The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II

After a long struggle to gain recognition for their wartime contributions, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program of World War II has become legendary. Each of the more than 1,000 women who served in the program has a unique story.
Founded by famous pilot Jacqueline Cochran, WFTD trained female pilots for non-combat domestic flight missions during the war. A year after its founding, in August 1943, the WFTD merged with the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), forming the WASP program.
Deanie Bishop was one of eight women who passed the rigorous tests necessary to fly a B-26. Her job was to keep the plane in a flight pattern as B-24s flew by, shooting at the target she towed. One on mission, a lieutenant named Bill shot a few bullets into her tail. When Deanie landed, she ran over to criticize his gunnery skills. He must have said the right thing, because Deanie ended up marrying Lt. Bill Parrish.
Most dangerous of all were nighttime “searchlight missions,” where soldiers were trained to seek out planes with a spotlight before firing. When a pilot was caught in the spotlight, she couldn’t see anything and had to fly solely by instrument readings.
In early July 1944, Paula Loop undertook a routine mission to transport a military trainer aircraft from Enid, Oklahoma to Seattle. On July 7, she stopped in Sacramento, California to refuel. In a brief letter home, she wrote about how it was “wonderfully cool here.”
They were the last words she ever wrote. That afternoon, on the last leg of her trip, she crashed into an Oregon mountaintop. The crash killed her instantly, sparking a small forest fire. It was not until 57 years after the crash, in 2001, that the U.S. Forest Service finally surveyed the site to prepare for the removal of the plane parts. While the definite cause of the crash was never ascertained, Paula most likely encountered a strong gust of wind while crossing the mountaintop and was unable to regain control of her plane.
Like all WASP pilots, Loop was considered a civilian employee. She thus received no military benefits. While her fellow WASP Geraldine “Jerry” Hardman escorted her casket back to Oklahoma, loved ones had to pay the transportation costs. Although Paula didn’t receive a military burial, her parents draped her casket with an American flag to honor her service.
Their website, Wasp on the Web, offers a comprehensive collection of information about the organization and the women who served in it.
Nearly all of the original 1,074 WASP graduates have passed away. One of the few remaining is Nell “Mickey” Bright, who survived getting shot at by anti-artillery aircraft during a nighttime searchlight mission. She just turned 103 on June 20.
“If you had fear and you were scared then you should quit flying,” Ms. Bright told an interviewer. When asked if she was afraid herself, she replied, “No, we just thought it was a lot of fun.”