THE WOMEN WITH SILVER WINGS – In the deeply researched history of the women those in Airforce service pilots, a group of more than 1,100 civilians fliers who, during world war II, Pilot and aviation historian make her book. In 1942, she writes Landdeck (History/Texas women’s univ), Eleanor Roosevelt called women pilots.
When the Japenese attacked Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Cornelia Fort had already in the Air. At twenty- two, the fort had escaped Nashville’s debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. Army Air force put out a call for women pilots to aid the war efforts, Air force put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Fort was one of the first to respond.
The brainchild of trailblazing pilots Nancy Love and Jacqueline Cochran the women Airforce service pilots (WASP) gave women like a Fort a chance to serve their country. In 1943, the Army Air force merged the group into the WASP. chosen from more than 25,000 skilled applicants who already had considerable flying hours, The members of the WASP underwent rigorous additional training to earn their coveted silver wings. The media portrayed (THE WOMEN WITH SILVER WINGS) the women pilots with glowing articles in the first months of their service, but as the war wound down and the Allies were increasingly successful, male instructors complained that the women were trying to steal their jobs.
Cochran’s efforts to bring the WASP into the military, ensuring them benefits and pay equal to male service members, inflamed the protests. WASP was described as an “experiment” that was no longer needed.
Landeck creates palpable portraits of many women’s experience and their lives after the program was disbanded. Landeck has received numerous awards for her work on the WASP and has appeared as an expert on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS, and the History channel.
Her work has been published in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and HuffPost, as well as in numerous academic and aviation publications. Landeck is a licensed pilot who flies whenever she can.
