Dori Marland Martin, 43-W-8 | April 22, 2013

“I wanted to do something in the war.  I didn’t know what, but I wanted to do something...because all of my boyfriends, everybody I knew was doing something.   I didn’t just want to sit home and model or be an actress.    I tried to donate blood, and they said, ‘Well, you’re not old enough’.   Then my father told me about the WASP , and I thought, “Well, that’s perfect.  That would be perfect.  I had several boyfriends who were airline Captains.  I had excellent instruction!”

 WASP Dori Marland Martin, who traded her career as a Hollywood actress to fly for her country as a WASP, has flown her last mission. On April 22, 2013, she turned her face to the sun, smiled, and quietly slipped away.   

____

 She was born Dori Marie Jugle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 14, 1921 to Richard Marland Jugel, President of ABCO Ball Mill (a mining machinery company) and his wife, Marie Henkel Jugle.    Dori never stayed longer than two years in one school, as the family traveled back and forth from Pennsylvania to Colorado.  Between elementary and high school, she skipped three grades. Not wanting her to graduate too early, school officials suggested she be kept out of school each time she was advanced a grade.  

During her time off, Dori fell in love with horses and, at age fourteen, she became a champion rider on her horse, ‘Firebird’.  She rode in the hunting, jumping, bareback and English categories, and was  Colorado State Champion  for the ‘under eighteen’ category  for three years in a row.   Eventually, the family moved to Chicago, where Dori spent her last two years of high school,  swimming with the Lake Shore A.C. Water Ballet Team.  

After high school graduation, in August of 1940, Dori won the Catalina Swim Suits  national competition for the “Most Beautiful Figure.”  The prize included a trip to California, where she enrolled as a full time student at the Pasadena Playhouse.  She took her father’s middle name as her official stage name and became Dori Marland.   She spent two years learning the craft of acting  and working at Paramount Pictures.  During her time off,  she taught riding.  

After America was attacked at Pearl Harbor, Dori wanted to do something to help the war effort.  Like many other Hollywood starlets,  she agreed to pose for a 'pin-up picture' as a morale booster for the troops.  However, she was desperate to do more.   Her father told her about a training program for women pilots to fly for the Army Air Forces.  She immediately returned to Denver and began taking flying lessons from two boyfriends, both Captains with Continental Air Lines.  After soloing in a Luscomb, she continued building up her hours.  Once she met the requirements, she applied for the WASP training program, was interviewed in Denver,  and was accepted.   

She reported to Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas right after the Fourth of July in 1943 as a member of class 43-W-8.  After completing six months of flight training, Dori and 48 of her classmates graduated in the first ceremony held inside the new gymnasium at Avenger Field.  It was also the first time that graduates sat on the stage.  Although no band played and there was no ‘pass in review’, the graduates were the first class of WASP to wear the newly designed official Women Airforce Service Pilots silver wings.  

After graduation, Dori was sent to Douglas Army Air Field, Arizona,  the largest twin engine advanced training base in the United States.  Her jobs included engineering testing and,  as she later described it,  “going places and bringing planes,  that were wrecked or just barely making it,  back to Douglas to be repaired,  and administrative flying--flying Generals around who want to see things.” 

While at Douglas, she was sent on temporary assignment to Orlando, Florida, where she completed the officer’s training program.  Eventually, she was transferred from Douglas to Kingman, Arizona.  There, she completed the B-26 transition training and flew tow target missions for air-to-air gunnery practice.  Her last duty station was Luke Field, Arizona, where she flew single engine trainers.

After the WASP were disbanded, Dori returned to Denver and took a job modeling designer fashions.  On New Year’s Eve, she met Colonel Herbert Morgan, WWII Flying Tiger Ace, former Aide to General Chenault and the Commanding Officer at Casper, Wyoming AAB.   They were married in the Lowry AFB Chapel in Denver, Colorado in June of 1945.  Eventually, her husband became Commanding Officer at Clovis Army Air Base, New Mexico, which was the largest B-29 Operational Training Unit in the United States.  From Clovis, her husband was transferred to the Pentagon, so they moved to Washington. 

Shortly afterwards, Dori returned to Denver, ending her marriage.  She then began touring with an acting company, performing at air bases in the Rocky Mountain Region.   

“I played the ingénue,  of course.  And one night, one of the key characters didn’t show up (one of the older ladies), so I took that part.  And I had an old wig and the wrinkles on my face, and I was just horrified.  Nobody looked at me.  Nobody said ‘hello’.  None of the boys paid any attention to me.  I just was really horrified, so I never played her again!  From there on, I stuck with the ingénue.”

Eventually, she moved back to  California, where she took a modelling job at I. Magnin & Co., which included modelling hats for the artists to draw for magazine ads. 

Dori's  father encouraged her to continue flying and,  in 1947,  friend Jo Stafford asked her to pilot her plane in the Cleveland Air Races.   She agreed and entered the race.  She was in the lead when the plane had engine problems and eventually quit at tree top level.   Dori survived the crash, but never raced again.   

Shortly after the race, Dori married Johnny F. Martin, Chief Test Pilot for Douglas Aircraft.  The couple moved to Muroc, California in the Mojave Desert,  where the Muroc  Dry Lake (now Edwards Air Force Base) was used for flight testing.  Eventually, they moved to Beverly Hills where they enjoyed the Hollywood life style.  The Martins built a home in Rolling Hills and started their family.   Dori became a stay-at-home mom, den mother,  and little league cheerleader for her  two young sons, Richard Joseph and Michael James.  

Eventually, she completed night school courses and earned her real estate license.  She then went to work for Wagenseller & Durst Securities Corporation,  managing high-rise office buildings in downtown LA.    When the couple  separated,  Dori and her sons moved to South Pasadena.  

After a fall, a long rehab ended Dori’s career in real estate management.  She called it the toughest time in her life--  caring for her parents, her sons and, as she described it,  she was “very, very broke.”  She pulled herself up by her bootstraps and worked her way back by working the graveyard shift at the US Post Office, sorting mail.   As she later remembered, “I’d eat lunch at three o’clock in the morning in my car in the rain.  I got through it.“ It took her six years.

 Later in her life, she began traveling, spending time with friends in Europe and the US.   On a short visit to Sun City West, Arizona, she decided to stay for a while--which turned into twenty-seven years.  Just a quick bus trip to Las Vegas, Dori loved the area, and continued to ‘enjoy the ride,’ entering and winning blackjack tournaments,  making new friends, and swimming year round. 

In 2001, Wings Across America was privileged to interview Dori at her home in Arizona.  She was a charming, warm, beautiful lady.  During the interview, when  asked what her favorite airplane was, she didn’t hesitate. 

“The B-26.  Some of the men didn’t want to fly it.  They wouldn’t fly it, but I loved it!   The reason I loved it is because it was a real airplane.  You had to fly it.  You couldn’t just sit there like somebody’s grandmother,.... The B-26 was a wonderful plane.”

Just after her service as a WASP, Dori agreed to pose for a picture.  It is fitting to include it here.  

When asked what her favorite word was, she couldn’t pick just one:   “I’d say horses, airplanes, men,  and parties--not necessarily in that order.”

From horsewoman,  to Hollywood starlet, to WASP, Dori Marland Martin was truly one-of-a-kind. Forever the ingenue,  this  actress, model, horsewoman,  and pilot was a true patriot.  She could have stayed in Hollywood and ‘acted’ her way through World War II.  Instead, she learned to fly so that she could serve her country as a WASP.    She dined at the finest Sunset Strip restaurants and lived in the hills overlooking Hollywood, she modeled mink coats and ostrich feathered hats, and she flew the B-26 bomber--nicknamed the  ‘Widowmaker.‘   Her life was a testament to patriotism, hard work, persistence,  and turning set-backs into step-ups.   When she needed to, she made her way through, and she always did it with a smile.

A ceremony celebrating Dori's life will be held at Freedom Inn, Assisted living Residence, in Sun City West, AZ, on May 15, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.   

Memorial donations may be made in Dori's honor to Wings Across America,  the National WASP WWII Museum, or to Sun Cities 4 Paws Rescue, Inc.

God bless those whose lives she touched -- and will touch.

v/r written and posted by Nancy Parrish
Based on Wings Across America’s interview

Jeanne D'Ambly, 43-W-5 | April 12, 2013

WASP Jeanne D'Ambly was born in Philadelphia to Clara Cooper Stratton Perot d'Ambly and Augustus Ernest d'Ambly III.   The young girl grew up and graduated high school in Philadelphia.


Already a licensed pilot, Jeanne became a professional in the visual arts.  During World War II, she interrupted her studies at Philadelphia's Museum School of Art to volunteer to serve her country.  Already a licensed, experienced pilot, Jeanne put her studies on hold and applied to become a WASP.  She was accepted into Women Airforce Service Pilots training Class 43-W- 5.  

Jeanne and 126 other young women pilots arrived at the   318th Army Air Force Flying Training Detachment, Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas on March 26, 1943.  After completing over five months of flying training, she was one of eighty-five who graduated, earning their silver wings.

After graduation Jeanne was sent to Dodge City Army Air Base, Dodge City, Kansas where she completed  B-26 transition flight training.  She was then transferred to the Flexible Gunnery School at Harlingen Army Air Field, Harlingen, Texas, where she flew B-26 tow target missions, training gunners for combat.

After the WASP were disbanded and World War II over,  Jeanne competed in the 1948 "Powder Puff Derby."   accepted a commission in the newly formed United States Air Force.  Subsequent service included assignments in public relations and intelligence during the Korean War. Discharged from the military after earning the rank of captain, she continued federal services as a civilian air traffic control specialist.  She was stationed at Albuquerque, El Paso, Yuma, Palmdale terminal and for ten years at Los Angeles LAX.  She retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1983.

In addition to her career in the aviation field, she worked as a commercial artist, model, welder, charter pilot and guest house operator. She had a lifetime interest in art and accomplished many works in multi media. 

Since 1977, Jeanne was a resident of Leisure World in Seal Beach, California. In recent years at Long Beach she devoted time to bike riding and competitive swimming, winning several gold medals; other pastimes included studies at Golden West College.

She is survived by her nephews John P. d'Ambly and his wife Karen of Hackettstown, New Jersey and Jeffrey T. d'Ambly and his wife Linda of Raynham Massachusetts and a cousin, Davis d'Ambly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


A graveside service was held April 17th at Pacific View Memorial Park.


sources: Original Obituary
Wings Across America

Edith Smith Beal, 44-W-7 | April 24, 2013

Edith was born on July 15, 1916, in Kirkland, N.Y., the daughter of W. Carlton and Edith F. Munger Smith. She graduated from Buffalo State Teacher's College and studied Art at Pratt Institute.

After teaching for three years and learning to fly an airplane,   In 1944 Edith applied for and was accepted into a flying training program to teach female pilots to fly military aircraft.  She then paid her way to the flying training base at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.  She was one of ninety-eight young women pilots who became  members of class 44-W-7.

Edith was one of only fifty-nine trainees who successfully completed the seven months of military flight training. On September 8, 1944, Edith graduated and received her silver WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) wings.  After graduation, she was assigned to Eagle Pass Army Air Base, Eagle Pass, Texas.  While at Eagle Pass, Edith flew AT-6’s for Advanced Gunnery School, towing targets to train cadets in gunnery training.

During her service at Eagle Pass, Edith met Flight Instructor Donald Ivan Beal, from South Portland, Maine. The couple began dating and, after the WASP were disbanded, they were married on Feb. 10, 1945. Together they raised their four children and operated Sandy Cove Cottages for over twenty years,  before retiring to Florida to enjoy their ‘golden years’. During those years, Edith took up her artist's brush again, painting in water-colors.

Edith  passed away on April 24, 2013 at her home after a short illness.

She was a member of the First Congregational UCC Church of Bridgton, Maine.   She was predeceased by her parents,  her husband of fifty-three years,  a sister (Frances Adams),  and a brother (Charles Munger Smith).  She is survived by her four children:   Kathy Bartke and husband Hal;  Carol Riley;   Jon Beal and wife Hope;  Nat Beal and companion,  Jane;  thirteen grandchildren;  and eleven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service to honor  Edith’s  life was held at First Congregational Church in Bridgton, Maine on Monday, May 13, at 5 p.m.

Donations in Edith’s memory may be made to the Donald I. Beal Memorial Fund of Bridgton Scholarship Foundation.


v/r re-posted by Nancy Parrish  from official obit  (WASP content added) 

Hazel Pracht Caldwell, 43-W-4 Feb. 3, 2013

On February 3,  2013, America said farewell to another  of its courageous, patriotic World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots,  (WASP) Hazel Wilfred Pracht Caldwell.

Florine Phillips Maloney, 44-W-4 April 3, 2013

“If I had my ‘druthers’,  I’d rather be in an airplane, but sailing is very close to it.  I like to say that I traded my wings for sails.”    Florine Phillips Maloney

On April 3, 2013,  WASP  Florine Phillips Maloney (WASP, 44-4)  traded her ‘sails’  for her final pair of ‘wings’.   

Florine was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 14, 1920, the second of three children.  She described her childhood as a happy one, raised by a single mother and surrounded by an extended family of cousins. 

During high school, Florine became interested in journalism, working on the school paper and her high school yearbook.  Following graduation, she entered the University of Chicago but soon transferred to a business college. Upon  completing the coursework there,  she became a steno typist and eventually worked for American Airlines as a reservation agent on the midnight to eight am shift. 

With just a little encouragement from her brother, who was in pilot training with the Army Air Forces following his attendance at West Point,   Florine began taking flying lessons at a small airport near her home.  Eventually,  American Airlines transferred her to Love Field, Dallas, Texas.  It was there that she heard the word “WASP” for the first time.  After discovering what it meant, she immediately applied to enter the flight training program required to become a WASP and was accepted. 

She arrived at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas on November 1, 1943, together with 103 other hopeful young women pilots.  Less than 2 months after arriving for training, she was granted leave for 48 hours to travel to Love Field to marry Lt. Robert Mancib.  

After seven months of Army Air Force flight training, she and 51 of her classmates graduated on May 23, 1944 and received their silver WASP wings.  Proudly in attendance at her graduation: her mother, her  brother (an Army Air Force pilot), and her sister, Rosalie, marching in review as a member of class 44-W-9.  

Florine’s Army orders sent her to Love Field, Dallas, Texas, where she was assigned to fly with the Fifth Ferrying Group.  She ferried AT-6’s from the factory to training bases and points of embarkation. She was transferred to Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, where she primarily flew AT-10’s as an administrative pilot.   Her most vivid memory of her flying assignments there was flying a Norden Norseman,  fitted out as a hospital transport,  to San Antonio with a soldier in traction, attended by nurses and doctors.  

After the WASP were deactivated, Florine, now divorced, joined her sister, Rosalie,  and applied to the American Red Cross for duty overseas.  The two sisters spent almost two years in Naples, Italy, running the American Red Cross Club Division.  

 After returning to the States, she met and married Tom Carley.  As Florine later remembered, “We had a lot in common.  He had an airplane and I had wings.”    They had two children:  Keith Maxwell Carley and Laura Phillips Carley.  Soon after their tenth anniversary, Tom passed away.  While raising their children and finishing the house they had started building, Florine married Howard Scaife and became a step mom to his two children.  Following Howard’s death,  Florine became quite a sailor, sailing to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Tahiti, and eventually to Guatemala.  

After returning to the States, Florine  fell in love and married another sailor, Mac Maloney, who was a retired Marine Colonel and successful author.  She spent many of her last years copy- editing  Mac’s book,  “Chapman’s Piloting”,  the ‘Small Boater’s Bible’. 

The last few years found Florine and Mac living near the water and enjoying  trips on their  38’ trawler named ‘Leeway.’   

Surrounded by many challenges in her life, Florine always remained positive:   “I guess I’ve always known that God was gonna take care of me...and He has!    When I think of some of the scrapes I’ve gotten through, it’s a miracle!”

Florine was a member of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) in both  Illinois and Florida.  She was also the proud holder of Ham Radio License N4CGG.

In May of 2003, we were privileged to interview Florine in her home in Pompano Beach, Florida.  During our brief visit, we took a picture of she and Mac in front of their beautiful  boat, which was less than a block from their home.  This picture truly represents  how we remember her:   holding Mac’s hand, happy, smiling, proudly standing as tall as she could, despite the physical challenges.  

Florine Phillips Maloney:  a unique, one-of-a-kind sailor/WASP is now truly flying higher than she has ever flown before.  

God bless all whose lives she has touched and will touch.  

v/r written and posted by Nancy Parrish

from the video interview with Florine Maloney,  May 4, 2003

*Photos from the Wings Across America archive

Lois Maxine Dobbin Auchterlonie, 43-W-8 March 24, 2013

Lois Maxine Dobbin Auchterlonie, 43-W-8

Lois Maxine Dobbin was born April 14, 1917 on a farm East of Viola,  Kansas to Thomas M and Alma R. Dobbin.  She grew up in Wichita, Kansas.   

Lois graduated from East High in Wichita, Kansas and later attended Wichita State University, where she was President of the Delta-Omega Sorority in her senior year.   

In 1941, while still enrolled in college,  she had the opportunity to take the CPT (Civilian Pilot Training) program.  After earning her Bachelor's Degree and her civilian private pilot's license,  she went to work at Boeing’s Stearman Plant in Wichita.  It was there she heard about the WASP program to train women pilots to fly military aircraft.

Lois applied and was accepted for military flight training in class 43-8. In 1943, she paid her way to Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, to enter the Army Air Force training program for women pilots.   Of the 95 women pilots who entered class 43-8,  Lois was one of only 48 who successfully completed the six months of training and graduated.  

After earning her silver WASP wings, Lois received her official AAF orders,  sending her  to Williams Field, Arizona for duty as an AT-6 engineering test pilot.   During her career as a WASP, Lois flew the PT-17, PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, UC-78, AT-9 AND AT-11.  Her dedication and service, together with that of the other Women Airforce Service Pilots,  released hundreds of the Army Air Forces desperately needed male military pilots for combat duty. 

After the WASP were deactivated, Lois built a career around aviation-related jobs:   working at flight schools; writing pilot flight manuals at North American (AJ-1 and XA25-1); working as a secretary for an aircraft parts service company in Wichita;  and eventually working for over thirty years  as a technical editor and proposal coordinator for Raytheon in Massachusetts.

In 1981, Lois became a charter member of the Women Military Aviators (WMA), an organization that included both WASP and other women military pilots.  She helped write the original by-laws and continued networking with members from  various flying branches of the military for many years.

Lois enjoyed flying her own Cherokee 180 for over twenty years.  She was very active in the Ninety Nines (international civilian women pilots) organization,  and helped manage the All-Women New England Air Race for several years.  She flew co-pilot in the 1961 Powder Puff Derby from Calgary,  Canada to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and In 1972, Lois entered and won the All-Women New England Air Race. 

Lois met her husband, Charles Auchterlone in college.  Later,  they married and made their home in Acton, Massachusetts until Charles retired.  In 1987   the couple moved to Anacortes, Washington.  They were married for 32 years.

After she lost her husband, Lois spent her time fostering cats needing new homes, as well as serving as the volunteer treasurer at the church thrift shop and treasurer for a church women's group.  She remained active in the local community club as well as playing a few rounds of golf.  However, she referred to attending the WASP and WMA reunions as "The highlight of my year."

In 2010, Lois, together with her sister WASP, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her service as a pilot during World War II.  

++++++++++++++++++

Lois passed away peacefully on March 24, 2013 following a fall at her home in Snohomish Washington. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband,  and her brother.  She is survived by brother-in-law, Kenneth Auchterlonie and numerous nieces and nephews.  

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm, April 20, 2013 at Evergreen Funeral Home, 4504 Broadway in Everett. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Animal Shelter of your choice.

v/r posted by nancy parrish

from Betty Turner's "Out of the Blue and Into History" p. 267 and Byrd Granger's "On Final Approach."  

Photo from the Wings Across America digital archive.

Helen Wyatt Snapp, 43-4 Jan. 20, 2013

“There’s nothing like flying. I would encourage anyone to at least try it.    There’s nothing like being up there by yourself.  You’re never closer to God than when you’re up in the sky.”              WASP Helen Snapp

WASP Helen Wyatt Snapp, a graduate of Class 43-W-4 of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, passed away on Jan. 20, 2013.  She is truly flying higher than she has ever flown before.

Born May 1, 1918 in Washington, DC, Helen was the middle child in her family, with two older sisters and a younger brother and sister.  At age eight, young Helen sat on a curb on Pennsylvania Avenue and watched as aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, rode by in a ticker-tape parade.  Her brief glimpse of the aviation pioneer, who had just returned from the world record setting first solo flight across the Atlantic, remained an inspiration throughout her lifetime.

After high school, Helen attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va, planning to become a teacher.  However, on summer break, she saw an ad in the paper for flying lessons.  She convinced her sister to join her and, without telling the rest of the family, they signed up.   Eventually, they both soloed. Helen then dropped out of college, used her part-time pay (working for the telephone company)  to pay for more flying time.  She eventually re-enrolled in college to take advantage of the CPT (Civilian Pilot Training) program.  CPT  gave her the opportunity to build up her flying hours and to attend ground school classes at night. 

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, early 1942, Helen married her beau, Ira Benton "Ben" Snapp and put her flying on hold.  After her husband graduated from officer training, he was shipped overseas with the 3rd Infantry.

In early 1943, she received a telegram from aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, inviting her to apply for the newly created Army Air Forces flying training program for women pilots.  She was interviewed by Ms Cochran  at the Mayflower Hotel in DC and accepted.

"Before I knew it, I found my way to Texas.  I had never been away from home before...it was quite an experience just to take that step.  But I was just thrilled to pieces, because I just loved to fly.  And here I was going to be able to fly all those wonderful military airplanes!"

On Feb. 4, 1943, Helen, together with half of her class of 151 young women pilots,  reported to Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas for military flight training,.   At that time, there were male Canadian cadets in training there at Avenger Field and living in some of the barracks.  They were  soon shipped out to other bases, leaving room for the other half of Helen’s class to report to Avenger Field.

After completing the required six months of flight training, which was essentially the same training as the male Army Air Force Cadets were receiving,  on Aug. 7, 1943, Helen and 111 classmates graduated, received their silver WASP wings,  and became WASP--Women Airforce Service Pilots. 

Shortly after graduation, Helen and a group of other WASP were given temporary orders to report to the Pentagon.  After a week of briefing, they, received orders to report to Camp Davis Army Air Field, North Carolina, an anti-aircraft artillery school.  After transitioning into A-24's and A-25's, Helen flew tow-target missions over the Atlantic, as gunners on the beach fired live ammunition at her cloth target.  (She also flew radar, searchlight, tracking and strafing missions.) 

After completing the transition training at Camp Davis,  she was sent to Liberty Field, near Camp Stewart/Savannah, Georgia.  She and five other WASP were selected for ‘R-Flight’--  a top secret initiative located on an “off-limits” part of the field. There, she learned to “fly” a PQ-8 & PQ-14, which were radio controlled drone aircraft,  from a console inside an AT-11 or UC-78 control ship.  (In time, this led to the development of the more sophisticated remote-controlled planes used by the Air Force today.)

By the time the WASP were disbanded in Dec. of 1944, Helen had charted over 1,000 hours in her log book, including time in the PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, UC-78, P-34, B-17, PQ-8, PQ-14  and her favorites, the A24 “Douglas Dauntless” and the A25 “Hell Diver.”

After her WASP service was over, Helen arrived back in DC, her husband, now Captain Ira Snapp, returned from overseas duty and retired.   The couple settled down on a family farm near Staunton, Virginia.  Helen gave up flying, went to work for the US Post Office,  and they began their family, which eventually included three sons.

During her later years, Helen raised Pekingese dogs and was an avid gardener—and, as she pointed out, “flowers and vegetables.”  She became active in the National WASP organization, serving as National Treasurer from 2002-2004.  She was a proud member of the Ninety Nines, The Valiant Air Command, and was a fan of the women astronauts, attending several shuttle and rocket launches near her home on the east coast of Florida.

In 2010, the WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow.  Florida Representative Illeana Ros-Leitinen, the co-sponsor of the bill in the House, presented a signed copy of the Congressional Bill to Helen in her home in Pembroke Pines, Florida.  Helen was touched by her kindness and overwhelmed by the honor.  (Charles Lindbergh, who had inspired her to fly,  had previously been awarded the same medal.)

Helen spent the last few years as a sought-after guest speaker at many different events, sharing her stories about her service as a WASP.  This past December, she attended the Wings Gala at Wings Over The Rockies Aviation and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, where the Fly Girls of WWII Traveling WASP Exhibit is on display.

Helen passed away at Memorial West Hospital in Pembroke Pines, Florida, following complications after surgery to repair a fractured hip.   She is survived by her sons:  Jeremy and David;  daughter-in-law Adriana;  and grandchildren Robert, Benton and Justin.  She is also survived by nieces and nephews:   Hal, Bob and Leilani Henderson; George, Michael and Larry Yates; Don, Diane, Christine and Bobby Walker; Martha Hillegas,  and Sue Taylor.

Those of us who were blessed to meet Helen will always remember a generous and caring lady, with an easy laugh and kind, sparkling eyes. She found great joy in sharing her love of flying and always spoke straight from her heart. She will be missed.  She will be remembered.

A Memorial Service in celebration of Helen’s life will be held March 2, 2013, 11:00 am at 14710 SW 128 Street, Miami, FL 33196.  Fly-in’s will be accommodated with RSVP to office.  (Call 305 233-5197 to arrange for incoming planes. )

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Wings Over Miami, 14710 SW 128th Street, Miami, FL 33196 and/or Florida Gold Coast  99s , 880 N.E. 69 St. #4F, Miami, FL 33138.

Respectfully written and posted by Nancy Parrish

___________________

Sources:
Betty Turner’s “Out of the Blue and Into History”  p. 89 “Helen Snapp in Her Own Words”
North Carolina’s WWII Experience: Helen Snapp/WASP
Veteran’s History Project: Interview with Helen Snapp (5/23/2011)