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'UNG* SEPTEMBER 6,1975■•k' .. V ‘ iy-^ ^ V' 1• ■ - \ *• ^*'1. . 'V • lt;s\'- '\ '■ 9:-• ■. - - /••'I • S.. •/ V . ;A NOSTALGIC look at the wings they earned as members of WASP, Women's Army Special. Pilots, were taken this week by (left) Mrs. Nancy Thorne of Beeklev.and Mrs. Cappy Johnson of Fair Oaks,Calif.Thirty-two years after ferrying planes for the Army during World War II, the pilots got together for a reunion.Retired WW II WASPs32 YearsBy PAULINE HAGA Post-Herald'Correspondent. Equal Opportunity for women, enjoying a vogue . the past few years, is really nothing new.Just ask Cappy (Mrs. Lyall) Johnson or Mrs. Nancy Thorne, who were among 9(H) feminine pilots : in World War II, serving in ; WASP or Women’s Army 'Special Pilots.■ Now* 32 years after they spent two-years together •ferrying training planes and. E25’s across the United States and into •Canada, the two have reunited. Mrs. Johnson is here from her home in Fair Oaks, Calif, to visit Mrs. Thorne and other Beckley g friends.© RAISED at Winding Gulf, Mrs. Johnson was the former Cappy Whittaker, d daughter of Mrs. J. 0. a James of Santa Rosa, f Calif., and the late Perry ;t Whittaker. . d After • graduating, frome Collins High School on i- Winding Gulf,, Mrs. Johnson worked inClubwomenJie ty involvement arid fund-of raising . projects/' said rt Mrs.. McCarley. Those ?r. attending'will also meet in with Mrs. Shirley Lewis of Charleston, West Virginia [y Field .Manager .for j- Welcome Wagon Inter-b, national.. •m ..-.v ‘ '••• ■i-. In addition, to Mrs, ,t. McCarJey and past presi-*r dent -Mrs. .Kathy ie Obernesser, the Beckley club will be represented by at Fran Mosley, Cartha John-n son, Elizabeth Robinson, 'e Anna Marie Dills, Kay to - Jarrell and Mrs.- Carole ig Warren, Welcome Wagon I- hostess for Beckley,Lilly brook Company Store and attended Beckley College. It was there that she and Mrs. Thorne, who was: then ..Miss • Nancy Johnson, became friends.While at Beckley College, the two women lea red of WASP, the Women's; Army Special Pilots program. As rumors of the-war.spread, a Civilian (Pilot TrainingProgram: began inBeckley; The two students became the only females in that class..THEY EXPLAIN that to be. eligible for the WASP, they had'to have 100 hours of ftying time, They began training under Herb Sessler - and Cliff ie Qucsenberry at the old dirt airstrip; located then where the Town and. County Shopping Center now stands. • • . • ’ '; After making the eligible list, the two women wfent to Sweetwater, Tex, for seven months of further training. Their flight leader was the famous female pilot, Jackie Cochran. At the end of that course, they were assigned . to Wilmington, Del., where they began receiving .their, order to ferry airplane.s. into Canada and across-the United States’The job was to pick up brand-new planes as they were cornpleted at the factory. “We used to put our names on the new planes,” they said, “and would get lots.of mail.from pilots.1’From the Wilmington base, the women were then transferred to Fairfax Field in Kansas City, Mo.DURING their journeys, they met pilots, from Russia, Canada and Australia,vand noted that RAF (Royal . Air -Force) pilots, from England : and two Dutch pilots and many Frenchmen were in Canada to pick up planes for their governments.When the female ferry pilots reached their destinations, they would travel back to their home post by commercial, airline, “and we always had top priority,” they laughed.Both logged well over 1,-(K)f hours of flying time; They wore paid $250 per month, equal to a lieutenant's pay, and their rank was equal to officer's status, they added.MRS. JOHNSON and Mrs. Thorne explained that while over 900 women were in the WASP, “and many more wanted to be,” the standards were high,.' Of their 123-member class, only 87 graduated... Their program ended after two years, when male pilots , began returning home and took over the duties held by women. “That's the first female pilot program ever held (by the armed services) and will probably- be the last// they said.After their WASP ser-.vice, Cappy married anAir Force pilot, a “careerman” who retired 10 years ago as a lieutenant colonel.Mrs. Thorne returned to Beckley to become a Beckley Junior High School Instructor. But she remained in the Army reserves and attained the rank of captain.BOTH WOMEN have since given up flying; Mrs.*Johnsun explained that . “pleasure flying becomes boring after you’ve had the job as a'pilot.” .Mr. and Mrs. Johnson plan to return today to their home in California.Austria is slightly smaller than: the state of Maine.-Special Of The Week
Newspaper Details
Post Herald and Register
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Sat, Sep 06, 1975
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
David W.
NA, NA 08 Feb 2023
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