.2
Fort Wayne, IND. 46809
(21.9) 672-3237
I will al so have the museum of your
choice to get in touch with you personally if your material is too bulky to
ship.
Our scrapbooks are growing. We now
have two and with the clippings collected at this reunion, there will be another one filled soon. I thank all of
you WASPS for taking the time to clip
the articles and mailing them to me.
This year was an exceptionally active
year for us for publicity, and a n~w
generation is learning about our historic contribution to World War II.
Order of Fifinella is also adding 194244 pictures, clippings, class-books,
books, magazines and documents to our
collective history. Dedie has written
a brief history which will be printed
and available to interested students of
our WASP history.
NOTE** The Historian would like to
have business cards, whether or not you
are currently in that type of work.
These cards will give us a good cross
section of what the WASPs have done or
are doing in the many fields of endeavor. Need Class-books for: 43-4, 5, 6,
7, &8, 44-W-l, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, & 9. The
Historian only has four class books.
Submitted by MARTY WYALL
HISTORIAN
Marty would appreciate 2 copies of each
newspaper article that anyone sends to
her and be sure to give the city, state,
and date on each clipping.
DUES
Because of the huge expense involved,
those who do not pay dues will not receive the new Roster which is being
prepared and in which we will have
many more members listed, phone num-

bers and other information.

Dues are

$10 per year from October to October.

Membershipcards are being issued this
year.
MUSEUMS
ANDPLACES
It would be nice to have a list, which
if not too long could be printed in the
Roster, of where uniforms and memorabi lia have been donated and by whcsn.
Please send this information to Betty
Nicholas who may be able to include it
in the new Roster.
The Air Force Musewn,Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio had a Program August 11, as a Bicentennial recognition
of the World War II Wamen1sAirforce
Service Pilots (WASP). Colonel, USAF,
Bernie S. Bass, Director of the museum
invited us to attend especially since
Col. Dora Strother gave a talk in the
museumauditorium on the WASP
program.
The pictures
showthe public display at,
the museumand the members of the Order
of Fifinella who attended:
Left to right:Betty Turner (Stagg)
44-9; Thelma Miller (Hench) 44-10; Jean
Moreo (Terrell) 44-10; Bee Haydu (Falk),
President Order of Fifinella 44-7; Dr.
Dora Strother (Dougherty) Guest Speaker
43-3; GwenLinder (Clinkscales) 44-5;
Mary Ellen Keil (44-2); Nadine Nagle
(Canfield) 44-9; Patricia Newlon (Hanley) 43-4; Caro Bosca (Bayley) 43-7;
Ralph &mert, Flight Instructor;
Barry
Smith (Vincent) 44-6; Esther Berner
(Poole) 43-3; Mary AnnaWyall (Martin)
44-10; Betty Nicholas (Pettitt)
44-7.
August 11, 1976 - Unveiling of WASP
uniforms.

*A BIG THANK
YOU*
WASP
MEMORIALS,
INC., a texas corporation, was formed in order to locate the
families of the 38 WASPswho died in
service and to raise funds for the beautiful plaque to commemoratetheir service
made by Jewel Estes.
This plaque was
given to the University of Texas, History
of A.vi.ation Collection in 1975 at a very
touching ceremony. Wedo not knowthe
complete history of this project since
it was done prior to the start of the
terms of the present officers.
The Trustees who formed the corporation were:
George Haddaway(President)
Betty Jane Buehner (Secy./Treas.)
Charles E. Simons
Winnie Davis Wackwitz
Ruth Wheeler
It was through the diligent efforts of
Betty Jane Buehner that WASP
Memorials,
Inc. have received their tax exempt status.
They have elected to turn this
corporation over to the Order of Fifinella and our Memorial Committee will
carry on the work they started.
The
legal details of this are being handled
by Virginia Hash. At this time we want
to publicly thank the 'lrustees and all
those who worked &0 diligently to start
this mammothproject.
Weknowthat Jewel
Estes contributed her time and talent in
the making of the plaque which we, who
have seen it, so admire and love. Ziggy
Hunter also did a great deal to make this
memorial possible.
Wewholeheartedly
thank each and everyone of these people
and hope to carry on the work they so
ably began allover
the country.

If you knew Richey

I am writing a biography of Helen
Richey, famous flier of the thirties
and forties, and would appreciate copies of letters, anecdotes, or personal
memories .from those who knew her or
were associated with her in aviation.
Miss Richey was born and raised in
McKeesport, Pa., and lived in New York
City prior ~o her death there in 1947.
She also lived and worked in Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
During World War II she served in
England as a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary and the Women's Air
Service Pilots.
She spent several
years on the West Coast as a government air-marking pilot. She was a
stunt flier, racing pilot, and endurance-record holder. In 1935 she worked for Central Airlines as the first
woman transport and airmail pilot.
Any information conoerning Miss
Richey and her career will be deeply
appreciated.
Glenn W. Kerfoot
1754 Harrogate Rd.
Lexington, Ky. 40505
The above article was given to me by Pat
Pateman in the event there may be those
among you who may wish to respond to Mr.
Kerfoot. ED.

of the Air Force (Chief of the Branch

is Lt. Col. Geo. Hockett, of.fices in
the Pentagon).
The painting is a
montage of WASP activities with Jackie
Cochran and Gen. H. H. II
Hap IIArnold
in the center. Mr. Strand of.ficially
presented his painting to the Air Force
~uring ceremonies in Washington early
J.n November.
The illustrators and
artist.s participating in this program
are free to choose the topics for their
pictures. Mr. Strand chose the WASPs
and is an advocate of these women pilots
of World War II.
CITY

OF

HOT

!iPRINOB

HOT SPJ,l:lNOS NATIO:"i'AL PARK,

ARKAN!'JA.."I

PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS.

the WASP Training

Program
was activated
on November
16, 1942, under Commanding OtTlcer Captain Paul
C.
Garrett.
and later designated tne "Women's Flying Training Detachment"
of the Army Air Force; and

WHEREAS,

this detachment
was primarily
established
as an Ar"mY
Air FOl"Ce Contract
Pilot School for women during Wo.
ld
War" II; and

WHEREAS,

we would like to acknowledge'thelr"

and devotion to duty; and

WHERE.4.S,

WASPs fer".
led planes,
towed targets,
did .
adlo control
flying, tested aircraft,
gave Instrument
instruction
and
perloT"'fTledmany othe .wa .
Ume duties,

NOW,

hard

wor"k, enthusiasm

THEREFORE,
I, TOM ELLSWORTH,
Mayo .of the City of Hot
Spr"lngs. Ar"'kansas, do hereby proclaim
the week of
October" 18-24, 1976, as
"AVIATION WEEK"
hono .
lng the WASPs of Wo.
ld War" II fo . thel . ploneer"lng
wartime
flight achievements,

IN WITNESS

WHEREOF.
I have he .
eunto set
Seal of the City to be afTlxed.

-H

Four STARS

my hand and caused

the

**

to
REUNION COMMITTEE

IIIlWINGTIP to WING TIP" II

The Order of Fifinella and all those
a part of the WAFS & WASPs wish to
th~
David Strand, an illustrator, of
24l6'2 McKinney, Dallas, Tx. 75201 for
letting us preview his painting IlWing
Tip to Wing Tipll at our reunion in Hot
Springs. Mr. Strand did this painting
for the Air Force Art Program which is
a project of the Art and Museum Branch

The Order of Fi.finella and especially

those who attended the reunion wish to
acknowledge and thank:
J. R. Smith (Smitty), Chairman
Harriett Kenyon Call
Charlyne Creger
Dedie Deaton
Margot Reck
Anna Hopkins White
for the months of planning and the work
that went into this very success.ful reunion. Class picture s were taken and
then given to each girl the next day;

rooms were large; food was good; hotel

managment extremely cooperati va; atmosphere relaxing and the Hospitality Room
with Smitty and Joe's (Haydu, that is)
Bar that sold drinks (healthy ones) for
50c each. Of course, the bar did not
show a profit, but that was not its
purpose. All were welcome to ccme and
socialize. We must not forget the
staff of bartender helper's that Smitty
and Joe "hired". They were the many
cooperative husbands and instructors
who seemed to be having too much fun
for "workers."
Charlyne Creger did a
marvelous of posting pictures which she
had enlarged of "way back when" and she
also provided us with a mannequin dressed in a "Zoot SuitH and parachute in
the main lobby. To add to the excitement, we had TV coverage from 4 different stations, 2 of which were CBS in
Little Rock and New York which you may
have seen Sat., Oct. 24th since it was
newscasted coast to coast. We have
Bruce Arnold to thank for this contact.
There were also newspaper reporters on
,hand.
At the Awards Banquet in addition
to the bronze casting of-Fifinella
given to Nancy Love, a pair of gold
. WASP wings were given to Col. Bruce
Arnold and J. R. Smith for all they
have done for us. We sent Smitty's
wife, Norma Anna, and Susan, Col. Arnold's secretary, a Fifinella pin. We
hope they all realize how much we appreciate and love them all.
Smitty had an especially difficult time
during the reunion because his wife,
Norma Anna, was taken to the hospital
the Tuesday before the reunion with
what was thought to be a slight stroke.
However, we are sorry to report that
since then, she has been moved to a
hospital in Little Rock where they are
doing further tests. An operation
might be necessary.
Smitty, our thoughts and prayers are with you and Noni.
Note: Since the above was received,
Dedie has written that Noni is now home
and though still quite ill has begun to
convalesce.
We wish you well Noni!
"Smitty", you were terrific, working
so hard under all the strain, going
back and forth to Norma's hospital

roam and the hotel. Thanks again for

a terrific job from all of us, and
the great committee you had helping
"EI'ERNAL FLIGHT"
DECEASED WAFS, WASPS" TRAINEES &
INSTRUCTORS
'
(Since publication of 1974-75 Roster)
WAFS
PHYLLIS BURCHFIELD
NANCY WVE (10-22-76)
ESTHER RATHFELDER WESTERVELT
(12-18-75)
HELEN RICHARDS PROSSER (1976)

(4)

WASPS
Anna Frankman Atwood (4.3-.3)
Mary Parker Audrain (4.3-8)
Eunice Boardman (44-3)
Mary Hillberg Boyce (44-6)
Helen B. Cellar (44-10)
Leot ta Cook (43-6)
Ann Waldner Currier (43-6)
Katherine DeBernard (43-2)
Muriel Keir Essertier (L~-8)
Carol Fillmore (43-2)
Rosalie Phillips Johnson (44-9)
Catherine E. Jones (43-6)
Lillian Dixon Kelley (44-9)
Zelda Lamer (43-2)
Ruby Mullins Mensching (43-4)
Oct. '76
Charlotte Niles (43-5)
Eugenia Garvin St. Martin (43-5)
Jeanne Wagner Simpson (44-3)
Helen S. Stone (4.3-2)
Doris Williams (43-8)
TRAINEES
Marion F. Florsheim (43-1)
Mary Ann Hoyt-Kurtz (class unknown)
Louise McHugh (43-8)
Mary Ann Seamons (43-8)
Verna Mary Turner (43-7)
Mary Wall (44-1)
Helen Stallings Littler Watts
(44-5)
INSTRUCTORS
O. A. Hartin

Capt. L. V. Rudolph

Many of you have sent flowers and letters when you have learned of sameone's

illness or when they have passed away.

For this the Order of Fifinella thanks
you. We know that Frankie Lovvorn
Bretherick, Sarasota, Florida sent flowers to Nancy Love while she was still
ill at home with a card stating "From
the WAFS and the WASP'S". Nancy talked by phone to Bee Haydu and expressed
her appreciation for this thoughtfulness as did her family.
RUBY MULLINS MENSCHING passed away Saturday morning, Oct. 16th, 276. In memory of her mother, her daughter Sharon
attended the reunion. At Ruby's request" any memorials should be sent to:
Cancer Section, K. D. Anderson Hospital,
Texas Medical Center, Houston" Texas.

Would like a uniform complete with

wings and insignia. Will acknowledge
do~or on display.
Mr. Edwin A Power s
9893 Holt Rd.
Carmel" Cal. 93921
Wants a set of WASP wings.
Both of these collectors have been trying to get something for over 2 years.

Dedie said Mike Dixon expected to be

there but weather prevented him and his
buddy from flying in. Mike (Dixie's
son) did send money for all to have a
toast to Dixie.
It was pretty wonderful when Sharon
showed up at the reunion and announced
she was Ruby's daughter - though her
Mother had just passed away the week
before - but the WASPs meant so nro.chto
Ruby that Sharon wanted to be there to
see and meet her friends.
SMITHSONIAN
These items needed to complete a second WASP uniform:
Eagle badge for beret, blue necktie
for blue dress uniform (or was it
black?), shoes. Also need WAFS uniform complete with accessories and insignia. WASP wings for 43-7 (the last
class with the old style wings). These
can be sent directly to the Aeronautics
Dept." National Air and Space Museum"
Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C. 20560, Att: Louis Casey, Director.
You can request a mailing label and
also ask them to acknowledge receipt.
OTHERS
Peter Bruce Walton
Hez-aldry of the Air Museum
34-41 77th St.
Jackson Heights, N.Y. 11372

Taken FRIDAY night at the WASP Reunion

in Hot Springs. Col. Bruce Arnold and
Marie Mountain Clark 44-1 setting the
musical pace for singing those Avenger
songs.
Most of 23 44-1 Fifinellas arrived on
Thursday and were in the block of rooms
previously reserved for our class. Since
most of the class was on the fourth floor
this made visiting easy. We had a 44-1
Red and White Banner which made it easier to identify our class and keep us
together.
We were pleased to have Barbara Manchester Robinson and husband
"Robie" with us as well as Doris Nathan
and Phyllis Ryder who had been on our
"lost list" for some time.. Five of the
girls broug~ their husbands who added
zest to the celebration.

4.3-2 Secretary:.

Marion S. Brown
P. O. Box 797
Patterson, La. 70.392

Although our numbers were few, our

enthusiasm was great.
Weare indebted
to Smitty~ our officers, the reunion
committee and all the other beautiful
people who worked hard coordinating a
week-end of business and fun.
Helen~ in her Cherokee 180, and Marion
and J.D., in their Cessna~ got to enjoy
an extra two days in Hot Springs waiting
for a front to pass. Missed you all!
1. to r.

Marion Schorr Brown, J. D.

Brown, Helen Ricketts Hooks
At the reunion but not in picture:
Ruth Dailey Helm~Avanell
Pinkley.

4.3-W-4 ---Faith
"Bucky" Richards
has retired as Secty. and the
new Secty. is Ruth U. Florey
Rt. #1 Box 464, Odessa, Tx.
7976.3
4.3-4 had the largest number present
and a great time was had by all.
If
you weren't there let me list those
who were and hope I didn't miss any.
All are shownin the picture as well
as our "Dedie".
Nancy Baker, Jane Waite Fliesbach,
GwenCowart Hickerson, Kati Loft Strehle
Alberta Head, Fran Rohrer Sargent,
"Bucky" Richards, Mary Rosso Lewis,
Bert Miller, Virginia Clair, Lyda Durham Keefe, "Eddie" Pedlar Bishop, Helen
Sehaefer~ DeDeJohnson Moormanand
Hank, Eileen Roach Kesti and Carl~
"Pete" Madison Van Lam, Margery Moore
Halben and Don, llLiz" Pearce Lundy and
husband, Connie Llewellyn Howerton~
llVill ThompsonMason, Lydia Lindner~
Helen Snapp and Ben, Jean Trench Brown,
Mary Edith Engle and husband. Comeon,
try to make the next one!
~

4.3-W-.3
Seated, left to right: Lois Brooks
Hailey, Lois Hollingsworth Ziler, Jean
Forrester, EmmaCoulter Ware.
Standing, left to right: Esther Poole
Berner, Dora Dougherty Strother, Betty
Archibald Fernandes, Doris Chisler
Phillips,
Bertha Link Trasky.

43-W-6
Seated, Le;tt to right:
CappyWhittaker
Johnson, Irene Maglio, Deedie, NancyRuth Johnson Thorne, Joann Garrett.
Standing, left to right:
Evelyn Trammell, Lee Leonard Wheelwright, Virginia
BroomeWaterer. Not shown, Irma "Babe"
Story.

JOANN
GARRETT
has kindly volunteered to
be you class secretary for the coming
ye~~ P~ease help her do her job by
wr~tmg ~n your news, and getting it
to her before the deadline. Weapplaud
and envy the womenwho have gone on in
careers that involve aviation or other
glamourous fields, but if we opted for
being wives and mothers we still belong
to the sisterhood of Order of Fifinella
and your si.sters want to hear from YOU.
'
To those of you whe answered ~ plea
for news, I thank you. It was such fun
to get your letters.
CAPPY
WHI
TTAKER
JOHNSON

43-W-6-8ecty.
CappyWhitaker Johnson
will be turning over the reins
as Secty. to Joann Garrett
after this issue, but sent
in the following on the Hot
Springs Reunion.
Seven graduates of 43-6 and one nongrad gathered for the recent reunion
at Hot Springs. For four of them, Lee
Leonard Wheelwright, Virginia Broome
Waterer, Joann Garrett and Irene Maglio,
it was their first reunion. Such fun,
catching up on their doings and SOgood
to see them all again.
JEANTAYLOR
HOWARD
sent her news in too
late for the last newsletter.
They
spent the entire month of Mayin preparation for moving-sorting, throwing
away and boxing an accumulation of 22
years.
The movers picked them up on
June 20th, but their new house which was
supposed to be ready, wasn't.
They
dumpedeverything in a couple of rooms
and took off for a couple of weeks in
Calif.
They were inundated with house
guests shortly after getting settled
in their new homeon July loth as well
as being involved in two weddings. By
Sept. they needed another vacation so
they went to Montana for fishing.
Their
son John, 24, is in grad school of bus.
at Univ. of Washington. Philip, 22, is
starting his final 2 years of undergrad
studies at MontanaState.
Her husband,
Bill, plays golf as often as possible
and a year ago they had a fabulous
golfing vacation in Spain and Portugal.

43-W-7

,/

....../

43-W-8
Seated, left to right:
Marge Selfridge
Dresbach, Frances Mcinerney Wannes,
Margot Reck, Lois Nash, Mary Estill
Fearey.
Standing, left to right:
Helen Trigg
Luts, Elizabeth Stavrum Lux, L~s
Dobbin Auchterlonie, Marcia Wenie~
Milner, Iris Heillman Schupp, Eleanor
Olsen Weems,and Maxine Flournoy Edmondson.
Conventions get bigger and better for
43-W-8. This year we welcomedconvention newcomersLois Nash, Iris Schupp,
and Elizabeth (Buzzy) Lux.

The gala occasion has came and gone, but

heart-warming memorie s remain - educational, nostalgic, hilarious, poignant
memories.
And why, or why didn ttl take my tape
recorder!
You can't beat good food, good friends,
good humor, and crazy musicl
Start planning now for the next Reunion.
Mary Ellen Keil, Secy.

44-W-l
Seated, first row left to right:
Betty Wall Roberts, Mary Koth McCabe,
Dottie Krasovec Eby, Harriett Kenyon
Call, Ruth C. Jones, Jeanette Jenkins,
WID..Robinson.
Seated, second row, left to right:
Ida F. Carter, Dottie Dodd Eppstein,
Catherine Murphy, Gene Shaffer Fitzpatrick, Dolores Meurer Reed, Mary
Jershin O'Rourke.Marge Harper Watson,
Barbara Manchester Robinson.
Standi.ng, back row, left to right:
Doris Burmeister Nathan, Anne Hopkins
White, Adele Beyer, Debbie Stemple
Dickens, Gordon 0 I Rourke, Marie Mountain Clark, John A. Clark, Rosina Lewis
Todd, Elmer Watson. Not present when
photo taken: Mardo Crane, Phyllis Ryder,
Virginia Stell O'Neill, Doug Eby.

44-W-3
Seated, left to right: Julie Jenner
Stege, Vivian Gilchrist Nemhauser, Mary
Helen Crane Chapman, June Braun Bent,
Maxine Manogra Harvey.
Standing, left to right: I sabelle McCrae
Hale, Starley Grona, Margaret Tamplin,
Paulie McCloud Loomis, Beryl Paschich,
Delrose Sieber.
44-3 has a new Secretary:
Margaret Chamberlain Tamplin
472:7 East Cambridge Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85008

44-W-4

44-W-2
Seated, left to right: Annelle Henderson
(Bulechek), Jean Moore (Soard), Mary
Ellen Keil, Frances Smith (Tuchband).
Standing, left to right: Doris Friedman
(Eichenwald), Madeline Sullivan (orDonel),
Betty Lefevre, Anne Berry (Lesnikowski),
Leona Golbinec (Zimmer).

44-W- 5

44-\'/-8

44-W-6
Seated, left to right: Mary Retick Wells,
Sue Delano Parish, Frankie Lovvorn Bretherick, Beverly Beesemyer, Shirley
Chase Egler, Bethene Phillips Henne.
Standing, left to right: Betty Williams,
Gen North Mahlbacker, Dorathea Purinton
Scatena, Betty Roth Cross, Laura Rutledge Gilmer, Sarabel D. Wardle, Pel'UlY
Pence Knight, Kay Podtzline Anderson.

Seated, left to right: Virginia Fisher

Wise, Eula Morton Brown (Betty), Margaret Standish, Elva Lewis Easton, Elsie
Lewis Vance, Marguerite "Ty" Hughes Killen, Joanne Blair Martin, Charlyne
Creger.
Standing, left to right: Beverly Dietrich Wilkinson, Anne Dailey Marshall,
Joan Gough Frost, Jeri Fulk Crook, Jan
Shinski (guest), Pat Thomas Gladney,
Vivian Esler, (guest), Patricia Sherwood.
Those of you who couldn't make it were
really missed. However, Jamece Paxton
sent our class a message that she would
try harder next time to come. Eula Morton, now known as Betty Brown, and the .
Lewis twins were warmly welcomed to theJ.r
first reunion, and we hope to see more
"lost" WASPies and trainees at the next
one. We really had a ball, gals. The
Reunions get better every year.

44-W-7
Seated, left to right: Nona Holt Pickering, Eleanor Gunderson, Bee Falk Haydu,
Frances Winter Brookings, Scotty Bradley
Gough, Mary Ann Walker Dreher, Eileen
Wright Ferguson.
Standing, left to right: Don Mann, Joe
Haydu, Lila Moore Mann, Velta Haney Benn,
Dorothy Smith Lucas, Betty Pettitt Nicholas, Evelyn Hoagland Carney, Bill Carney, Frank Dreher, Betty Roth Cross.

44.JN-9

Note: Among some of the visitors to

the WASP reunion, for the first time,
was Sally Keil. Sally was the niece
of Mary Parker Audrain, 43-5 (deceased)
and has always idolized Mary. She is
26 and single, working for a magazine
in NYC. Sally wanted to meet other
WASPs who were B-17 pilots the same as
Mary Parker. Most of these WASPs were
in classes 43-5 & 43-6 (16 in all)
Her article will appear in Viva Magazine, March 1977.