Mary Louise Bowden Brown, 43-4 Jan.29, 2013

WASP Mary Louise Bowden Brown, 43-4, took her final earthly flight January 29, 2013.  She was ninety-six.  Today, she is flying higher than she has ever flown.

Born May 16, 1916, in Overbrook, Pennsylvania,  Louise became interested in flying after meeting the pilot/owners of Buck's Airport in Woodruff, New Jersey.  She accepted an invitation to join their flying club, which gave her the opportunity to solo  and build up her hours in a 50 hp Porterfield.

After hearing about the WASP training program, Louise applied and was accepted into the class of 43-4.  Of the 151 women pilots who entered the training program,  Louise was one of 112 women who graduated and earned their silver wings--August 7, 1943.  After graduation, she received Army orders to report to the Ferry Command at Romulus, Michigan. 

As Louise later wrote, * "We flew small planes at first and later larger and faster ones.  Among them the PQ-8 and YPQ-12A.  These were radio controlled.  Flee Wings built 12 of the YPQ and I delivered two from Wright Field.  Flew the PT-19, BT-15, AT-6 and C-467 for a white instrument card , them we were ched out in the five single fighters, P-39, P-63, P-40, P-47 and P-51, the Fairchild P-24, a Norseman, and a Howard."

After the WASP were deactivated (Dec. 20, 1944), Louise earned her instructor's rating, single and multi-engine ratings and taught flying for six years. Louise became a chaplain at a 125-bed hospital in Fulton, Kentucky, where she  ministered to young girls who were  serving time in the Hickman, Kentucky jail.  

Louise became a missionary for the Presbyterian Church, and  for 21 years, served at a 525 bed hospital in Maharastra, West India.  From West India, she transferred to Kathmandu, Nepal, where she served for four years.

After retiring, Louise  married Sam Brown and returned to Kentucky.  After Sam passed away,  she earned her black belt in Tae Kwan Do. A short time later, she moved to New Hampshire to be near her sister.   She  was a resident of The Kendel Nurshing Home in Hanover, New Hampshire and is survied by nephew Gordon Edgan and wife, Janis.

Mary Lousie Bowden Brown was an extraordinary patriot, a Christian soldier and a fearless pioneer.    May God bless all of those whose lives she touched-- and those of us who never had the opportunity to meet her, and are touched as well. 

 The Dash Between 

Respectfully posted by Nancy Parrish
* from "OUT OF THE BLUE AND INTO HISTORY" by WASP Betty Turner

Frances Caroline Gilbert Johannessen, 44-W-4, Jan. 7, 2013

Frances Caroline (Gilbert) Johannessen 44-W-4

Fran, born Oct. 28, 1920 in San Antonio TX, took her last flight Jan. 7, 2013 in Novato CA.

While attending college on a music scholarship, she had the opportunity to take flying lessons. Her love of flying enabled her to serve as a WASP, during which she met the love of her life, Norm (John Norman Johannessen), at Merced (CA) AAF. Norm had opted for pilot training after serving 50 missions as a nose gunner/bombardier in B-17s out of North Africa.

After the war they married and settled in Huntington NY. Fran (or Tex, as she was known to many of her friends there) was a wonderful mother to her 3 children. She played the violin in the Huntington Symphony Orchestra along with Norm on the trombone. They joined a bridge club, attended many functions at the Huntington Fire Dept. where Norm volunteered, and took up golf, which became their favorite pastime.

Fran was a Cub Scout den mother, worked for the Huntington School District, took up oil painting, and volunteered driving for Meals on Wheels.

Following Norm’s death, Fran moved to CA to be near her sons Jerry (Chris) in Novato CA and Bob (Carol) in El Sobrante CA. Daughter Jean Skerlong (Joel) lives in Mukilteo WA. Fran also leaves behind five grandsons, Erik, Sean, Michael, Jason and Carl, and one great granddaughter, Claire.

Her family will truly miss her kind smile, her always positive attitude and her exceedingly humble spirit. When the WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, she said she did it just because she wanted to fly!

written by Jerry Johannessen

Emily Porter Kline, 44-1 Dec. 20, 2012

Emily Kline, longtime Kinnelon resident who flew for military during WWII, dies at 92

Thursday, December 20, 2012    Last updated: Thursday December 20, 2012, 10:12 AM

BY  JAY LEVIN

STAFF WRITER

The Record

Emily Kline, among a select group of patriotic women who flew military aircraft during World War II, died Friday. The former Kinnelon resident was 92.

"At first everybody thought we were a joke," Mrs. Kline said in a 2004 interview with the Star-Ledger. She was referring to the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs.
"Eventually we earned the respect of the people who mattered: other pilots."
The volunteer WASPs — there were 1,074 — flew all types of planes for the Army Air Forces, filling in stateside for male pilots sent to combat. They are considered pioneers now but were treated as second-class at the time. The women stitched their own uniforms and paid their own way to training bases.

Mrs. Kline, then Emily Porter, learned to fly while working as a secretary for Sinclair Flying Service in Muskegon, Mich. She spent a good deal of her WASP tenure as an engineering test pilot at an Army air base in Greenville, Miss., said Nancy Parrish, director of Wings Across America, a multimedia and digital history project devoted to the WASP.  Parrish, whose mother, Deanie Parrish, served in Mississippi with Mrs. Kline, estimated that 200 to 230 members are still living.

The WASPs gained military veteran status in 1977 and were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010 at the Capitol. Mrs. Kline attended the ceremony and displayed her medal in her living room.
"She was thrilled the WASPs had finally gotten recognition from the government," her son Thomas said.

Mrs. Kline lived in Kinnelon for 45 years and worked in her husband Charles' marketing consultant firm. Charles Kline died in 1992.

"At 82, when most people downsize, Mom decided to supersize, so she sold her home in Kinnelon and purchased a 100-acre farm in Frelinghuysen Township," her son said. "In part, she was trying to get back to her roots — she grew up on a farm — but she liked the open space and tranquility of Warren County."

Mrs. Kline managed the production of hay but contracted out the heavy work.

She is survived by her children, Philip Kline of Downingtown, Pa., John Kline of Calgary, Alberta, Caroline Sassone of Easton, Pa., and Thomas Kline of Kinnelon; a brother, Daniel Porter, of Bayfield, Colo.; 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

___________________
 respectfully reposted 1/22/13
 ___________________
The following addition is from WASP Betty Turner's "OUT OF THE BLUE AND INTO HISTORY"pp. 283, 284.  Emily, in her own words:

"I was born on November 8, 1920, in Polkton Township, Kent County, Michigan.... It was the Great Depression.  I graduated from a one-room schoolhouse, with an out-door pump and outhouse. There were eight in my class; only two went on to high school.  To hold on to the farm, all workable members worked.  My brother was in the CCC, my father worked for the WPA, and my mother was a practical nurse.  I was the oldest child home, thus I worked for my father doing chores and fieldwork, and for my mother, doing house chores, and proudly made homemade bread, for four years."

"After Pearl Harbor, I volunteered in the motor pool for the American Red Cross, and as a Nurses Aide in St. Mary Hospital.  One day, I decided to learn to fly.  Perhaps it was the fellow I was dating, an Air Force pilot..."

Emily went into the WASP program on August 7, 1943 as a member of class 44-W-1.  After graduation, she was assigned to Greenville Army Air Base as an engineering test pilot.  While stationed at Greenville, she had two temporary assignments: OCS (Officers Candidate School) at Orlando, Florida and an advanced instrument course taught at Avenger Field, Texas.

After the WASP were disbanded, Emily enrolled at the University of Colorado, Bolder, where she met Navy Lieutenant Charles Kline, on a blind date.  Two years later, they were married.

After loosing Charlie in April of 1992, Emily began volunteer work at her church and in 1994, for the WASP organization.  She served as Region 1 Director 1994-1996, Treasurer, 1996-1998 and Secretary 1998-2000.

God bless Emily's family and all of those who knew her.

respectfully added by
Wings Across America

Mary Jo Farley Tilton, 43-4 Dec. 2, 2012

Reposted from the Corpus Christi Caller:

MARY JOSEPHINE TILTON

Lt. Col. Mary Josephine Farley Tilton USAF retired, passed away Sunday evening the 2nd of December 2012 in Corpus Christ.

Josephine (Mary Jo) was born in Aransas Pass, Texas on the 18th of January 1922. While in kindergarten she saw a WWI era biplane with a machine gun mounted behind the propeller and told her mother 'I want to be a pilot.'

She started taking flying lessons after graduating from Aransas Pass High School in 1940, while attending Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. She worked as a cashier at the Rialto Theater while in Aransas Pass to pay for flying lessons from Frank Smith and flew out of cow pastures near the carbon plant between Aransas Pass and Rockport. The day she passed her tests and received her private pilot license in Corpus Christi, she flew her grandmother, Alice Eleanor (Curry) Farley back to Aransas Pass as her first passenger.

Mary Jo working on an aircraft engine in 1943

Mary Jo began working as an aircraft engine mechanic at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station after the war began in 1941. Soon she became a Link Trainer Instructor, teaching instrument flying. When a hurricane in 1942 disrupted communications along the Texas coast, she was assigned to fly messages from Corpus Christi to Houston at the request of Western Union.   At the end of 1942,  she  received a letter from Jacqueline Cochran about a new program for women pilots in Sweetwater, Texas under the supervision of the U.S. Army Air Forces. called the Women Airforce Service Pilots, W.A.S.P.   These were the first US women military pilots. Air Force Secretary, Michael Donley described them as 'trailblazers' and said from their time forward 'women would forever be a part of United States military aviation.'

There were 25,000 women that applied and Mary Jo was one of the 1074 that were accepted and graduated. She arrived at Avenger Field in February 1943. She successfully completed the training and received her wings as a member of the class of 43-W-4 on the 7th of August 1943. This was the first class to start training and graduate at Avenger Field in Sweetwater.

Mary Jo's first assignment was with the 5th Ferry Group at Love Field, Dallas. She was stationed in Sacramento and Victoria as well. She also towed targets for target practice. She was transferred to the U.S. Army Navigation School in San Marcos in September 1944 where she trained navigators on training flights.

She continued serving in San Marcos until the WASPs were deactivated in December 1944. Hap Arnold, Commanding General of the USAAF, in 1944 said to the WASP, 'you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your brothers. If ever there was any doubt in anyone's mind that women can become skillful pilots, the WASP have dispelled that doubt'I salute you and all WASPs.'

It was not until 1977 that Mary Jo and the WASP received veteran status for their service in WWII.
The United States Air Force offered the WASP commissions in 1950 and Mary Jo accepted a commission as 1st Lieutenant. She was recalled to active duty in 1952 because of the Korean War. She served as Assistant Base Adjutant at Furstenfeldbruck Air Base in Germany, later with the 322nd Air Division at Wiesbaden, as well as at other bases in the states. She retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1982 after 25 years of active and reserve service with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

Mary Jo was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004 for her service in the WASP. President Barack Obama signed Public Law 111-40 on July 1st, 2009 awarding W.A.S.P.  the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded in the United States.  Mary Jo received her medal in 2010 but was unable to attend the ceremony at the United States Capitol.

Mary Jo was proud to have served with WASP, especially the recognition received from those that followed the trail that she helped blaze. Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot a space shuttle (Discovery) and first woman space shuttle commander (Columbia) said, 'The WASP were and still are my role models.' Lt Col. Nicole Malachowski, the first woman Thunderbird pilot, said 'I know I was able to be a woman fighter pilot'and a woman Thunderbird pilot because of the WASP.' She said they 'redefined what's possible for women who want to serve their country.'

Mary Jo worked with American Airlines at LaGuardia, in New York as well as in El Paso, Syracuse and San Diego after WWII, but was not allowed to be a pilot because she was a woman. She loved flying and found other ways to satisfy that desire including flying with an air circus. She had many exciting flying experiences and adventures to fill her memories.

Mary Jo received her B.S. in Education from Midwestern University in 1965. She taught in elementary schools until she retired from the school district in Mary Esther, Florida.  She was always an avid collector with many interests.

During her retirement she remained active with arts and crafts, and at 75 she was still playing tennis and collecting speeding tickets. Prior to complications with Alzheimer's and return to Texas she had been a member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Chapter No. 202 order of the Eastern Stars, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

There has always been a smile on Mary Jo's face and she laughed at her problems. She will be missed by those that knew and loved her.

Mary Jo was preceded in death by husband, Master Sgt. Forrest Glenn 'Jim' Tilton, her parents, Cyrus Eugene and Ann Pricilla (Sorell) Farley, her brother Milton Eugene Farley, and sister Roberta Cecile Melson. She is survived by her sister, Anna Louise Baker of Corpus Christ and nieces and nephews.

Graveside Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, December 7, 2012 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

She requested that donations be made to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina or the Shrine Crippled Children's Hospital in lieu of flowers.

Originally published Thursday, December 06, 2012
Respectfully edited for accuracy and photos added by Wings Across America

Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain, 44-W-1T Nov. 22, 2012

Born Lelia Pearl Bragg on April 29, 1909 on Chestnut Mountain, Summers County, West Virginia, the former Fairbanks, Alaska resident took her last flight on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012, at Richland Place nursing home in Nashville, Tenn. She was survived by her son, Nashville lawyer/college professor Lewis L. Laska. She was the last survivor of the eight children born at home to John W. And Lanie C. Bragg. She was a pioneer aviatrix and educator.

Pearl learned to fly in a Kinner Fleet bi-plane in 1933 and held a pilot’s certificate until she was 97. Prior to World War II, the federal government established the Civilian Flight Training Program, a back-door method to train pilots for military service. Because of its name, it had to allow participation of women and black men, both generally thought incapable of learning to fly in that era. Pearl was given the black students to instruct and each one she taught received his wings.

Pearl’s regular occupation was as a public school teacher from the age of 17 until her retirement in 1972. She was a W.A.S.P (Women Airforce Service Pilot) trainee during the war and was honorably discharged. She also served as a cryptologist at the Pentagon where she received the first message from Guadalcanal.

 In 1945, following her dream to be a full-time pilot, Pearl moved to Nome, Alaska and worked as a flight instructor and bush pilot. The next year she became the first woman to solo a single-engine airplane (a 1939 Piper J4) up the Alaska Highway. The FAA recognized her achievements as a pioneer Alaska aviator in 2006. Scorning the belief that Alaska Natives (Eskimos, etc.) were unable to learn flying, she taught many, including Holger Jorgensen, who became the first Native hired as a pilot by a scheduled air line.

In 1946, Pearl married Lewis Lincoln Laska, a merchant and fur dealer in McGrath, Alaska. Their son was born the next year. Lew, from a pioneer family, died four months later at the age of 50. Pearl continued to operate her husband’s store and parka factory for another four years. She returned to teaching in Homer, and then Fairbanks, Alaska. She continued to teach flying on the side. Her ground-based hobby was sewing fur parkas, kuspuks and dolls. After several decades of summer school work, Pearl received an undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska in 1955. She received a master’s degree from Miami University of Ohio in 1959 and her thesis was a history of civilian aviation in Alaska. A sabbatical leave spent at George Peabody College (now a part of Vanderbilt University), Nashville, in 1963-64 qualified her as the first special education teacher in Fairbanks.

The proud owner of a 1947 model Cessna 140 (and, later a Cessna 150), she flew these planes to the Lower 48 on numerous occasions. She flew several times in the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race ("Powder Puff Derby"). In later life she married a fellow school teacher, Ed Chamberlain, and they lived in California until his death in 1987. Thereafter, she drove her pickup to Fairbanks where she lived on her own, until she came to Nashville in 2007 to live with her son.

Gracious and even-tempered, Pearl allowed no nonsense when it came to flying, but asserted that every hour spent in the air gave a person an extra day on earth.

A life member of the 99's (the association of women pilots), she did not follow the cult of Amelia Earhart (ten years her senior) whom she met but did not know personally. "She got lost," was Pearl’s final assessment of "AE" whom she recognized as an important pathfinder in women’s aviation. The wearing of slacks was Amelia’s greatest contribution to women, insisted Pearl, who said it was just as easy to fly in a skirt as well. Pearl insisted that Jacqueline Cochran, a few years older than she, and Jerri Cobb, much younger, were the best women pilots of the era.

In addition to her son, Pearl is survived by daughter-in-law, Nancy Laska and granddaughter Jennava Laska, of Los Angeles, Calif. Condolences may be sent to 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203. At Pearl’s request, no services will be held. Her family gratefully acknowledges the tender care offered by the staff of Richland Place and Alive Hospice. Special thanks go to Lorenda Patterson and Kathleen Harding for the personal care they offered Pearl in the last five years as she lived in an apartment at her son’s law office.

Her family asks that any donations in her memory be made to the Baptist church of one’s choice or the National W.A.S.P. Museum at P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, Texas 79556.

Mildred Inks Davidson Dalrymple, 44-W-4 Nov.

Millie.  
Millie Dalrymple.  
Mildred Inks Davidson Dalrymple, WASP  44-W-4

Millie was a WASP like no other, but that describes most of the WASP I know.  She was spunky, optimistic and determined.  If you asked her, she’d tell you right up front she was “bossy,” but for me, Millie was also a unique kind of cheerleader, and I will so miss her encouraging words. 

Millie took her final flight on Wednesday, sitting at a table in the dining room at Westminster Manor in Austin, Texas.  She was telling one of her famous stories.  She loved to tell stories.  I hope she would smile if I said to her “and most of them were true.”  Now that I really think about it, no, she would disagree; look directly into my eyes and say,   “ALL of them were true.”  I’d be the one smiling.

In all of her important works—contracts, articles, and honors, she was ‘Mildred,’ and in 2009, when she completed her self published autobiography,  she signed it,  quite properly, with ALL of her names: ‘Mildred Inks Davidson Dalrymple.’  However, she titled it simply:  “Millie’s Milestones.”

I first met Millie at one of the WASP conventions—I don’t remember how far back.  Millie was a classmate of my mom’s,   so, there was an instant friendship.

After that WASP Convention and several other events honoring the WASP, I began working on my Wings Across America project.  It didn’t take long to convince mom to join me, and when Millie  heard what we were up to, she was the first WASP to ask, “What can I do to help?”   Millie became our ‘test subject’.  She was our very first WASP interviewee.

We borrowed a camera from my old PBS station.  We also borrowed my friend, Joani, who was head of production.  Down to Austin we went, the three of us-- setting up equipment for the first time in Millie’s den.  We set up lights, microphones and a huge camera.  Millie wasn’t the least bit phased.

It was a delightful experience.  Millie was delightful. 

From then on, she was one of our best WASP Champions!  Mom and I are still both so grateful for her friendship and her steadfast and vocal support. 

Mildred Inks Davidson Dalrymple.    Indelible.  Unforgettable. 

If you visit the  "FlyGirl's WASP Exhibit," you'll see Millie's inspirational words etched on a panel that says “Passing it On.”  I include it now, because that is why she did the interview in the first place—to pass it on and to inspire others.

     “I was the absolutely minimum of everything that you could be to get into the WASP.    I thought I could, and I applied myself and I made it. I think anybody who really wants to do   something very bad, if they work at it, and they focus, and they concentrate, they can do it.”

                 Mildred Davidson Dalrymple, 44-4

God bless her family -- and all of us who were touched by this larger-than-life WASP.


Services for Mildred Inks Davidson Dalrymple will be

Tuesday, Nov. 20th, 10 am
Covenant Presbyterian Church
3003 Northland
Austin, Texas


Just in from the Austin American Statesman--

Millie Dalrymple Millie Dalrymple, a member of the "Greatest Generation" who served her country and her family in war and peace, is now at rest. Millie was born on February 14, 1920, to Roy Banford Inks and Myrtle Louise Moss. She died peacefully on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at the age of 92. 

At birth Mildred Banford Inks weighed only a few ounces over three pounds and was placed in an improvised incubator - a shoe box with a lamp. Her prospects for survival were slim. She not only survived, but went on to become a strong life force, impacting many people and achieving many goals, often as a pioneer. That she survived, and ultimately thrived, may in part be due to her parents' stock. 

Her father was Roy B. Inks, a business man in Texas who helped establish the Highland Lakes, one of which is named after him. Her mother, Myrtle Moss Inks, gave her some of the Moss family stock, pioneers of Texas with roots to the Battle of San Jacinto and a family ranch west of Llano. She grew up in Llano, Texas, where she enjoyed a good life learning, among other things, how to play tennis with an unorthodox serve and many improvised self-taught shots. However, the Great Depression, the early death of her father, and World War II changed things dramatically. 

She graduated from the University of Texas, took an editing job with the state legislature, and married a B-17 bomber pilot. After his plane was shot down and he was listed as missing in action in Europe, she applied to train to become a "WASP" (Women Airforce Service Pilots). She and other courageous women flew military airplanes stateside, putting in break-in hours, towing targets, transporting military people, and so on. Her log book showed many hours piloting our heaviest bombers - B-17's and B-24's. She had many adventures and close calls, but defied the odds again and made it through. 

In the meantime, her brother, Jim Moss Inks, was also shot down and missing in action. Her brother eventually returned home alive. Her husband did not. 

After the war Millie married Edwin Dalrymple, a friend from Llano who had been a Spitfire fighter pilot in the war. During their first 20 years of marriage they raised three children while Edwin was an FBI agent, first in Washington DC and later in Houston. They moved to Austin in 1967 and were married for 60 years before his death in 2006. 

Millie worked part time as a substitute teacher while the kids were growing up in Houston. In Austin, she worked full-time to help earn money and channel her energy. In those jobs, she again showed her pioneering spirit, including setting up and managing the first word processing center in Austin. She also took up tennis again, winning dozens of tournaments and eventually achieving a national ranking as a senior doubles player. 

Later in life, she became a sought after speaker, describing her adventures as a WASP. In 2010, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her service as a WASP which she received in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.

 Throughout her life she was known not only for taking charge and tackling problems head-on, but also for taking care of many family members and others. At one point when the family lived in Houston, she cared for a household that included her mother, her husband, her three children, and her brother's children Roy and Suzanne Inks. 

The last few years of her life, she became the one needing care, which she sometimes accepted with grace and sometimes fought with a rebellious streak. 

She will be missed. 

She is survived by her son Dennis Dalrymple and his wife Billie, daughter Gail Dalrymple and her husband Tom Richardson, and son Tom Dalrymple and his wife Elisa. In addition, her survivors include grandchildren Neil Dalrymple, Holly Dalrymple, Travis Dalrymple, Scott Richter, Tracy Eldridge, and Peter Richter, step-grandchildren David and Laura Richardson, and great-grand children - Austin Dalrymple, Reese Dalrymple, Katherine Eldridge, and Millie Eldridge. She is also survived by Gail Botello, her caretaker, who gave her unconditional love and care for the last few years of her life, for which the family is very grateful. 

Millie will lie in state Monday, November 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, North Lamar. 

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, November 20th at 10:00 am at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 3003 Northland Drive, Austin, Texas. A reception will follow at the church. A graveside service and burial will follow later that day at the City Cemetery in Llano, Texas. Those who wish to commemorate Millie's passing with a donation may contribute in her memory to either the Llano Library, 102 E. Haynie, Llano, TX 78643 or the National WASP WWII Museum, 210 Avenger Field Road, Sweetwater, TX 79556. 

Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com
Published in Austin American-Statesman on November 18, 2012

Barbara Manchester Robinson, 44-1 Nov 2, 2012

ROBINSON, Barbara Manchester, age 91, of Tullahoma, passed this life on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at her residence after an extended illness.

Mrs. Robinson was born on Oct. 17, 1921, in Batavia, New York, to the late Ward Beecher Manchester II and Jennie Adele George Manchester. She graduated from Batavia High School in 1939 and from Russell Sage College of Women in 1943. While attending Russell Sage College, she was a Civil Air Patrol pilot by the age of 19. She completed her Commercial Pilot’s License in February 1942 with 200 hours of flight time. Her goal was to train male pilots for the war effort.

Barbara joined the Women AirForce Service Pilots (WASP) in August of 1943 after receiving an offer from Jackie Cochran. She graduated from WASP training in Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, Class 44-1 and was assigned to the Army Air Force Weather Wing, flying a Twin Beech to 33 weather stations each month. Barbara was honorably discharged on Dec. 20, 1944, after flying about 1,000 hours. While serving in the armed forces, Mrs. Robinson received an American Campaign Medal and a World War II Victory Medal. She later received a Congressional Gold Medal for her service during World War II.

She married her husband William on May 23, 1945 and June 6. 1945. Barbara helped her husband of 67 years graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and joined him on various USAF assignments until his retirement in 1969.

Barbara was involved in many organizations. She was a member of the St. Barnabas Church choir for 37 years, a member of the Altar Guild for 32 years, having chaired it twice, a regular and board member of the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center, Daughters of the American Revolution member, Heirloom Quilters Guild member, AEDC Women’s Club member, and a Republican National Committee member. She sang in the Tullahoma Civic Choir and the Women’s Barber Shop group, “The Barbersharps.”

She was an artist who used many different mediums to depict the beauty she saw in the world. She painted portraits and landscapes in oils and acrylics. She used her sewing abilities to make clothing, embroidering, counted cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint and quilting for which she received numerous awards. She also was an artist in lapidary and silver smithing, stained- glass work and ceramics. She enjoyed camping and bird watching as well.

A memorial service for Mrs. Robinson will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Tullahoma  with Rev. Michael Murphy officiating. For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Barnabas Building Fund, P.O. Box 446, Tullahoma, Tenn. 37388 and the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots Museum at Avenger Field, P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, Texas 79556.

Mrs. Robinson was preceded in death by her parents, Ward Beecher Manchester II and Jennie Adele George Manchester; and two brothers, Ward Beecher Manchester III and John Alan Manchester. She is survived by her husband, Major William C. Robinson, USAF Ret.; five children, William Stephen Robinson (Sharon), Alan Ward Robinson (Sharon), Donna Robinson Sanders, Thomas Edward Robinson (Tracy), and Judith Robinson King; 15 grandchildren, Stephen Anthony Robinson (Christine), Karen Marie Baker (Cole), Kristen Terese Goodman (Mike), Richard Michael Robinson (Sloan), Anastasia Robinson Woo, Vanessa Robinson Woo, Yancie Abbott Sanders, Elizabeth Grace Carr, Cynthia Marie Robinson, Timothy Andrew Robinson, David Matthew King, Donavon William King, Lillian Judith King, Jeffrey Riffe (Cynthia), and Franklin Ray Sanders, Jr.; 12 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grand-children.

Kilgore Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

www.kilgorefuneralhometullahoma.com

 v/r reposted from the  Nov. 13, 2012 edition of the Tullahoma News

 _____________________________

The following respectfully written and posted by Nancy Parrish

In 2009, Barbara's husband, Bill, created a wonderful tribute to Barbara's service and to the WASP at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma.  His devotion to her and to shining a light on her service in WWII was heartwarming.   I had the honor to meet Bill and Barbie in 2010, as the WASP gathered in DC for the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony.  They were a wonderful pair-- and on this occasion, Bill was at her side, flying in the Wingman position. 

When Bill called to share the sad news of her passing, he added, "We didn't say goodbye,"  and then explained that "I'll Be Seeing You" was 'their song,' when they fell in love.  Do you know the words?  I'd like to share them ... because for Bill, their love story goes on-- as he said to Barbie in their last conversation, "Be seeing you." 

Chorus: "I'll Be Seeing You"

I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you 

God bless Bill and the Robinson family-- and all of those who have been touched by this sweet WASP.