CAF RISE ABOVE® Inspiring young people to RISE ABOVE adversity using the lessons and stories of the and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

A few months ago, The RISE ABOVE Squadron hosted a Facebook Live video interview with Tuskegee Airmen Lt Col Harold Brown. We also had a special guest on that interview - Captain John “Jack” Wichser.

Jack was a crew member on a B-24, was shot down and spent the rest of the War in Stalag Luft 1 as a prisoner. Jack was 99 at the time of the interview, and about to celebrate his 100th birthday. He was engaged and funny and had a great story.

After the interview, his family contacted the RISE ABOVE Squadron to let us know how Photo courtesy Mike Garcia much it meant to Jack to be included and have a chance to tell some of his story. After In This Issue - August 2020 the Facebook live event we discussed the possibility of having another Facebook live interview where Jack was the subject rather than the guest. • Educational resources • Tour schedule at a glance Sadly, it was not to be. Just a week before his 100th birthday, Jack passed away. He • Greetings from the took those stories he had always been reticent to share with his family most of his life Ambassador team to his grave. • Volunteer Spotlight: Terry As COVID-19 has kept the RISE ABOVE Squadron from our normal schedule of taking Loudermill our exhibit to schools and airshows across the country, we have adapted and used • Our mission in action social media to capture and share as many of these stories as we can. • We Need You! • Shop with a purpose WWII was a time when Americans joined together to overcome a terrible and relentless enemy. We did it because we were “all in.” Everyone was ready, willing, and able • Join the Top Flight Club to do whatever it took to be victorious over an enemy that in many cases we did not • Tuskegee Airmen: Did you totally understand. know • Tuskegee Airmen: Quote Does that sound familiar? The stories of how , the WASP, and all the soldiers in WWII sacrificed and worked together to defeat the enemy are applicable of the month now more than ever. Our mission will always be to tell these stories – using those • Tuskegee Airmen Profiles: lessons to teach younger generations to RISE ABOVE their challenges. Harvey R. Alexander • And then there where Thank you all for what women! Marjorie A. you do to help us with this mission. Franklin • Tuskegee Airmen: Virtual We sincerely appreciate Museum artifact spotlight your support in helping us • Tuskegee Airmen: Archive preserve and share all these photos stories. Our commitment is that whatever the challenge, • WASP Profile: Nancy we will adapt and keep (Harkness) Love focused on our mission to • WASP: Did you know Honor, Educate and Inspire. • WASP: Archive photos “Lest We Forget.” • Thank you supporters RISE ABOVE! • For more information

At the prison camp, Wichser befriended a young co- Doug Rozendaal pilot who painted him an image of a B-24 with engines CAF RISE ABOVE Leader burning. He used ashes to “paint” the picture!

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

NEW! Now offering the Inspiration Pack: WASP Our Inspiration Packs are perfect for the parent, teacher, youth leader or community group looking for a tangible reminder of the lessons of the Tuskegee Airmen or the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)! Cost is $95 each pack, inlcudes s/h

The Inspiration Pack: WASP pack includes: 50 each CAF RISE ABOVE: WASP dog tags featuring the Six Guiding Principles and the “Triumph Over Adversity – RISE ABOVE: The Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots” booklets.

The Inspiration Pack: Red Tail pack includes: 50 each CAF dog tags featuring the Six Guiding Principles and the “Triumph Over Adversity – RISE ABOVE: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen” booklets.

The RISE ABOVE Back-to-School Campaign provides free electronic resources to support and inspire educators and students to Triumph Over Adversity and work together to persevere through their challenges. School kick-off resources and “flight plans will be available for PreK, primary, elementary, middle, and high schools. Inspiring short videos about WWII Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) are also included to help educators and students “rise above” crisis challenges. Teachers can use these resources to provide help to students setting personal achievement goals for the year. *** Introducing the Penda Learning Session ***

We are pleased to announce that we have secured another great resource to support your back to school efforts in this challenging time. Penda Science’s game-based, standards-aligned, online intervention platform helps students in grades 3 through 10 develop mastery and excel in science. We are excited to offer complimentary access to the Penda Science platform for one semester, with a significant discount on the purchase of the product once the trial period ends.

Contact Penda Learning at (888) 919-0404 and mention code CAF for complimentary access. Since the content will need to be fully aligned and customized for your school district, and your specific students need to be loaded into the system, there is a nominal set-up fee. Check the free RISE ABOVE Resource Kits! Our free, downloadable RISE ABOVE Resource Kits provides users access to posters featuring the Six Guiding Principles, PowerPoint’s, classroom activities and a wealth of material about the Tuskegee Airmen or the WA SP.

Want to go a step further? Check out all the affordable supporting educational materials available!

Page 2 RISE ABOVE tour schedule at a glance

PLEASE CHECK OUR SCHEDULE ONLINE FOR UPDATES!

As we all know, this has been a tough year for events due to the pandemic, but there is always a silver lining! First, there has been a rise in “virtual airshows”, and we are thrilled to be included in the Canadian International Airshow that will be streamed on September 5. Additionally, we have had numerous events move from 2020 to 2021, as well as many events that were already planned for 2021 being finalized on our schedule. We will be covering a lot of ground next year with stops from Florida to Oregon, and everywhere in between! If you are interested in hosting us for an event next year, please reach out soon – our schedule is quickly filing up!

DATE EVENT LOCATION September 25 Arsenal of Democracy -Over [Postponed from May 8] Washington D.C. P-51C Mustang October 7-11 Tri-State Museum Batavia, OH RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang October 24-25 Thunder Over the Rock Little Rock AFB, AR RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang Oct 28-Nov 1 BFTS Flight Museum Terrell, TX RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit November 7-8 Stuart Airshow Stuart, FL RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang

To book RISE ABOVE for your event contact Kristi Younkin, Senior Logistics Coordinator, at [email protected] or call (479) 228-4520

Page 3 GREETINGS FROM THE AMBASSADOR TEAM!

Are you interested in volunteering, but not sure where to start? Would you like to become part of a community, a team, and to carry on the lessons and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots? We invite you to check us out at cafriseabove.org and find out more about what we do. You can help out from the comfort of your own home or be our boots on the ground at an event when our tour resumes. Either way, we would love to have you join us!

Become a CAF RISE ABOVE Ambassador today!

Volunteer Coordinator Melanie Burden

Page 4 VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Terry Loudermill

I was born and raised in Olathe Kansas, where I continue to reside. I am a Chiropractic Assistant and Office Coordinator at Performance Chiropractic in Olathe. I am also a husband and proud father of three amazing children. I enjoy riding motorcycles, playing golf, and flying. I have been interested in aviation all of my life. As a small child, I remember laying in my yard watching planes fly over. One of the greatest experiences I’ve had was at an air show in Kansas City in 2015. CAF Red Tail Squadron pilot, Brad Lang, allowed me to sit in the cockpit of the Tuskegee Airmen P-51 Mustang and have my picture taken with him. It was an amazing opportunity and one that I will never forget. I recently did something I thought I would never do and that was to get a tattoo. I felt that it would be a great honor to the Tuskegee Airmen to have the P-51 permanently inked on my shoulder. I use that tattoo as a tool to educate others about the airmen and share their story.

One day, a few years back, I was driving by Robert Brogden Auto Dealership and noticed the CAF RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit there. I had just watched the Hollywood movie ‘’, for the first time, so when I saw the exhibit, I got excited and I knew I had to get involved somehow… and I did. I volunteered with the CAF RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit while at the Negro League Museum in Kansas City Missouri in 2019 and subsequently the Blue Angel event at the Wheeler Airport. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given through such a great organization like the CAF Red Tail Squadron. It has been a joy and privilege to share my knowledge and educate generations that are not aware of the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Though COVID-19 has cancelled many events this year, it has allowed me to spend more time reading military books that my family has given me over the years. My daughter shares my love of history and is currently finishing her degree for which she will soon be teaching history. What I do really miss this year are the airshows and spending time with the wonderful team members of the CAF Red Tail Squadron. I also miss going out to the movies and restaurants with my family and friends. In spite of all, the one thing this pandemic has certainly done, is bring family closer together and help us realize what is most important.

Page 5 OUR MISSION IN ACTION Enjoy an essay submitted from a student who competed in the annual essay competition Tuskegee Airmen.

I had never seen or read anything about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen until I went to my current middle school, Alfonza W. Davis, which is named after one of the Tuskegee Airmen. In sixth grade, a truck called “The Rise Above Traveling Exhibit” came to our school. I learned about who the airmen were and their history. In my school we use the Six Guiding Principles they used to succeed.

When I do my work in school, I think of Aiming High. This helps me by thinking ahead and finishing my work well so I can get good grades and when my work is hard, I aim high, so I don’t give up. In the future I need to never quit, even when things may get harder, I will not quit because If I don’t I can keep going forward to reach goals.

Thinking of the pillars that many of the airmen used, they can help me think of how others got to where they wanted to be so then I can work so I can achieve the same. I’ve learned about what the Tuskegee Airmen had accomplished so they have inspired me that nothing is impossible if you work hard.

Taylor Roemmich Grade 8

The Tuskegee Airmen are possibly one of the best examples of setting your dreams sky high, working for them, and then reaching those dreams against all odds. I’ll be the first to admit that I have grown complacent in my privilege. I have learned to take for granted the ground I walk on that was paved by my great forefathers, and fore flyers, but that ends now. I have made it a habit to doubt what I am capable of and shoot myself down before anyone else can. But truth is, my forefathers did not have the privilege to do this. They understood that they were not entitled to anything they have not worked for, and now I will strive to admit myself to the same principles that led these undermined airmen to legendary success.

Xavier Griffin Grade 11

Page 6 WE NEED YOU!

Please be assured that the CAF RISE ABOVE Squadron responsibly and carefully allocates donation dollars to further our mission. If you believe, like we do, the values based educational potential of these two initiatives are relevant and important for young people today, we would appreciate your continued support. We are also interested in your comments and suggestions about the program and will welcome any input you have to offer.

May 10, 2016

In a room crowded with receptionists, a young lad was standing aside appearing downcast. I approached and we had a chat about school and the Rise Above dog tag value lessons. A bit later a lady, in tears, came to me profusely expressing thanks for the boost the chat had given her son. He had shared with her that he was ready to Aim High, Believe in Himself and Never Quit.

All the best, Brigadier General Charles McGee Original Tuskegee Airman 332nd Fighter Group

Make a one-time or recurring donation to help us ensure that the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASP is passed on to future generations, so that their strength of character, courage and ability to triumph over adversity may serve as a means to inspire others to RISE ABOVE obstacles in their own lives and achieve their goals!

Give online, by calling 888-928-0188, or by mail at:

CAF RISE ABOVE 971 Hallstrom Drive Red Wing, MN 55066

The CAF RISE ABOVE® is an educational outreach program of the Commemorative Air Force, (CAF) a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible less the value of the benefits given in return for your contribution noted above, if any. CAF FEIN # 74- 1484491

Page 7 SHOP WITH WITH A PURPOSE!

Find great treasures AND honor the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP! Visit our online store. Shipping is included for state-side orders! JUST IN!! Our 2021 Commemorative calendars You can choose from two commemorative calendars! Price $15.00

A Tribute to The Tuskegee Airmen calendar includes a monthly inspirational story of a Tuskegee Airman - learn more about the obstacles they faced, as well as their tenacity to survive and succeed.

Or, check out the Red Tail Squadron - Honoring the Tuskegee Airmen featuring breathtaking photographs of our beautiful P-51C Mustang as well as the brief information on featured Tuskegee Airmen. For $99 you can join the exclusive ranks of the Top Flight Club! We know folks like you understand and value the importance of the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The Top Flight Club is a way for you to directly impact the work of the CAF RISE ABOVE Squadron and honor these heroes for generations to come.

Why 99? (each membership) JOIN THE RISE ABOVE: RED TAIL JOIN THE RISE ABOVE: WASP The 99th was originally formed as the U.S. Army Air Forces’ The Ninety-Nines was founded November 2, 1929, at first African American fighter squadron, then known the Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, Long Island, . All 99th Pursuit Squadron. The personnel received their initial 117 women pilots at the time were invited to assemble for flight training at Tuskegee, Alabama earning them the mutual support, the advancement of . In nickname Tuskegee Airmen. 1942 members of the Ninety-Nines were asked to join the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) class of 43-W-1 in Houston, . Photo courtesy Jeff Berlin

Page 8 DID YOU KNOW?

On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

11 August 1941: 2nd Lieutenant Harold C. Magoon reported for duty at Moton Field, to serve as Assistant Supervisor under Captain Noel F. Parrish, who was serving as commander of the 66th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment there. (66th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment, Moton Field, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Feb 1941-7 Dec 1941, p. 10).

11 August 1943: Lieutenant Paul G. Mitchell was killed when his airplane crashed in mid-air with another airplane in his formation. He was the third 99th Fighter Squadron pilot lost in combat

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Once you get together and work with people, you don’t have too much difficulty getting along with one another.” ~Tuskegee Airman John Adams, Jr.

Photo courtesy Werner R. Ennesser

Page 9 TUSKEGEE AIRMEN PROFILES: Harvey R. Alexander Class 44-D-TE 4/15/1944 2nd Lt. 0828041 Georgetown, IL

April 13, 1921 – August 16, 2013 Unit: 617th Squadron, 477th Bombardment Group Medium

“We had to fight for the right to fight for our country.”

Alexander was born April 13, 1921, in Georgetown, Ill., the son of a coal miner. The family was so poor that Alexander, the second of nine children, walked to school barefoot.

His family couldn’t afford shoes.

But by 1944, as an Army lieutenant, it wasn’t shoes that mattered — but wings.

“My first true feeling of freedom came flying that airplane,’’ Alexander told the News & Record in a 2001 interview. “All that power seemed to be just surging through me. There wasn’t any discrimination up there.’’

Before 1940, blacks were not permitted to fly in the U.S. military. And though they have participated in every American war, Alexander, 86, said they never were welcome.

“This was a white man’s war, we don’t need any Negroes,” he said, recalling a statement President Wilson made during World War I.

Alexander said the Tuskegee Airmen performed better than their white counterparts because they had more training.

“When we weren’t wanted, we just continued training,” he said.

Most of the Tuskegee Airmen also had either a college education or previous flying experience, compared to white pilots who could join the Air Corps after high school.

Alexander started to feel the effects of racism while in high school in Georgetown, Illinois.

After his principal privately inducted him into the National Honor Society, the school hosted a public induction ceremony for 30 white students. And though he was first in his class, the school downgraded him to salutatorian. Teachers told him he didn’t need to go to college.

Alexander said he was “pointedly and publicly ridiculed” while attending the College of Commerce at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

One professor gave him low scores on papers, accusing him of plagiarism. Another told him he should be the person to “sweep the factory floors.”

He transferred to the University of Michigan and planned to complete his degree and then enroll in the Army Air Corps.

Page 10 On Sept. 16, 1942, he watched a movie about Marines that had him excited enough to think he was ready to join even sooner.

Then the draft notice came.

“All the patriotic vibes that were running through my body came to a halt,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t wanted.” Though President Roosevelt had mandated the inclusion of blacks in the military, Alexander knew he would never see combat.

He served in the infantry for five months and earned the rank of corporal before he was transferred to the Air Corps.

After more than 100 Tuskegee Airmen were arrested for attempting to enter a whites-only officers club, all black airmen were interviewed.

“I think we all told them the same thing,” Alexander said. “I want to be treated like any other officer in the military, and I want to go to combat.”

Alexander flew a B-25 bomber, but that type of plane was never flown in combat by a black pilot. Even the black pilots who were sent to combat did not receive the same treatment as white servicemen, he said.

“The Tuskegee Airmen were held in Berlin until all the ticker-tape parades were over,” he said.

Theodore Brooks, former president of the Heart of Carolina Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, a nonprofit that honors the history of the airmen, said the pilots had a second battle to win after the defeat of the Germans: racism.

“Instead of being greeted as heroes, they were relegated to the same second-class citizenship they left,” he said.

Alexander was discharged from service in 1945 and went on to get a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1947 and a master’s degree in accounting from Duquesne University in 1950. He taught accounting at several universities, including N.C. A&T, where he started the accounting major program.

After working at other schools and owning a vending business, Alexander retired in 1986 and came to Greensboro to build his own home.

Along with the other Tuskegee Airmen, Alexander received a copy of the Congressional Gold Medal on March 29, 2007.

As for the future, Alexander hoped that “race becomes a nonissue, that we are accepted on our own merit.”

We salute Mr. Alexander, who passed on to Blue Skies in 2013

Sources: • East Coast Tuskegee Airmen, Inc • Greensboro News and Record • Greensboro News and Record

Page 11 AND THEN THERE WERE WOMEN! Marjorie A. Franklin

According to the July 15,1946 station hospital roster, Marjorie A. Franklin was a first lieutenant and had separated from the service. Janet Tarolli, a Michigan woman offered additional information about this nurse below:

Marjorie Alice Franklin was born in Iowa on August 29,1906, the third child of William and Beulah Franklin. Growing up she lived in the Chicago area and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Franklin was an honor student at Ann Arbor High School in a college prep curriculum. She graduated in 1923 two months before her seventeenth birthday. Too young to enter nursing school, she spent a year in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan, then entered the University Hospital School of Nursing of the University of Michigan in 1924. After receiving her diploma with the class of 1927, she returned to Chicago, remaining there until at least 1935. In 1940 on leave for a year from the Tuskegee Institute, she pursued her interest in caring for young polio victims at the Hospital for Special Surgery (formerly, the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled) in New York City.

According to an article by B. B. Walcott in the February 1940 issue of The Crisis, she was being groomed to become the head of physical therapy in the planned thirty-bed polio unit to be built at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital, Tuskegee Institute. The unit was completed on time and dedicated in January 1941. Franklin enlisted into the U.S. Army on May 1,1944 and served in the Army Nurse Corps at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, in Tuskegee, Alabama, achieving the rank of 1st Lieutenant. She was released from service on January 24,1946. Franklin died in San Francisco, on October 23,1977 and is buried in Skylawn Memorial Park, San Mateo.

Thank you to Pia Winters Jordan, Project Director of the Tuskegee Airmen Nurses Project, for sharing with us the incredible legacy of nurses who served alongside the Airmen. We are honored to feature their history and stories.

Be sure to visit Tuskegee Airmen Nurses Project for more information!

Pia Jordan, Project Director (Photo by Chris Levister)

Page 12 Visit Tuskegee Airmen Profiles and take a closer look at the lives and accomplishments of some of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. New profiles are added regularly and will grow as the staff and volunteers of the CAF Red Tail Squadron continue their tireless efforts to research and share the remarkable stories of these important American figures.

We invite you to share stories and photos with us to feature! Contact LaVone [email protected], by calling (888) 928-0188, or by mail at:

CAF RISE ABOVE 971 Hallstrom Drive Red Wing, MN 55066

CAF Red Tail Squadron Virtual Museum Artifact Spotlight

The CAF Red Tail Squadron Virtual Museum is a community collaborative effort, made up of photos and information of artifacts pertaining to the Tuskegee Airmen submitted from all around the country. Anyone with an item of significance to the Tuskegee Airmen, or has visited the location of a memorial in tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, can share their knowledge by submiting your own virtual artifacts.

Paintings of the P-51C Mustang

Davis Alston is a supporter of the RISE ABOVE: Red Tail educational outreach program. He served in the Army for 22 years, then worked in the Post Office for another 12 years. When he retired his wife told him he had to find something to do so he signed up for painting classes.

Check out these amazing paintings!

Page 13 ARCHIVE PHOTOS - TUSKEGEE AIRMEN UNLESS NOTED ALL PHOTOS ARE COURTESY OF THE AIR FORCE HISTORICAL RESEARCH AGENCY, MAXWELL AFB, ALABAMA

Page 14 WASP PROFILE: Nancy (Harkness) Love Founder of the WAFS - the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron

“I have no idea what made me catch the flying bug. A ride in a tandem two-seater, single-engine Fleet Biplane was my undoing and from then on, I knew what I wanted.”

February 14, 1914 – October 22, 1976

Born in Houghton, Michigan on February 14, 1914 as the daughter of a wealthy physician, Harkness developed an intense interest in aviation at an early age. At 16, she took her first flight and earned her pilot’s license within a month. Although she went to all the right schools, including Milton Academy in and Vassar in New York, she was restless and adventurous. In 1932, by the end of her freshman year, dubbed, “The Flying Freshman!”, she earned her commercial license and received national attention. At Vassar, she earned extra money taking students for rides in an aircraft she rented from a nearby airport.

In 1936, Harkness married Robert M. Love, an Air Corps Reserve major. They built their own successful Boston-based aviation company, Inter City Aviation, for which Nancy was a pilot. She also flew for the Bureau of Air Commerce. Love entered air races in 1936 and 1937, competing In the National Air Races in Los Angeles and Detroit. After finishing second in the Detroit race, she stopped competing. In 1937 and 1938, Love worked as a test pilot, alongside famous air racer Frank Hawks, for the Gwinn Air Car Company, performing tests on various aircraft modifications and innovations. In one project, she served as a test pilot on the new tricycle landing gear, which subsequently became standard on most aircraft. In another project, she helped mark water towers with town names as a navigational aid for pilots.

In May 1940, Nancy proposed the Air Corps Planes Division, headed by Lt. Col. , in which experienced women pilots could be used to fill the growing need for qualified ferry pilots. Despite having Olds’ support, Gen Hap Arnold rejected the idea. Biding her time, she persevered, gaining valuable experience during America’s period of neutrality by ferrying new planes to Canada for transfer to France and Britain.

After Pearl Harbor, Bob, Nancy’s husband, a major in the reserves was called to active duty and assigned as deputy chief of staff at Air Corps Ferrying Command headquarters in Washington. Nancy became an operations planner in the Ferrying Command’s northeast sector office in , commuting daily between Washington and Baltimore in her . By the summer of 1942, the AAF’s new Air Transport Command faced a critical shortage of trained pilots to deliver airplanes coming off assembly lines. Col. Tunner, Air Transports Commander, recognized Nancy Love as the ideal person to organize and lead the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron or WAFS. If the first squadron was successful, other women’s squadrons would emerge.

Nancy Love’s WAFS conducted their first operation ferry mission in late October 1942, delivering liaison planes. Later that year, they ferried trainers. From April to August 1943 four more classes graduated from the women’s pilot courses, bringing the WAFS strength to over 225 women. Late in August 1943, the new Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP, program superseded the WAFS.

Page 15 Meanwhile, Nancy had been determined from the beginning to challenge the Army Air Forces policy that limited women ferry pilots to flying light, simple aircraft. She personally demonstrated the capabilities of women pilots to advance to highest performance aircraft in the same way that male service pilots did.

Nancy was the first woman to fly virtually all the Army Air Force’s complex, high performance combat aircraft, such as the new P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning fighters, the four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, and various multi-engine attack aircraft, medium bombers, and transports. Her example led the way for her original WAFS to also ferry combat aircraft and they, in turn, blazed the trail for a significant number of later women pilots to follow in their footsteps.

Under Gen. Tunner, Nancy was WASP executive responsible for all women ferry pilots. At it’s peak in April 1944, the ATC Ferrying Division had 300 women ferry pilots and made 50 percent of all deliveries of fighters in the US that year. Eight months before the war ended, the Army Air Forces disbanded the WASP program in December 1944. In 1945, the Army Air Forces asked President Truman himself to sign the Air medal it awarded to Nancy for her wartime accomplishments. Shortly before Nancy love died in 1976, the order of Fifiella, the WASP alumni organization, named her “Woman of the Year.” Thirteen years later, in 1989, she was enshrined into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.

Nancy Love’s remarkable skill, singular vision, perseverance, and leadership by example were crucial to the overall success and level of accomplishment achieved by the AAF’s women pilot program. But beyond that, her view of how to integrate and utilize women in the military establishment stood in contrast to the contemporary concept of female pilots in a gender-specific “Women’s Airforce” within the Army Air Forces. Instead, she envisioned pilots—who just happened to be women–serving in the military alongside men, simply to Nancy Harkness Love posing in front of get a mission accomplished, on the same basis as their male a PT-19A trainer aircraft, 1942-43. Note counterparts. That idea may have been ahead of its time, but is WAFS patch on her jacket (forerunner of consistent with contemporary social thought and actual policy the WASP in the armed forces today – the most significant and enduring part of her legacy.

Love was posthumously inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Association in 1996, the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1997, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio in 2005. A statue dedicated to Nancy Harkness Love is at the New Castle County Airport in Delaware.

Sources: • Wikipedia • Wings Across America • The National Aviation Hall of Fame • Amazing Women in History

Page 16 Visit WASP PROFILES and take a closer look at the lives and accomplishments of the Women Airforce Service Pilots in order to inspire others, especially girls and young women, to RISE ABOVE expectations and find a greater appreciation of their potential.

New profiles are added regularly and will grow as the staff and volunteers of the RISE ABOVE: WASP continue their tireless efforts to research and share the remarkable stories of these important American figures.

We invite you to share stories and photos with us to feature! Contact LaVone [email protected], by calling (888) 928-0188, or by mail at:

CAF RISE ABOVE 971 Hallstrom Drive Red Wing, MN 55066

DID YOU KNOW?

August 5, 1943 - the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) merged to form the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles during World War II. Despite various members of the armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, the WASP and its members had no military standing. Thirty-eight WASP members lost their lives and one disappeared while on a ferry mission, her fate still unknown. In 1977, for their World War II service, the members were granted veteran status, and in 2009 awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Page 17 ARCHIVE PHOTOS - WASP UNLESS NOTED ALL PHOTOS ARE COURTESY OF THE TWU LIBRARIES’ WOMAN’S COLLECTION, TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY, DENTON, TEXAS

WASP check their map prior to flight, , Sweetwater, Texas, August 1943

Nancy Love at the controls of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Queen Bee”

Page 18 Thank you to the donors who have joined us at the supporter level of $100 or more. Pledge your support and join the ranks! Names are listed in the online Honorary Flight Log.

* denotes a new Top Flight Club member of the CAF Red Tail Squadron Edward Abrams Floyd Bridges James Diggs Daniel C Adler Sam Britton Valarie Dixon Elaine Agvent Alverness Brown Myrtle Dorsey Zack Albert Jr John B Brown Trecia Doyle C E Alexander Marion & Elsa Brown in memory of Thomas Drehs Buster Alexander John W. Clark Sr., William H. Webb, Connie Drew Linda S Allen John L. Webb Sr. Earl Duffin Francis R Anderson William Brown III Marylouise Dunham James Anderson Ronald Bryan Gail Earle Ferdinando Andrade Leroy Bryant Sr George H Eddings Sr Mark W Ansbro Jacqueline Buford-Gage Lance Eddins Russell Ashton Gary Campbell Irene Edge Larry Askew Helen Cannon Sandra Edwards James Austin Charles L Canty David Edwards James H Austin Roosevelt Capers * Robert Elliott Ronald Austin John J Capone Lawrence W Elliott Sr Merrill C Austin Wilhelmina Carney Georgia E Ellis Dalton J Avery Shirlee Carter Dianne M Engram Hugh Awalt Linton T Chambers Richard Etem Fred R Banker Ron Charfoos Sherman Evans Ronald Banks Viviene Cheek Floyd Evans Willie J Banks Walter Childress Wonso L Evans G Baskerville William Clapp Helen C Evarts Douglas Baskin Randy Clark Michael W Everett Clifford Bath Charlene Clark John Fenoglio Leo Baumann Patricia Cleveland Diane Ferguson Lyle E Baxter Robert D Clinger Lloyd L Fields Francis Bean Lester Codner Janell Finley Frank Beck Jeffrey Cofield David Fiola E M Beck Kay & Francis H Cole Jr * Ray Florom William A Bein Lacey A Collier Christa S Folkes Scott Bell III Wayne Collins Helen Forest Jim Bell Yvonne Condell Jerry F Franklin Robert Bell Harry Cooper John Frensko Donald S Berlin Oreal Cotton Raymond Fudge Wallace Berliner Lonnie Coulter Rupert & Sammi Garcia Christine Betts Lawrence Crawford Lois Gardner Maureen Beverlin William E Crier Paul A Garnett Harold Bibb Calvin C Crittenden Mark Gay Kenneth Binstock Carleen Cumberbatch Joel C Gaydos Dennis Bishop Atlee M Cunningham Jr William L Gayler George H Bishop Richard T Davidson John Gibson Joyce Bloch Edward Davis John Gilbert James Boddy Jr John Davis Kitty Gilbert Ernest Borders John O Davis Isaac T Gillam IV Lenora Bosley Vernon Davis Ruby L Givens John Bostick Nelson Dawson Vernon B Glenn James H Boyd Tita Del Giudice Kathy Glockner James B Brandel Dale Dendtler Lawrence C Glover Irvin K Breckenridge Regina Derricott Mark T Gray Gary Breeden Paul Deutsch Page 19 James Gray Orcella T Jackson Joseph Matchey Rainey U Green Evelyn Jackson Thomas Maute Karl A Greene Jessica Jackson Raye P Mayhorn Angela Greer Amos James Robert Maylor Tamiko Greer Wilma L Javey Clarence McCollum Michelle Groleau Paul I Jeffery Carrie L McCoy Susan Grossick Rita Jenks Mae McCoy George Grove Frank H Johns Sharon McElfish Ray Gundlach Stanley L Johnson Michael McWade William Gurney David Johnson Carol Meltz Michael Gurry Levonne Johnson Merrill Mezikofsky Michael Hairston USAF Ret E Johnson Robert Miller Garry D Hall George Jones Kristie Miller Deborah J Halsey Lonnie Jones Gary W Missel Howard H Hamamoto Ricarda Jones Bruce Mitchell William Hamilton Cornelius J Joseph Andrea Mobley Carolyn Hammers Carolyn Joyner John P Monagle Dale Harmer Bob Judge Lawrence A Monroe Donna Akiba Harper Ron J Kacsmaryk Charles Moore Elizabeth S Harris Ronald Kadoguchi Elijah M Moore James Harvey Robert Kavanaugh Anna Mae Moore Sylvia Hawkins Ian R Kennedy Rush Moore Jr John Hawthorne Robert Kennedy Leori Moore William Hegamin Reginald Kent Maurice Morales Kenneth Stanley Hendrick-son Kenneth Key Frank M Morales Edward A Hernandez Kenneth C Keyser Karl Morton John Hert Mary Kilcullen Eric Mosely Nate Heslep Anthony King George T Moses Robert Hewett James King Michelle Mosley Eddie Mae Hightower * Wilma King Dennis James Murphy Roland W Hill Richard G Kissinger Jeffrey Nejedlik Robert Hill Todd Kolb Connie Nellum Melba Hill-Paschal Otis Lang Lucius F Nelson James Hinkelman Edison Lara Johnnie Newton Harry Hintlian Mary A Lawrence Cladia P Nichols Francis Hinton Shirley Lawrence Nick Nobbe Russell W Hipplewitz Garvis R Leak Richard E Norris Pamela Hoffman E Wayne Lednum * Paul Nottingham Roy Hollins Terence Lee Emmanuel N Obianwu Doris Hollis Dick Leighninger Barry Obie Richard Hollister Alice Lewis Julie Odofin Harry Hopkins Beverly Lindsay Cheryl Odom Patricia A Howard Betty Little Natalie B Ogletree William K Hoyt Charles Lockhart Gregory & Rhoda Olsen Ozelle L Hubert Sr Homer B Louya Jr Beverly Olson Nevin H Hughes Beverly R Love David Owens Allison Hughes Robert M Lundquist Gordon Palmer Troy Hulbert Leon Mack James L Paramo Andrew Hurley Peter T Macy George E Patterson Sallie Hurley Frederick M Mann Denise Patterson Suellen G Hurt Jack Marchbanks Mozell Payton Patricia Hutchins James A Martin Sr Minessia Pearson Mary Simpson Irwin Michelle Martin Carol M Pedro Rosemary Jackson Richard Marx Rodolfo Perez Robert Lewis Jackson Claudia Matchey

Page 20 Robert E. Perry in hon-or of Lt Col Bernadette Sinclair Bob Walker Robert Friend Romona Sipes Jeff Walker John Phipps Don Sloan Don Washington Betty Pinkney Smith Rae H Watkins Roger Plummer Gloria E Smith William J Watts Walter Poe Keith R Smith Jr Gerald Weaver Edward Pomeraning Jerry Smith Debra J Webb Richard E Poole Robert W. Smith Barney Welch Anne Proctor Sandra Smith Juliet Welker Dieter Proehl Sennie Smith Evelyn Wesley Fannie S Pruden Judith Sorkoram Ronald E West Sally J Rajamaki Donna Sprott Ruby R Wharton Walt Ramsay Ross Staffhorst Edward Whitaker Jonathan Rankin Leo Staten Dick Whitcomb Susan Ravenscroft Chuck Stedman Charles White John Reid Joseph H Stephen James R White Martin Rheaume Q Stephens Mary L White Michael D Richardson Robert J Stewart Jr Wendell R White Corinne Richardson Dean J Stoker James White Press Robinson Tony G Stone Parker White Robert Roman Gordon M Sugimura John P Whitecar Jr Debra Rose Stephen Sumandra Michael Whittemore Richard & Elizabeth Ros-enberg Catherine Sutherland Thomas Wickman Douglas Russell * Willie Sweet Bettye M Williams Rich Sachtleben Michael Tate Carla D Williams Gene L Salisbury Darlene Taylor Helen Williams James Sandham Terry A Taylor USA Ret Richard K. Williams in honor of John Sardone Mary L Tempton Rip Gooch Ronald Sargent Alvin M Theisen Vivian R Williams A A Satterthwaite Claudia C Thompson Vera D Williams Mervyn Schell Joanne Thweatt John E Williamson Jr Robert V Schenck Gregory L Tolbert-Bey Patrick H Wilson Richard A Schile Daniel A Torisky Yolanda Wilson S Schlenker George Toscano Katherine B Winter Ronald W Schwartz Leonard G Townes Dorothy Witherspoon Willie G Scott Charles M Traughber R Carolyn Witherspoon Carolyn Scott David Trotter Thomas E Wooden James Sexton * Thomas Troxel Linnell Wright Kenneth Shackman Cynthia Tucker Rudolph Young Dave Shedden Otis Tucker Jerome Zang Sr Lee B Shields Sylvia H Tureaud Vandy J Zimmerman Baron Shuler Scott Varni Robert W Zimmerman Kevin Simmons Amelia Vinal Paula K Simmons Lorraine Voorhees Willie Simmons Lawrence R Walker Marion F Sims Frank E Walker

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Please mail correspondence or To bring RISE ABOVE to For general inquiries, donations to our home office at: your event, contact: contact: CAF RISE ABOVE® LaVone Kay 971 Hallstrom Drive Kristi Younkin Senior Logistics Coordinator Marketing Director Red Wing, MN 55066 [email protected] [email protected] (479) 228-4520 (888) 928-0188

Doug Rozendaal Melanie Burden Squadron Leader Volunteer Coordinator [email protected] [email protected]

Kim Pardon Public Relations/Media [email protected]

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