Thesis
The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
"We live in the wind and sand, and our eyes are on the stars."
~ WASP motto, inspired by Antoine de St. Exupéry's Wind, Sand, and Stars
Many barriers have faced women serving in the military. In World War II, the WASPs broke one of them, becoming the first women to fly American military aircraft. This matters because while their story was hidden, and their work was unrecognized for decades, it brought women closer to equality, and opened opportunities for women today.
"Female WASPS flew warplanes." The Sentinel. Carlisle, PA. Feb. 23, 1991.
WASPs at Greenwood Air Base Credit: Middleburg Life
WASP Class 43-W-7 Credit: International Women's Air and Space Museum
"If the nation ever again needs them, American women will respond. Never again will they have to prove they can do any flying job the military has. Not as an experiment. Not to fill in for men. They will fly as commissioned officers in the future Air Force of the United States with equal pay - hospitalization - insurance - veterans' benefits. The WASP have earned it for these women of the future."
~ Byrd Howell Granger, WASP Class 43-W-1 (First WASP Graduating Class, 1943) (Byrd Howell Granger, On Final Approach: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII.)