Chapter 25
Moira
The following day as Emily flew to her delivery destinations in her Cessna, she could not stop thinking about Moira. Emily remembered that Moira was from Manhattan, New York, but she did not know her address. She decided to write the letter to Jackie Cochran that evening to see if she had any information that might help her to locate Moira. She would write her telephone number at the end of the letter in case Jackie wanted to talk to her instead of writing a letter.
Two weeks later Emily received a phone call from Jackie Cochran, in response to Emily’s letter regarding Moira. They chatted briefly, about what was happening in their lives since the war ended. Jackie was still racing airplanes and breaking speed records. She had her sights set on flying a newly designed jet aircraft in the near future. It was always fascinating talking to Jackie Cochran, you never knew what she was going to do next, but you could be sure that it would have something to do with aviation. Emily was positive that she would read about Jackie’s accomplishments in an aviation magazine or the newspaper.
Emily gave her the news about her flight business and her marriage to Mike. They chatted briefly about Emily’s flight business and about the WASP who attended the class re-union.
The conversation finally focused on Moira Rosenberg. Jackie informed Emily that she did not have any information about Moira’s whereabouts, but she could put her in contact with someone who did know. Jackie had arranged a meeting for Emily on the following Monday at 2 PM at a coffee shop on the corner of Grant and Main Street in downtown Dallas. Emily agreed to the meeting, she thought it sounded rather odd, but she had to know what had happened to Moira. It seemed very secretive also; she had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Emily decided to meet this unidentified man in Dallas to find out what she could about Moira. Monday was only two days away.
On Monday, she flew to the airport in Dallas and then took a taxi to the café. She also had some deliveries to make in Dallas, so the timing was good.
Emily arrived at the café; she sat at an empty table with two chairs at the back of the small room. Emily ordered a coffee; Jackie said the man she was meeting would recognize her, which made Emily feel more inquisitive about the meeting. Emily drank her coffee and waited. She was on her second cup of coffee when a man walked into the café. He looked to be about fifty years of age; he wore horned rimmed glasses, was dressed in a brown suit with a white shirt, and a striped tie. He looked very familiar to Emily. As he slowly walked toward her table, she recognized the mystery man. He was the passenger that she secretly flew to Oak Ridge, Tennessee a few years ago.
He stopped in front of her, removed his hat as he smiled saying you must be Emily Reid. Emily said, “Yes, but I am married now; my last name is Hudson.”
“I am Heinrich Rosenberg, Moira’s father. In America, they call me Henry. May I join you?” he asked with a slight German accent.
“Of course,” replied Emily.
The server brought him the coffee that he had ordered at the front counter when he entered the café.
“I am at a conference here in Dallas, and I thought that I should like to meet you again under different circumstances. Jackie Cochran contacted me to arrange the meeting with you,” he explained. “I hope you don’t mind meeting this way?”
Emily shook her head saying, “No, not at all, I wanted to know why Moira did not come to the WASP class reunion.”
“Moira spoke very highly of you; she said you were a good friend. You helped give her confidence to continue in the WASP.” He took a sip of his coffee. “The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) recruited Moira after the WASP disbanded and sent her to England to help translate documents from German to English. She was very good with languages.”
Emily nodded, “Moira was very intelligent when it came to learning the physics and mathematical part of the course at Avenger Field.”
Mr. Rosenberg continued, “The British desperately needed someone, who could speak German to go to Germany retrieve some important information that was crucial to the war effort. They needed someone unknown, who would not be recognized easily by the German authorities, so they chose to ask Moira, who would blend in with the rest of the German citizens. They thought that Moira was the perfect candidate, she would fit in, and she could almost go unnoticed. Moira agreed to go; it was only one mission, she would go to Germany through France secure the information from the contact and return to England. It sounded easy enough. Moira made it to Germany and secured the information from her contact, but the Gestapo was suspicious of her contact, they had been following him for weeks. After Moira met with him, the Gestapo followed her to the train station, where she boarded a train that would take her near a border town close to France. Moira must have known that they were on to her, so got off the train at the next stop. Before she left the train, she handed the information to another contact on the train. It was their backup plan in case Moira felt suspicious that the Gestapo had followed her to the train. She tried to run to steer the Gestapo away from the other contact, who now held the information that the British needed so desperately. They shot her in the back as she tried to escape. He paused to gain his composure. They did not find any papers on her. The Germans knew nothing about Moira or her mission; they could only assume that she was a spy. The crucial information was delivered safely to the British.”
Mr. Rosenberg’s eyes welled up with tears as he told the story. Emily had tears running down her cheeks also. Her friend Moira was dead, but she had died a hero, Emily thought to herself. Neither of them was able to speak for a moment while they tried to compose themselves.
“Moira was very brave,” said Emily, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back the tears.
“I have always been proud of my Moira, we miss her terribly,” said Mr. Rosenberg.
Emily thanked him for telling her personally about Moira. They quietly finished their coffee as they both thought of Moira, his daughter and Emily’s friend. Shy quiet Moira would always be a true heroine in Emily’s mind.
They shook hands saying goodbye and then Mr. Rosenberg left the café. Emily watched him walk down the street to the conference center as she waited for the taxi to take her to the airport.
She climbed aboard her Cessna, made a smooth takeoff, and then pointed the aircraft toward home. Emily thought about Moira and all the other women pilots of the WASP as she cruised through the sporadic white clouds of the deep blue sky. If it had not been for leaders like Jackie Cochran and Nancy Love, paving the way, the WASP would not have existed. Jackie was still breaking speed records as a test pilot for the military, she would always be a pilot, and her love of flying would never die.
Nancy Love led the way for the rest of the WASP; she was the first women to fly to the P-51 Mustang as well as the B-17 Flying Fortress plus twenty other different types of military aircraft during her time in the WAFS and then the WASP.
Emily said a silent prayer for the thirty-eight brave WASP who had died in the service of their country. Flying for the WASP was an important part of Emily’s life, an unforgettable experience that would live in her memory forever. Perhaps she would write her memoirs, while it was still fresh in her mind before they faded over the years. The motto of the WASP came to mind… ‘We live in the wind and the sand and our eyes are on the stars.’
She speculated about what prospects the future held for the next generation of female aviators. Would they fly some of the new advanced aircraft that the engineers were constantly designing and improving? Would the military world of aviation be an option for future female pilots? If women like Jackie Cochran or Nancy Love had anything to say about it, she was certain that it would be. The possibilities were endless thought Emily! She tipped the wings of her Cessna to all the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII; they were the first women to fly military aircraft in the USA, but she had a strong feeling, they definitely would not be the last.
About the WASP
From 1942 to 1944 the WASP, classed as civil service flew every type of military aircraft from the fastest fighters, the P-51 Mustangs to the heaviest bombers, the B-29 Superfortress. They towed targets for air-to-air as well as ground to air for gunnery practice with live ammunition. They also trained cadets, transported cargo, personnel, and countless other jobs to free up male pilots for combat during WWII.
The WASP, stationed at over one hundred and twenty army air bases and army airfields flew more than sixty million miles across the continental USA.
Thirty-eight WASP died, some during training and others during active duty. Because they were civil service and not part of the military, they did not qualify for the military benefits such as burial costs and they could not have an American flag draped over their coffin. Their parents could not place a gold star in their windows for their daughters who gave their life in the service of her country.
The WASP abruptly disbanded without benefits or honors on December 20, 1944; they had to pay their own way back home. At the same time, many USAAF combat pilots were returning home from overseas who needed jobs as pilots.
Historians were not familiar with the WASP contribution to history, as their records were classified and sealed for over thirty years. Very little information of the WASP contribution to history during WWII was public knowledge. The WASP became a forgotten chapter in the history of America.
In 1975 under the direction of Colonel Bruce Arnold, son of General Hap Arnold, the WASP fought the ‘Battle of Congress’ to have the WASP organization recognized as veterans of WWII.
In 1977, the US Airforce announced that they were training the first women to fly military aircraft in the USA. No one knew about the WASP organization of WWII. The records of the WASP were finally unsealed in the same year. The WASP lobbied Congress with the support of Senator Barry Goldwater, who had also been a ferry pilot during WWII.
In 1977, congress voted to make the WASP eligible for veteran benefits and granted them full military status for their service. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill.
Seven years later, in 1984 the remaining WASP received the same victory medals as bestowed on all WWII veterans. Those who served in the WASP for longer than a year also received the American Theater Ribbon/American Campaign Medal. Mostly sons or daughters accepted the medals for the WASP member who passed on.
The Santiago blue uniforms proudly worn by the WASP is known today as Air Force Blue.
After the war in 1948, Jackie joined US Airforce Reserve; she rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She was the first woman to take off and land on an aircraft carrier, the first woman to break the sound barrier when she flew a Canadian F-86 Sabre jet borrowed from the Royal Canadian Airforce, the first woman to reach Mach 2 in a Northrop T-38 Talon. She still holds more distance and speed records than other pilot does, male or female, living or dead.
Jackie in the F-86 Sabre Jet with
Chuck Yeager
Nancy and her husband Robert both received the Air Metal at the same time from General H L George after the war. She left the US Air Force Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Nancy and Robert Love
Nancy Love had flown over twenty different types of military aircraft, including transport, trainer, fighter and bombers during WWII. She had also flown fifty different types of civilian aircraft manufactured by major companies of the era.
Nancy Harkness Love settled into domestic life moving to Martha’s Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts with her husband Robert Love, where they raised three daughters. She flew her own airplane from the island to the mainland for doctor and dental appointments for her children.
The two pioneers of women in aviation and the leaders of the WASP organization, Jackie Cochran died August 9 1980 and Nancy Love died of cancer in 1976.
In 2009, President Barrack Obama and Congress awarded the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. Three hundred surviving WASP arrived at the US Capital to receive their medal on May 10, 2010.
President Barrack Obama and the WASP
2009
Today, women pilots fly in all branches of the United States Military as well as the Coast Guard. The WASP remains today, the role models of American women military pilots, who flew over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The legacy of the WASP, the best kept secret of WWII, lives on.
Author’s Comments
This historical fiction novel takes place during WWII in the USA, when no one even considered the possibility that women were capable of flying military aircraft. The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) later changed to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). These women pilots made history the first time they sat in the cockpit of a military aircraft as a ferry pilot for the United States of America in September of 1942.
The principal character, Emily Reid, her family and baymates in the story are my creation, but the Women Airforce Service Pilots organization is a true part of American history. The trailblazers, Jackie Cochran and Nancy Love were a real part of the organization of the WASP. Other WASP such as Cornelia Fort and Mrs. Leni Deaton, the establishment officer are not fictional characters, but were part of the WASP organization. General Hap Arnold was commander of the United States Army Air Forces during WWII.
Fascinated by the heroism, and patriotism of these daring young women pilots of the WASP, inspired me to write this fictional account of the Women Airforce Service Pilots who bravely served their country with pride to aid in the war effort.
Thank you for reading WASP-Women Airforce Service Pilots
American Patriots, Trailblazers & Heroines WWII
Other e-books by Emma Gee available on Apple, Barnes and Nobles, Kobo:
Spitfire Pilots WWII-
Extraordinary Women
Spitfire Pilots WWII-
Extraordinary Women
By Emma Gee
Synopsis
As the battles in the air raged over England during WWII, 168 female pilots fought against all the odds for the right to aid the war effort in Britain. These trailblazers were part of the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) - a thousand strong organization that delivered aircraft to the frontline Royal Air Force (RAF) in extremely hazardous conditions. The ATA women pilots were the first women in the world to fly military aircraft.
Expected to fly wherever the need was greatest, in whatever aircraft was required - one in sixteen women pilots died flying for the ATA. Their story is one of courage, patriotism but above all, a story about women who wanted to break the confines of the world they lived in - and reach for the skies.
The horrific bombing of Britain began, when Hitler, the Nazi leader of Germany, ordered the massive aerial offensive against Britain on July 16, 1940.
Sarah Randal and her family as well as those close to her knew that they would do their part for the war effort to achieve victory against Germany. Some of them would live, too many would die, and everyone would suffer. The city of London where Sarah lives is one of Hitler's prime targets. His plan is to break the spirit of the British people into surrendering to Nazi Germany. That was not an option for the British. They vowed never to surrender.
The RAF must drive the Luftwaffe out of the skies over England or all would be lost! Stop the Nazi war machine at all costs was the cry of every Briton!
The British Spitfire fighter plane was a nimble flying machine. Fearless women pilots of the ATA delivered these Spitfires and other operational aircraft to the RAF squadrons, so the courageous fighter pilots of the RAF could halt the German Luftwaffe from pulverizing Britain with their deadly bombs. Sarah's older brother, Edward is one these gutsy RAF Spitfire pilots. The 'Spit' as the pilots call it is the symbol of British determination. Sarah dreams of flying Spitfires for the ATA.
Sarah's fiancé, Frank Peterson makes the ultimate sacrifice, as he operates an Anti-Aircraft gun in his defensive station near London. Sarah is losing everyone dear to her as the Nazis continue their relentless attacks. Sarah is devastated; she takes matters into her own hands and joins the ATA to deliver operational aircraft to the RAF Squadrons. As she flies Spitfires as well as other military aircraft throughout the menacing skies of Britain, she finds herself in dangerous situations.
Robert Duncan, a handsome RCAF Spitfire fighter pilot saves her life. Can he unlock her broken heart to try to love again? When they meet on the ground, is it love at first sight?
Is there room in her life for two
loves, flying Spitfires and handsome pilot Robert Duncan? Can she
have both or does she have to choose between the two?
The plucky women pilots of the ATA proved their mettle during
WWII's darkest days. These were terrifying times, which called for
desperate measures from extraordinary women!
This is a story of love, heroism, and war, portraying the bravery of young women and men during WWII. The novel "Spitfire Pilots WWII-Extraordinary Women" takes you into the depths of devastated London during WWII, where ordinary citizens take refuge in underground train stations from deadly falling bombs. Young men and women sacrifice their lives in the perilous skies above, to attain ultimate victory over the Nazi Luftwaffe.
A Soldier’s Story-Family, Love & War
By Emma Gee
New Edition
Synopsis
Family-A family, separates when The Great War begins in 1914. Robert Gee finds himself trapped in Canada while his wife Alice and seven children remain stranded in England. It is far too dangerous for his family to cross the Atlantic to join him in Canada where he is beginning to establish a better life for them. The German U-boats are lurking under the sea to sink any ship, military or civilian that attempts to sail the Atlantic. Robert Gee (Bob) must find another way to re-unite with his family.
Love-Young charismatic Robert Scott Howe (Rob) of Canada joins the Canadian Army to fight alongside Britain against the Germans. He becomes part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. By chance, he meets a beautiful woman at a hospital in Hastings England. Is it love at first sight? Will they survive the horrible war to make a life together?
War-Millions of British soldiers die on the bloody battlefields of the European Western Front during WW1. The unbearable conditions of the Battle of Gallipoli on coast of Turkey take its toll on the brave young soldiers of England. The casualty count is high. Many do not return to their loved ones.
A Soldier’s Story-Family, Love & War, tells the story based on true accounts of how the Gee and Howe families endured the adversity of wars, the struggle against incurable illness, and the hardship of economic depression. The Family Saga weaves its way through history from the mid 1800’s in England to post World War two in Canada.
E-books for children by Emma Gee available at Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo and Smashwords.com
Alex and the Big Red Airplane
Alex and the Tomato Plant
Alex and the Giant Plant
Rescue Mission-An Adventure with Alex & Rosie
Ollie the Little Orange Engine
Christmas Fun with Ollie the Little Orange Engine
Alex and the Halloween Pumpkin
Mister Sun and Mister Moon