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Special lady receives tribute at Air Force ball

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Allison Day
  • PACAF Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Flying was in Mildred Marshall's veins for as long as she can remember. And during World War II, most everyone did what they could to support America and Mildred was no exception. 

So it was fitting when a tribute was paid to Mrs. Marshall and the other Women Airforce Service Pilots or WASP, during the 62nd birthday celebration of the U.S. Air Force, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Waikiki Sept. 18. 

The WASP was formed during World War II when American women supported the country while the nation's men went off to combat, said the vibrant 90-year- old, dressed in bright pink and exhibiting a million-dollar smile. 

"I couldn't see myself giving out candy or working in the hospitals," said the 1941 graduate of Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I had my private pilot's license and I flew for fun, so flying was the way I decided I could support my country." 

The primary mission of the WASP was to fly noncombat military missions in the states, which freed the men up to go to war, she said. 

"My parents were very supportive of my decision to join the WASP," said Mrs. Marshall. "It was a time when women filled many different roles to support the war effort." 

Once she decided that she wanted to join the WASP, her uncle took her to Washington, D.C., for an interview, she said. 

"I was interviewed by Jackie Cochran, who was responsible for forming the WASP," said Mrs. Marshall. "I already had my physical and I told her that I could come whenever I was needed. When the call came I reported to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, for training." 

Of the 25,000 women who applied, only 1,830 were accepted into flight training and 1,074 women graduated and earned their wings. 

Training was not difficult, she said. The hardest thing was losing a fellow trainee.
"I remember getting her ring and sending it to her parents when she lost her life during training," said Mrs. Marshall, a graduate of class 44-5. 

After graduation, she reported to Las Vegas Army Air Field, Las Vegas, Nev., where she flew AT-6 Advanced Trainer and towed targets for the B-17 Flying Fortress gunners, she said. She was also a co-pilot in the B-17 and the B-26 Martin Marauder. 

"What we did was prepare the male pilots for war by training with them," said Mrs. Marshall. "I towed targets, which involved B-17 pilots firing at the targets with live ammunition." 

WASP were stationed at 120 Army Air bases across America and flew more than 60,000,000 miles for their country in every type of aircraft and every type of assignment flown by the male Air Force pilots, except combat. 

What the WASP did is admired by many pilots. 

"During the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of serving my nation as an Air Force officer and fighter pilot," said Maj. Nicole Malachowski, first female Thunderbird pilot. "I am convinced every opportunity I've been afforded, from flying combat controls in the skies over Iraq to representing the military as a White House Fellow, is because of these pioneering WASP." 

Their service to our nation at a critical time in the history of the entire free world is remarkable not because they were women, but is remarkable in its own right, she added. The WASP legacy has been there all along. 

"They were the first women to attend pilot training in the late 1970s; their legacy was with women who flew in support of the high-profile missions of the 1980s in Central and South America," said Major Malachowski. "The WASP legacy carried many women aviators safely through the first gulf war and I know for a fact that these WASP have flown in the hearts , minds and aircraft of hundreds of women aviators over the skies of Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan." 

Mrs. Marshall and the other WASP were the first women to fly American military aircraft operated by the Army Air Force during World War II. They played a key role in ensuring that male pilots were trained to do battle in war, but were not officially considered military.
"It didn't bother me that we didn't receive military benefits, because we were not in the military," said Mrs. Marshall. "We lived with the nurses in Las Vegas while working, were treated well and I was fine with the way it was." 

Once the war ended and the WASP was disbanded, the records were sealed, so not everyone knew what the WASP had done, or how they supported their country. Now, their records are part of the history of World War II. And finally, July 1, 2009, 60 years later, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill awarding WASP the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award that can be given by Congress. 

The award, Mrs. Marshall said, "is an appreciation and recognition for my time as a WASP." 

While stationed in Las Vegas, the young WASP, born in Stanley, North Carolina, found that flying was not her only passion. She met and married her lifelong love, Winton Marshall, an Air Force pilot, who went on to become an ace in the Korean War and retired at the rank of lieutenant general. 

And that night at the ball, the near unending applause was for the WASP who won his heart more than 66 years ago and one of the brave women who fought the war from home.