“With the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, women pilots went aloft to serve their nation. . . . A soaring tale in which, at long last, these daring World War II pilots gain the credit they deserve.”—Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls“A powerful story of reinvention, community and ingenuity born out of global upheaval.”—Newsday When the Japanese attacked … upheaval.”—Newsday
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Cornelia Fort was already in the air. At twenty-two, Fort had escaped Nashville’s debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. She and her student were in the middle of their lesson when the bombs began to fall, and they barely made it back to ground that morning. Still, when the U.S. Army Air Forces put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Fort was one of the first to respond. She became one of just over 1,100 women from across the nation to make it through the Army’s rigorous selection process and earn her silver wings.
The brainchild of trailblazing pilots Nancy Love and Jacqueline Cochran, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) gave women like Fort a chance to serve their country—and to prove that women aviators were just as skilled as men. While not authorized to serve in combat, the WASP helped train male pilots for service abroad, and ferried bombers and pursuits across the country. Thirty-eight WASP would not survive the war. But even taking into account these tragic losses, Love and Cochran’s social experiment seemed to be a resounding success—until, with the tides of war turning, Congress clipped the women’s wings. The program was disbanded, the women sent home. But the bonds they’d forged never failed, and over the next few decades they came together to fight for recognition as the military veterans they were—and for their place in history.
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The Women with Silver Wings is a fascinating study of the women pilots who against all odds and a good portion of the men they interacted, with made a significant contribution to the WWII war efforts. Meticulously researched using among other things oral histories and diaries, the flow of the story is smooth, easy to follow, and filled with lots of gossipy tidbits that make this a wonderful read. Readers are introduced to the major players, Nancy Love, Teresa James, Jacqueline Cochran and a host of others who persevered in a world and a profession controlled by men reluctant to allow them to participate. The story also details the rivalry between Love and Cochran who had very different visions of the role women pilots should play in the war effort. Both wanted the women to be fully integrated into the Army Air Force, but Jackie Cochran wanted to keep them segregated to protect their morals and reputations. Nancy Love wanted a full integration. The author writes of the discrimination leveled by color and ethnicity against women and men during this period and the discrimination against women pilots that continued after the group was disbanded and the war was over. When “the experiment” began the women pilots were attached to the AAF but were classified as civilians, hence no benefits were given to them. The widow of a male pilot received $10,000. The family of a female pilot only received the $250 Civil Service Commission death benefit; nor were the women eligible for the GI Bill in the aftermath. The struggle for recognition of the contribution made by the WASP pilots continued long past the end of the program in December 1944. This book is history at its best…reminding old timers how far women have come in the past 80 years, and giving a lesson to younger readers of what society was like for their great-grandmothers. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.
A story that needed to be told.
Did not know anything about women pilots. But I do now. Really enjoyed it.
This is a superbly researched and written book about the brave young women who were eager to serve their country during World War II by ferrying new aircraft from the factories to the military pick-up point. Having served in the USAF in the mid-70s I could relate to some of the skepticism they encountered not only from the military men but from society in general. As all able-bodied males were off fighting in the war, there was a serious shortage of pilots. These gutsy women rushed in to fill the void flying 77 different types of aircraft. Even though most of the women pilots were better qualified than the male pilots they were not recognized for their service to their country and designated as veterans until November 1977.
The book consists of numerous vignettes of the remarkable female pilots who became known as WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots). The chapters are short and easy to read.
Thank you to BookBrowse and Crown Publishing for the advance copy. I am providing an unbiased review.
aviation, military, World War ll, women, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research,
Has anyone ever figured out why most men are afraid of capable women? This interesting chronicle of the American women who paved the way for those coming after to be able to fly as military pilots first and later as commercial pilots (so long as they weren’t having their menstrual!). Although demonstrably capable and skilled, they were fobbed off as lowest class pilots during the second World War and neglected by the military and the government afterward. It is both fascinating and frustrating to read all the details of these women. Excellently researched and crafted.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crown Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
I grew up in a family of veterans and World War II buffs. I remember learning about the WASP ladies and how incredible they were. What I didn’t know, and what no one talks about, is the fight these women undertook for decades to be recognized for the blood, sweat, and tears that they shed in service of our country. This book, is their story.
The Women with Silver Wings begins with the achievements of women in aviation history. It moves into the spark of the idea to help the war effort. What if female pilots ferried planes to our bases as they came off the production line, freeing up the male pilots to fight overseas? And the beginning of the WASP program was born.
What I was surprised to learned through this book was that these women were never considered part of the military during the war. They never received the benefits the male pilots were granted. The ladies of WASP fought for several decades, most of them were in their 50’s and 60’s when they were finally recognized as having served in the military during WW2. But that part isn’t taught in school.
These women were absolutely tough and gutsy and fearless. The book says it best, “The WASPs’ collective achievement had been remarkable. By December 1944, 1,102 women were wearing silver wings. They had flown more than seventy-seven different types of planes and covered over 60 million miles. They had served as test pilots, flown personal, and trained ground gunners to find planes as they strafed them. With the exception of combat flying, the women were doing every single type of assignment their male counterparts performed. Thirty-eight of them had given their lives”
I think Landdeck did a great job thoroughly researching every detail and pulling it together in a timeline that is easy to understand. One of my favorite parts of this book sums up what these women did and gives us a glimpse into their accomplishments as women and as warriors for our country.
“The prevailing wisdom was that the women were no longer needed because the men would be coming home soon. But what no one seemed to remember was that the WASP had been vital to ending the war in the first place. They had released 1,102 men to fly in combat. They had trained men on the ground and in the air to find and fire at planes. They had taught men how to fly trainers and how not to be afraid to fly temperamental bombers. They had test-flown planes after repairs. They had proven, without a doubt, that women could be counted on as pilots, whatever the job, whatever the emergency. They had all played a part in winning the war.”
I would recommend this to every WW2 history enthusiast. It would also make a great book for school history projects and book reports for the middle grades and up. Happy reading!
This book focused on the women and their personal relationship with each other. I was hoping for a story about aviation, flying dangerous missions, checking out in a new unfamiliar airplane and flying it over to the European theater etc. What I got was a lame story about how women struggled with the male dominated war effort..
The women in this book shared their feelings & played a very big part in woman’s equality to men in our country. They were doing what they loved & made a huge difference
Needs a good editor. Love the story of the forgotten s/heroes of our wars.