Vivian Cadman Eddy, 43-W-5 April 29, 2013

Vivian Cadman was just 9-years-old when her grandfather took her to the airshow at Mines Field near Los Angeles, but the experience ignited a passion for flying that would characterize the rest of her life.

Vivian Cadman, WASP 43-W-5

A third generation Californian, Vivian was born in 1921 in Fullerton where she attended elementary school through junior college.  She transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in English.

At 19 Vivian was already licensed to fly airplanes – but didn’t yet have a license to drive an automobile.  In 1943 the shortage of male pilots for the World War II effort gave 22-year-old Vivian the shot of a lifetime.  She was one of only 1000, out of an applicant pool of 25,000+, tapped to join the elite Women Airforce Service Pilots (the WASP).  Her job was to ferry aircraft from the point of manufacture to locations where they were shipped overseas.  A qualified pursuit pilot, Vivian flew 17 different aircraft, including the P-51 “Mustang,” her favorite.

Vivian ferrying a P-39

Vivian returned to civilian life when the WASP were unceremoniously disbanded.  As there were no jobs for professional women pilots at the time, she did what she had to to keep herself in the air: she became a stewardess for American Airlines.

Vivian Cadman married Lt. Howard B. Eddy, a naval aviator and former high schoolmate, in 1946.  Over the next twenty years tours of duty took the family to Washington, D.C.; Coronado; Alameda, CA; Pensacola, FL; Barber’s Point, HI; and Pt. Mugu, CA.  Three daughters were born along the way.  Vivian was the model Navy wife and mother: she ran the house when Howard was at sea, made all the girls’ – and her own – clothes, was active in the Navy Relief Society, and served as PTA president.  She also discovered golf, and played regularly from the late 50s to 2007.

Upon Howard’s retirement from the Navy in 1966, the family moved to the Seattle area where Vivian sold advertising for the weekly Mercer Island Reporter.  Along with bringing in the revenues needed to put the paper in the black, Vivian’s work won numerous prizes from the Washington Newspaper Association.

It was while living in the Seattle area that Vivian and Howard bought the first of a string of single-engine Piper aircraft and began taking trips across country and as far south as central Mexico.

In 1977, after years of intense lobbying in Washington, the WASP were recognized as veterans and granted benefits.  And in March 2010, Vivian and a few hundred of the remaining WASP traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the United States Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given to civilians.

Howard and Vivian “retired” to Coronado in 1979.  She was very active in the Coronado community.  She was a member of Sea and Air Women’s Golf Association, belonged to the Coronado Republican Women’s Club; was president of the Coronets, the Coronado Playhouse auxiliary; then board member and finally president of the Coronado Playhouse Board of Directors.

Vivian Cadman Eddy was a thirty-four year resident of Coronado.  She passed away at her home on April 29, 2013.  She was 91.  Her remains were interred with military honors at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on May 25, 2013.  She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Cdr. Howard B. Eddy, USN, Retired; daughters Jo Anne Scott (husband Jim Scott), Lynn Eddy-Zambrano (husband Victor Zambrano) and Lis Eddy (husband Allan Whitcomb), five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.  

Posted via email from the family of Vivian Eddy, July 16, 2013
Class photo from Wings Across America.
Additional photo from the family.

                                                                                     

Barbara Jane 'BJ' Erickson London, WAFS July 7, 2013

"I was born at the right place at the right time, and for my part,
it was a fantastic experience.  I think I was lucky.
I probably was in the best spot I could possibly have been.
The Good Lord took care of me all the time I was there
and I got through it all right and my life has gone on from there.  
I think it was a tremendous opoprutunity
that I was given and I'm thankful for it."  *

/s/ Barbara London, WAFS

Barbara Jane 'BJ' Erickson London, WAFS  
July 1, 1920   -  July 7, 2013

Barbara Erickson London

Pioneering Long Beach pilot

London operated an aircraft sales business at Long Beach Airport

Posted:   07/10/2013 03:41:56 PM PDT

Updated:   07/10/2013 03:42:03 PM PDT

Barbara Erickson London, a pioneering female pilot who helped put Long Beach on the aviation map, died July 7 in Los Gatos. She was 93.

Erickson, who lived most of her life in Long Beach and operated an aircraft sales business at Long Beach Airport, had moved to Los Gatos to be close to her sister.

"She has been surrounded by family and friends and the one thing she wanted was to be able to stay in her own home, be in her own bed, and be with the people she loved," her daughter, Kristy Ardizzone, said. "All that happened just the way she wanted and she passed with dignity and grace surrounded by lots of love."

In 1940, London (then Erickson) became the first woman to be recruited into the Civil Air Patrol program at Long Beach's Daugherty Field. During World War II, she was appointed as Squadron Commander for the 6th Ferry Command.

The young pilot was qualified to fly all pursuit planes, the medium-size bombers A-20, A-26 and B-25, the cargo craft DC-3 and C-54 and the mighty B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.

Among her wartime feats in the ferrying service was flying four 2,000-mile trips in five days. She was the only woman during the war to be awarded the Air Medal for her service.
In 1948, she was commissioned as a major in the Air Force Reserve.

The  Woman's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) was disbanded at the end of 1944 after complaints from male pilots that women were taking flights and jobs. In 1971, Congress passed legislation to give veteran status to WASP fliers, and in 2010, President Obama awarded Congressional Gold Medals to surviving WASPs, including London.

"She was so thrilled that all the gals finally got their acknowledgment when they received the Congressional Medal," Ardizzone said. "It was all about them."

Barbara met her husband, Jack London Jr., during the war when they were both pilots. After their marriage, they operated United States Aviation, a flight school, until the Korean War. He preceded her in death by 40 years and one day.

London would go on to found and operate Barney Frazier Aircraft, Inc., in Long Beach with her younger daughter, Ardizzone. Her older daughter, Terry London Rinehart, is a commercial pilot.
London also was active in the Powder Puff Derby, an airplane race series for female pilots. She served as secretary of the organization and raced herself for a number of years.

In 2006, a street near the airport was named Barbara London Drive, and she served as both an official and unofficial community advocate for the Long Beach Airport for years. She figures prominently in the airport's history exhibits along with other great Long Beach-based female pilots, including Gladys O'Donnell and Kay Daugherty.

There will not be a formal memorial or service, following her wishes, Ardizzone said.
"She just wanted people to know how much she loved being a part of the Long Beach community and especially the LB airport," Ardizzone said. "She was such an amazing mentor and supporter and touched so many people's lives."

Staff writers Harry Saltzgaver and Tim Grobaty contributed to this report.
____

v/r article respectfully reposted by Wings Across America as written

*additional quote from "Forgotten Wings: An Oral History of Women Airforce Service Pilots, the WASPs" Copyright 1992:  Gail Gutierrez and  Oral History Program California State University, Fullerton
Photo added by Wings Across America

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