Posted
on November 27, 2016
I
knew that WASPs had veteran's benefits – but I didn't know that we
could thank Dora Dougherty Strother (among others) for that!
 |
| Strother and two other WASPs. |
The
Woman Airforce Service Pilots existed because of the great demand for
military pilots during World War II. The women pilots flew every sort
of military aircraft – but in non-combat missions. The goal was to
free up the male pilots for combat roles; the women pilots flew
aircraft from factories to military bases, towed drones and aerial
targets, trained new pilots, and even tested new planes.
Strother,
born on this date in 1921, had earned her pilot certificate in 1940
and later became the sixth woman in the U.S. to earn an airline
transport pilot license. So when the call went out for WASPs, she was
one of the 25,000+ women who applied. Only 1,075 women were accepted
into the paramilitary program – and Strother was one of them.
Strother
achieved about as much as was possible within her WASP role. She
commanded 23 different aircraft and was honorably discharged from the
U.S. Air Force in late 1944.
 |
| One of the planes that Strother tested, demonstrated, and trained male pilots on is the Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber. |
She
went on to teach flight courses, including at the University of
Illinois. She earned her doctorate in Aviation Education in 1955 and
was Chief Research Pilot for her university. She went on to design
helicopter cockpits and became a test pilot for Bell Helicopter
Company. She even set two world records in helicopter flying!
 |
| Strother became a member of "Whirly-Girls." |
After
her wonderful career, which included winning the Amelia Earhart
Award, becoming an inductee in the Military Aviation Hall of Fame and
the Texas Women's Hall of Fame, Strother put time and effort into
making sure that she and other women pilots gained veteran's status
and benefits. After all, a whopping 28% of the WASPs made the
ultimate sacrifice, dying in training or on duty. They didn't go into
combat, but they flew in combat zones and in combat-like situations.
The law giving WASPs veteran's status was signed by President Jimmy
Carter on Thanksgiving Day in 1977.
Thank
you, Dora Strother, for flying so high, achieving so much, and
asserting the rights of women to gain fair benefits for their
efforts!
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