Captola "Cappy" Johnson Helped Get Her Fellow WASP the Recognition They Deserved

by Warren Whittaker Hinkle

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="295.0"]  Captola Johnson, WASP 43-W-6 (Photo: Warren Whittaker Hinkle) [/caption]

"My aunt Cappy Whitaker Johnson, passed away on March 18. She was 95 years old and in another month would have been 96. She was a special woman like so many women are to their families. However, she was a very special woman to her country as one of the 1,074 Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP, who were the first women in history trained to fly American military aircraft.

Several years ago I interviewed Aunt Cappy on her service as a WASP. She was very proud of the part that she was able to play in the United States Armed Forces during World War II. The WASP was opened for women who already had pilot's licenses so that they would need less training than someone who didn't already know how to fly. She shared her love of flying with her big brother, my dad. The two would save every penny they could to rent a plane in Beckley, W. VA., at the Mount Hope Airport to go flying."

Rad more of Reporter Warren Whittaker Hinkle's tribute to her "Aunt Cappy" in this special segment (download PDF) to The Voice Newspaper.

Mother-Daughter Duo Deanie And Nancy Parrish Preserve The WASP Legacy!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="338.0"] Nancy Parrish and mother Deanie Bishop Parrish, courtesy of Wings Across America. [/caption]

Deanie says, "It didn't matter; I wanted to fly for my country. I just loved to fly and this was a way I could do that and serve."

Deanie and Nancy also established a WASP museum in Sweetwater, Texas and two traveling museum exhibits. Nancy, a former producer for KWBU, started documenting her mom's WASP experiences online and interviewed over 100 veterans of the WASP, recording their memories for the website.

"My first thought was just that I was overwhelmed," Nancy Parrish said of the honor. "To be put in the category with the women who have gone before in this particular prestigious hall of fame was unbelievable.

"Jackie Cochran, who started the WASP, is in the Pioneer Hall of Fame, and some pretty remarkable women who have done some remarkable things are in the Pioneer Hall of Fame. It's kind of mind-boggling. It really helped shine another light on the WASPs themselves."

We are all thankful of the work Deanie & Nancy have done in preserving the history of the WASP for future generations. Thanks to them, the contribution of these courageous, bold, and inspiring women will never be forgotten!

More at http://www.wacotrib.com/news/military/mother-daughter-duo-inducted-into-women-in-aviation-hall-of/article_bdb478b3-724f-5c56-841d-3749974e6db2.html and http://www.highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/flying-high-20150324/

Art Roberts, son of WASP Betty Strohfus and FlyGirls fan

From an early age, Art realized his mother wasn't like other mothers:

"She wore combat boots and knew how to fly B-17s. In 7th grade, a bully said something to me about her flying. I told him the truth, she flew planes during the war, and that shut him up. My friends had no idea my mom did that, and they were impressed.

There are only about 120 WASP still living, and less than 20 that can still travel and tell their stories. They aren't mentioned in any history books. They've been forgotten long enough.

They sacrificed a lot for this country. They had their fair share of difficulties. My mother didn't realize why her co-pilot would walk the plane out every morning instead of her, it was to make sure no one messed with the plane.

I've also noticed over the years, the WASP program gave these women a confidence they didn't have before. My mother was very shy in high school, but she's very much a people person ... when she'd get behind a plane she could do some Jedi Knight Stuff in an AT-16. She'd frighten other pilots.

She, like so many other women, just wanted to fly."

Lee Jowell Hagerstrom, WASP 43-W-4

"Outside my family and my husband, the WASP program was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to fly.... I loved it. If you know what you want to do, don't let anybody stop you. You can do it!" - LJH

This post comes to us from FlyGirls‬ fan Mitchell Hagerstrom, who wrote to us after finding our page. It's letters like Mitchell's that make our work getting FlyGirls off the ground worth it.

"My mother passed away in May of this year. My siblings and I believe we see her in your trailer just after :50 where a group of women are walking away from the camera. They are dressed in white shirts and khakis, which would be typical of 43-4, an early Avenger Field class who did not have uniforms at first. My mother is the one who turns back to the camera, gives a small theatrical bow and a flourish of her left arm and hand. So typical of my mother -- plus the body and the the mass of dark hair.

The other woman in the picture I posted (with my mother and Hazel Lee) is A.J. (Alice Jean) Starr. I believe her maiden name was May. She and my mother stayed close until my mother's last few years.

Sure wish someone had wanted to do a film like this 40 years ago when all these women were still alive and vibrant. My mother was the joy of our lives. Papa wasn't too bad either."

For more info, visit Wings Across America and Texas Woman's University

Pearl Brummett Judd - WASP

‪"I saw my first airplane when I was a small child. It was a red bi-wing plane, World War I vintage. It was the most exciting thing I ever saw. I knew I had to fly".

And fly she did. When she was 18, her father paid a friend whose son had just received his private pilot's license to take her flying. "At that time the cost of one hour flying time was $8. The young man gave me a 30-minute flight. Instead of killing my desire to fly, it intensified it. My father said,'Okay, but you better get a job to pay for it; and if you get a job, you'll have to start paying room and board.' So I did go to work and started saving my money to pay for lessons and flight time, and, yes, I did pay room and board and learned to live on a budget".

After seeing a young lady in overalls sitting on the wing of a US Air Corps airplane on the cover page of Life Magazine, Pearl knew she had to apply for the WASP program. Of the 25,000 women who applied, she was among the 1,074 who completed the seven months of training. Her first orders were on 8 October l944 to Minter Field, California, at the advanced twin-engine school as a Flight Test Engineer. Pearl’s job at Minter Field consisted of towing training targets, ferrying damaged aircraft and test-flying repaired aircraft for return to combat. Multiple times, she put her life on the line to fulfill her mission. In one such incident, Pearl flew a Bamboo Bomber with an engine problem. Halfway back to Minter Field one engine died. Luckily, she was able to land and not only save her life but the aircraft.

In 2010, Congress awarded WASP members the Congressional Gold Medal for their service and dedication during a time when the nation needed them.

"Because some of the daughters of us WASPs and their daughters and sons are flying for the airlines now or are in the Air Force or the Navy...I'm always so proud. And when I went to the Women in Aviation conference last year, I have never signed so many autographs or had my hand shaken. There were 3,000 women there, and my hand was so swollen when I came home, I couldn't write with it. And, of course, they always said, 'If it wasn't for the WASP, we wouldn't be here', because we broke the barrier. We proved that we could fly anything that rolled off the assembly lines and fly it well".

Unfortunately Pearl passed away recently, but her service will not be forgotten! Thank you FlyGirls fan Sam Kisselburg and the Minter Field Air Museum for contributing to this piece.