WASPs gather for reunion

[Bluehawk]

It is to be their last one... salute to them all, pioneers every one!

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World War II women aviators gather for final reunion
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9/30/2008 - IRVING, Texas (AFPN) --

The past and present came together Sept. 25 through 28 here as women aviators from different generations took part in the final reunion for the original Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.

Women from across the country assembled to honor the courage and dedication of the pilots, and the formal WASP organization officially disbanded after the reunion.

"The WASPs said that their age is starting to catch up with them, the youngest being 83," said Master Sgt. Rodney Hage, the Air Force Reserve Command liaison for the reunion and event coordinator.

"They are handing over management of the organization's affairs over to a new group called Wingtip to Wingtip," he said. "(The group) will help the ladies continue to keep in touch with one another and help get WASPs to various events to speak."

One of the many scheduled events was the official last flight of the WASPs. Original members got to fly on a C-130 Hercules flown by an all-female aircrew from the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

"It's important we get together with the WASPs, that we honor them for what they have done for us. It is equally as important for the WASPs to be together with us, so they can see some of the heritage and opportunities they have provided for us," said Maj. Gen. Linda S. Hemminger, the mobilization assistant to the Air Force deputy surgeon general.

General Hemminger said the spirit of aviation the women started in the 1940s is alive and well today.

"Women can be anything they want to be in the United States Air Force," she said.

Air Force Reserve Command's Human Resources Development Council worked in conjunction with the WASPs to stage the reunion.

"It was the opportunity of a lifetime to get to meet with living legends and hear their stories firsthand," said Maj. Jennifer King, a C-17 Globemaster III pilot with the Air Force Reserve Command's 315th Airlift Wing from Charleston AFB, S.C. "They broke through so many barriers and enabled women to serve their country in the military and in the air."

In September 1942, the WASP program was formed to fill the need for stateside aviation duties, including ferrying aircraft and towing targets. More than 25,000 women applied for the program and 1,830 were selected. Of those chosen, 1,078 successfully graduated and became WASPs.

At the end of World War II, the women were discharged from the program without official recognition or benefits from serving in the military.