Women Aviators by Karen Bush Gibson

Author:Karen Bush Gibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2013-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

WASPs. Courtesy of the US Air Force

The women pilots didn’t earn as much as the male pilots, nor were they entitled to benefits because the WASPs weren’t officially in the military. Vi worked hard on behalf of her fellow WASPs; she contacted members of Congress and had people sign petitions. Finally, in 1977, the WASPs’ work was recognized when President Jimmy Carter granted them military status, making them eligible for all the benefits war veterans were due.

When she was 89, Vi parachuted out of an airplane. A year later, she and a veteran friend participated in a simulated dogfight over a California airport. She also went paragliding and finally felt like the hawks that she used to envy.

Vi Cowden continued flying into her 90s. During her time in the WASPs, Vi had flown eight different military planes. On May 1, 2009, she got the chance to pilot her favorite plane once more; 65 years had passed since she had last flown a P-51. She flew a P-51C Mustang from San Diego to Long Beach, California, an experience she called a dream come true. As soon as she stepped into the cockpit, she remembered how flying her first P-51 felt.

In March 2010, almost 70 years after flying for their country, Vi and the other 300 WASPs who were still living received the Congressional Gold Medal for service to the United States. The Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor given to civilians, is given for outstanding acts of service to the United States.

A documentary, Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story, was made about her life. She was also an active member of the Ninety-Nines and participated in a “living history” project in which World War II veterans spoke at high schools.

When Vi Cowden died at age 94, obituaries everywhere referred to her as a wartime-plane pilot. She would have enjoyed that recognition.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.