A View from the Doghouse

Bücher

Angebote / Angebote:

In 1997 an instructor mentionedto me that he would like to know what happened to his women students afterWorld War II. What started out as a"booklet" turned into a "book" with profiles of the first three classes of the319th AAFWFTD (Army Air Force Women's Flight Training Detachment). Those who trainedat Municipal Airporthad many hardships that future classes did not encounter. They were not given the same militaryprivileges as the men and had to pay their own way to the trainingfacilities. They were required to haveat least 200 hours of flying time and had to pay all of their own expenseswhile training. Some were trained byinstructors who had less experience flying than they had. Quite a few books have beenwritten about the WASP in Sweetwater, Texasbut very few about the Houstongroup. They were known as the 319thAAFWFTD and were not named WASP until August of 1943. My job was to keep up with their flying timeto submit reports to the government for payment. My office was called "The Doghouse" and was aglass building sitting near the runway. I was completely in awe thinking what these ladies had to go through inorder to serve their country. They havesince been recognized by the military, but it took many years to obtain thatstatus.