Amy Nathan is an award-winning American writer who majored in history at Harvard University.
She is the author of several books for young readers, including the following:
Count on us:
American Women in the Military
(2004)
Take a Seat – Make a Stand:
A Hero in the Family
(2006)
INTRODUCTION
Her book Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II was first published by the National Geographic Society in 2001. A second version was released in 2013. This review is based on the second version from 2013.
Yankee Doodle Gals is the story of the female pilots
who flew US military aircraft during World War II. As members of WASP, Women
Air Force Service Pilots, they played an important role in the US arsenal, even
though this fact is not well-known by the public.
The foreword is written by Eileen Collins, colonel in the US Air Force and a NASA astronaut.
The main text is divided into eleven chapters. Here is the table of contents:
Chapter 01 – The Chance of a Lifetime
Chapter 02 – Flying Fever
Chapter 03 – Birth of the WASPs
Chapter 04 – Ready to sign up
Chapter 05 – Wash-out Worries
Chapter 06 – Good Times, Fun Stuff
Chapter 07 – Sky-high Delivery Service
Chapter 08 – Flying Wrecks – Dodging Bullets
Chapter 09 – The Biggies
Chapter 10 – Sent Home too soon
Chapter 11 – Up, Up, and Away!
In each chapter the text is divided into shorter units by subheadings. This system is very user-friendly.
Throughout the book, there are numerous sidebars marked “Close-up.” Each sidebar offers a brief portrait of a female pilot, who was a member of WASP.
At the end of the book, we find an index and a resource guide. There is also a chronological table which covers the time from 1939 to 2010.
What about illustrations?
The book is illustrated with numerous pictures of planes and pilots. They are well-chosen.
All illustrations are in black-and-white, not only the old photos from World War II, but also recent pictures.
On page 85, for instance, there are two pictures: one from 2009, the other from 2010. The originals must be in colour. Why are they printed in black-and-white?
I understand that pictures from World War II are in black-and-white, but if the original is in colour, I think it should be published in colour.
When I read this book and look at the illustrations, I can see that the author and the publisher paid great attention to every aspect of the product. Not only the main text but also the layout.
I think they have done a great job. That is why it is a shame that recent photos are published in black-and-white.
PART ONE
In this book, Amy Nathan tells the story of the female pilots of World War II. In order to tell this story, she must offer some background; she must tell the story of aviation in the US. Back in the 1920s and 1930s there were not many female pilots in the US. If a woman wanted to be a pilot, there were several obstacles.
First of all it was expensive. Most people could not afford to take flying lessons, let alone buy a plane. In addition, most women would face resistance from family and friends.
Being a pilot was considered a man’s job. A woman should be a wife and a mother. She should stay in the kitchen and take care of her family. However, some women did not see things that way. They really wanted to fly and during the war they found a way to do it.
In 1939, when World War II broke out in Europe, the US was still neutral, but many observers expected the US to join later. This had happened during World War One.
The war changed the world in many ways. It also meant more opportunities for women, because so many men had left to fight the war.
In 1942, when the US had entered the war, two organizations for female pilots were established:
** WAFS – a ferry squadron – created by Nancy Love
** WFTD – a training program – created by Jacqueline Cochran
In 1943, these organizations were merged into one, the WASP. Then in December 1944, the WASP program was ended.
As you can see, the female pilots were active for almost three years, from the beginning of 1942 until the end of 1944. Looking back, it seems like a brief moment in time, but it made a big difference to the women who served as pilots and the female pilots made a big contribution to the war effort.
More than 25,000 women applied, but the conditions were tough. Only about 2,000 were accepted for the training program, and only about 1,000 completed the training program.
The female pilots were not allowed to leave the US mainland, because they were not allowed to enter a combat zone. So what did they do? As the author explains, there were basically three tasks:
(1) They would ferry new planes from factories to bases from where the planes would be used in the war.
(2) They would tow a target behind a plane, which anti-aircraft troops on the ground could use for target practice.
(3) When damaged planes had been repaired, they would test them to see if they were ready to be used again.
PART TWO
Amy Nathan covers the story of the female pilots in great detail. Her book is based on many sources: published accounts as well as interviews with some of the female pilots who were still alive when she did her research.
She presents Nancy Love, the driving force behind WAFS, and Jacqueline Cochran, the driving force behind WFTD. These two women were not exactly good friends, because they were rivals and because their personalities were very different. Nathan explains the contrast and the conflict between them.
** Nancy Love (1914-1976)
** Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980)
Few minority women served as WASPs. There were two Asian Americans and one Native American, but no African Americans. The US Army was segregated until 1948. This topic is covered on page 27.
Even though the female pilots were not allowed into combat, their jobs were not without danger: 38 of the female pilots died, some while on active duty, others while still in training. This aspect is covered on page 57.
Some men could not imagine that a women could be a pilot. On page 55, the author quotes Faith Buchner Richards for the following case:
“A friend of mine flew into a base and they were going to put her in the brig [the military jail] for stealing an aircraft. Her commanding officer had to call and say it was okay for her to have that aircraft.”
The members of WASP did well. This statement is supported by many witnesses who were skeptical at first but who were forced to admit that their original doubt had been misplaced. On page 39, Nathan quotes flight instructor Kenneth Eckley:
“I was probably like the rest of the men pilots, wasn’t sure they [the WASPs] could fly… but still it turned out well. I’ve had women pilots that were … better … than any man pilot that I flew with.”
On page 50, Nathan mentions another case: a mission in which six female pilots joined seventeen male pilots in delivering twenty-three P-17s from Montana to an air base in Tennessee:
“By the second day all six women began landing at the Tennessee base, but most of the men hadn’t arrived. After another two days, 11 men still hadn’t made it. They either got lost or had trouble with their planes. Some may have stopped for a visit along the way.”
On page 46, we discover the origin of the book’s title. Members of WASP wrote new words to old songs.
They would sing their own versions of these songs while they were waiting for their turn during training sessions at Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Texas), or simply to entertain each other.
One of the songs that was given new words was Yankee Doodle Boy. Here are the new words to this song:
We are Yankee Doodle Pilots,
Yankee Doodle, do or die!
Real, live nieces of our Uncle Sam,
Born with a yearning to fly.
Keep in step to all our classes
March to flight line with our pals.
Yankee Doodle came to Texas
Just to fly the PTs!
We are those Yankee Doodle Gals.
PART THREE
Although the members of WASP flew military planes, they were not in the military. They were civilians. The sad consequences of this reality are explained on page 57:
When a female pilot died, the military would not pay for the funeral. For those female pilots who survived the job there was no support for education, and later in life there was no pension, because they were not regarded as veterans.
In 1944, Congress considered a law that would accept WASP as a part of the military. The purpose of this law was to end the strange fact that military planes were flown by civilians. This law would recognize the female pilots as members of the military, in the same way as male pilots.
However, the bill was defeated. It seems some male pilots were jealous of the female pilots. They felt the female pilots were stealing “their” jobs, and they managed to convince members of Congress that the female pilots did not deserve these jobs.
At the end of that year, WASP was dismantled and the members were told to go home. Even though the war was still going on and even though the members of WASP had not done anything wrong. It is tempting to say that this happened because the members of WASP had performed too well.
It was a sad and shameful way to end a program which had been an important part of the war effort. The Army and members of Congress should have been grateful to them for their contribution. Instead they kicked them out!
In chapter 11, Nathan explains how things changed in the 1970s and how they developed in the beginning of the 21st century.
In 1976, the US Air Force signed up a small group of women for pilot training. News reports announced that for the first time in history a woman would be allowed to fly a US military plane.
This was too much for the surviving members of WASP. It seems they had been forgotten, not only by the public, but also by the military itself. This became a signal for them to come together not just to keep in touch but in order to start a campaign to set the record straight.
This time they had an important ally in Congress, Senator Barry Goldwater, who had been a ferry pilot during the war. In addition, the times had changed.
After the women’s movement in the 1960s, no male politician would stand up and say that a woman’s place was in the kitchen.
Congress acted and on 23 November 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a new bill into law, stating that members of WASP had served on “active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States.”
In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a law that Congress had passed unanimously to award its highest civilian honour to the members of WASP:
The Congressional Gold Medal
In 2010, leaders of Congress presented this medal to WASP member Deanie Parrish, who accepted it on behalf of all WASPs.
Finally, the female pilots of World War II had received a well-deserved recognition. The pictures on page 85 were taken during the ceremonies of 2009 and 2010.
PART FOUR
On the back cover of the book there are two short statements. The first statement about the importance of WASP is written by Tom Brokaw, who was for many years anchor of NBC Nightly News.
He says:
“We’re just now beginning to fully appreciate the vital role of women in the World War II effort, and the daring, gifted women of the WASP program were absolutely critical to the success of air warfare. I still marvel at their contribution.”
The second statement about the quality of the book is written by Donald S. Lopez, Sr., who was a test pilot of the US Air Force and Deputy Director of the National Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution.
He says:
“Amy Nathan has done an outstanding service by telling the WASP story in a clear and very readable book. It should inspire young women to enter the field of aviation and help fill the upcoming need for pilots.”
** Tom Brokaw (born 1940)
** Donald S. Lopez, Senior (1923-2008)
CONCLUSION
Yankee Doodle Gals is a fascinating and moving book about the female pilots who flew military planes during World War II.
It is a quick read. It is a good read. Well-written, well-organized, and well-structured. As far as I can tell, it is what I call an ABC product:
** Accurate
** Balanced
** Comprehensive
This book was written for young readers, but you should not let this fact scare you away. It is also suited for adults.
If you are interested in the history of the modern world – in particular the world of aviation and the question of human rights, including equal opportunity for men and women – this book is definitely something for you.
PS # 1. For more information, see the following books:
** Girls of Avenger by Alyce Stevens Rohrer (2002)
** Flying Higher: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Wanda Langley (2002)
** American Women and Flight since 1940 by Deborah G. Douglas (2004) (2009)
** Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II by Sarah Burn Rickman (2008) (2014)
** Jacqueline Cochran: Biography of a Pioneer Aviator by Rhonda Smith-Daugherty (2012)
PS # 2. Fly Girls is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 1999.
It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience.
PS # 3. We Served Too is a documentary film which was released on DVD in 2013.
Written and produced by Julia Bond, this film was shown
on some PBS stations in the US.
PS # 4. WASP on the Web is a website where you can find additional information and links to other websites.
*****
Yankee Doodle Gals
Women Pilots of World War II
By Amy Nathan
First edition 2001
Second edition 2013
*****
Fly Girls
A documentary film
American Experience
US television (PBS)
(1999)
*****
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