Patricia O’Connell Pearson - Fly girls: the daring American women pilots who helped win WWII

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Text copyright 2018 by Patricia OConnell Pearson

Jacket photograph courtesy of the National Archives (photo no. 342-AF-29183AC)

Interior photographs on pp. by Bill Harmon

Endpaper photograph copyright by Thinkstock

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Jacket design by Chlo Foglia | Interior design by Hilary Zarycky

Jacket photo courtesy of the National Archives (photo no. 342-AF-29183AC)

Map art by Drew Willis

The text for this book was set in New Caledonia.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Pearson, P. OConnell (Patricia OConnell), author.

Title: Fly girls : the daring American women pilots who helped win WWII / P. OConnell Pearson.

Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. | Audience: Age: 10 and up. | Audience: Grade: 7 to 8.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017011062 | ISBN 9781534404106 (hardcover)

| ISBN 9781534404120 (eBook)

Subjects: LCSH: Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)Juvenile literature. | Women air pilotsUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | Air pilots, MilitaryUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | World War, 19391945Aerial operations, AmericanJuvenile literature. | World War, 19391945Participation, FemaleJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC D790 .P394 2018 | DDC 940.54/497309252dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011062

For my father

In the course of writing this book I have developed tremendous appreciation for all the women of the WAFS and WASP, and am grateful to them for what they did between 1942 and 1944 and for their letters, memoirs, autobiographies, oral interviews, and more. They continue to inspire.

My thanks to the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture and museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and to the staff and volunteers in Manassas, Virginia, who gave graciously of their time and expertise and even allowed me to sit in the cockpit of the B-17 Aluminum Overcast. Their enthusiasm for the WASP is wonderful. My thanks also to Carol Cain at the National WASP World War II Museum in Sweetwater, Texas.

A special thanks to Sarah Byrn Rickman, who shared her font of knowledge and her passion for educating others on the WAFS and WASP. Her attention to the smallest detail made the book better. And Liz Kossnar at Simon & Schuster guided me with great patience and acted as a cheerleader at the same time. I am indebted to Susan E. Goodman and Chris Lynch for their ongoing mentorship and guidance that goes far beyond the call of duty, and for their friendship. Finally, my love and gratitude to my husband, Paul, whose constant support is unfailing.

A night view of the 1939 New York Worlds FairWorld of Tomorrow.

CHAPTER 1

War Clouds

P resident Franklin D. Roosevelt stood in front of a well-dressed crowd. His legs, paralyzed by polio years before, were held stiff with braces and hidden behind a large podium. Rain threatened on this April morning, but the president stuck out his chin and smiled in his usual way. Roosevelt was in New York for a happy eventthe opening of the 1939 New York Worlds Fair, an exhibition of new ideas and innovations for the World of Tomorrow. The New York Times reported, PRESIDENT OPENS FAIR AS A SYMBOL OF PEACE . Everyone knew about the predictions of war in Europe. The radio news was full of Adolf Hitlers threats and military aggression every night. But while the president may have been worried about dictators and wars, he understood that visitors to the worlds fair were far more interested in dazzling new technologies and a bit of fun. In his brief remarks FDR mentioned peace and American prayers for an end to strife in Europe, but he didnt dwell on those ideas.

The 1930s had been an economic disaster in the United States and around the world. After the stock market crashed in 1929, banks closed, businesses shut down, and millions of people lost their jobs and homes. That kind of economic slowdown is called a depression, and this, the Great Depression, had been the worst in history. Roosevelt and the people in his administration had worked tirelessly to ease the misery Americans suffered, yet the Great Depression wasnt over. Finally, though, businesses had started hiring again, and now more people could afford to buy a few things and relax a littleexactly what they wanted to do. Whatever the radio said about conflicts and threats in Europe, problems three thousand miles away had nothing to do with the United States, they thought. In America it was time to dream a little and look forward to a better decade ahead.

Causes of World War II

During the 1920s and 1930s, dictators gained control in several countries, including Germany and Italy. In Japan a group of military leaders gained the powers of a dictator. Dictators have complete power. They are not limited by constitutions, laws, courts, or elections, and can use their nations military to control people. These three totalitarian governmentsGermany, Italy, and Japanwere called the Axis. Their people did not have freedom of speech or the right to fair trials. There were no elections, and the government controlled newspapers and radio. The Axis powers built huge militaries and promoted the glory of war. They also promoted extreme nationalismthe belief that their countries and peoples were better than other countries and peoplesand felt they had the right to take over weaker nations (which is called imperialism). The worlds strong democratic countries did almost nothing to stop them. Totalitarianism, militarism, extreme nationalism, and imperialism in the Axis nations were major causes of World War II.

When Roosevelt declared the fair officially open to all mankind, a cheer went up from the dignitaries. Then ordinary fairgoers streamed into the parkmore than two hundred thousand on the first day alonehaving paid their fifty-cent admission and ready to see what the World of Tomorrow might look like.

Massive halls filled with elaborate displays from companies including General Motors, Ford, and Westinghouse showed off plans for the future. Before long, regular houses would have marvels like electric refrigerators with freezers, quick-to-cook frozen foods, and dishwashers. Women were promised theyd be able to finish fixing dinner and doing the dishes and still look like the model in the displayas neat and refreshed as when she started.see the display models, but television sales wouldnt take off for another decade.