North Carolina Aviatrix, Viola Gentry by Jennifer Bean Bower

Author:Jennifer Bean Bower
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2015-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Gentry must have been surprised and pleased to receive a letter from the man who had first carried her to the clouds.

Although Gentry was on the road to a physical recovery, newspaper reporters begged the question of whether she would recover mentally. Articles explained how the “psychological effect” of an airplane crash, in addition to a near-death experience, might bring a pilot’s flying days to an end, particularly if he or she did not immediately return to the air. However, writers of such articles could not have known Gentry or her determined spirit.

On September 3, a photograph of Gentry lying in a hospital bed with her head bandaged and a wide smile on her face appeared in the Daily News. The caption for the photograph read, “Denies She’s Through as Flier,” along with a quote from Gentry that said, “I’ll fly again…I don’t want my friends in aviation circles to think I’m a quitter.”

The next month, on October 11, Gentry left the Nassau County Hospital. It was the first time since the crash. She had not been released from the hospital but had been permitted a short car ride with friends. Out of all the places she might have gone, Gentry’s only request was to visit Roosevelt Field.

By the end of October, Gentry was released from the Nassau County Hospital. However, as the October 23 issue of the Standard Union put it, Gentry was “Out of Danger, into Debt.”

Gentry’s four-month stay at the Nassau County Hospital had amounted to a small fortune in fees. Grace Lyon, who had sponsored Gentry’s first endurance flight, gave $3,000 toward the bill, but there was still more to be paid. The hospital contacted Lee Rockwell, sponsor of Gentry’s refueling endurance flight, to enquire whether he would pay the remainder of her bills. Rockwell agreed and paid the final bill. Nevertheless, Gentry was still crippled and without an income.

In an effort to assist Gentry with her finances, fliers at Roosevelt Field set aside November 2 as “Viola Gentry Day,” a day on which special aerial exhibitions would be performed for the general public. The total amount of money received in ticket sales was to be presented to Gentry. The event, however, was not a success, and only a small amount of money was raised.

Because of her financial and convalescent state, Gentry became a charity patient at the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in Manhattan, where she remained for eighteen months. Physicians at the hospital reported that Gentry spoke constantly about her future aviation endeavors and agreed there was no medical reason for her not to fly again. Her doctors also noted it would be several months before she could care for herself. Despite that fact, Gentry was occasionally permitted to leave the hospital in the company of a nurse.

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