Wagstaff
Anderson
Hodgson
Hinzie
Jessica Cox
THE TALK
Fornof
Gov. Perdue
Victoria Cox
Deckelbaum
sPeaKer Photos by John riedel
Whitson
The sense in the room was that this was an event to be remembered, an opportunity that would not readily present itself
again. At the front of the packed auditorium, nine petite women with carefully done silver hair, square shoulders and truly genuine smiles waited and chatted as the final preparations were completed. They were Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World
War II, and were here to
share their wisdom, ex-
by Anna Mracek Dietrich
periences and laughter
with the fortunate attendees of the 20th annual Women in Aviation,
International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, last February.
A combined love of flying and a desire to serve their country
united each of them in their decision to answer the call and join
the WASP. Some, like Dot Swain, who was a flight instructor for the
Navy, had already been serving. Some, like Jan Goodrum, learned
to fly in college thanks to civilian training that was instituted specifically to help the war effort. Dot joined up with the WASP because “they just looked like they were having more fun.” Jan was
the only woman out of 19 trainees at the University of New Hampshire in 1940. Lucile Wise started to fly in 1941 and like so many
aspiring pilots, “spent all [her] time and all [her] money at the airport.” Dawn Seymour flipped a nickel to decide if she would enter
the March 1943 (43-W- 5) class.
And that was just one education session out of nearly 50 afternoon sessions over Friday and Saturday during the Conference. If
you were there and paying attention, you definitely got what you
came for.
Morning speakers were varied and dynamic, from air show personalities to astronauts, experienced pilots (one who happened to
be the Governor of Georgia) to one who had just earned her Light
Sport Rating, captains of government and industry and just plain
airline captains, they each brought with them one singular message—persevere through the tough times and take advantage of the
experiences to grow, because it won’t be long before this world will
have you out on your own wings and soaring.
Love
