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Bill Klaers and James Stewart from the Cockpit
Greetings!
The excitement surrounding the museum continues to spread, and even on Capitol Hill! Thanks to Congressman Doug Lamborn, House Resolution 1207 is now introduced into Congress. Visit the following website: http://www.thomas.gov
Select "Bill Number" then key in hres 1207. The Board of Directors sincerely thanks Congressman Lamborn for committing to work for national designation for the Museum. We also wish to express our appreciation to the Congressman's local military liaison for Congressman Lamborn in his DC office. The enthusiasm of these men is what we need to get the resolution through the House of Representatives. Please take a moment and give the office a call to express your apprecia-tion for Congressman Lamborn's commitment.
We want and need you to be an active partner in letting your friends and business acquaintances know about the Museum, our website, this newsletter, and the opportunities they have to be a founding member in this educational Museum. We give several briefings weekly to interested community and business leaders about our strategic direction, design plans, funding requirements and progress to date. And the response is nothing short of phenomenal.
And remember that fundraising to complete the final designs for the Museum, preparatory to construction, is the focus right now. If you know of someone who may have an interest in supporting the establishment of this world-class Museum right here in Colorado Springs, where it can serve as an invaluable educational tool for future generations, please let us know.
A piece of what is so exciting about our work is the opportunity to meet those few remaining members of WWII era ground and flight crews and their families, and folks engaged in the war effort on the home front during the war. The looks on their faces when they hear of our plans are priceless. We wish we could stop time for them until the Museum is here and they can enjoy it with us. This adds a sense of urgency to our work.
Until next month...
James Stewart
Bill Klaers
The National Museum of World War II Aviation |
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Courageous WASPs to be a core story of the National Museum of WWII Aviation |
World War II was the catalyst for substantial change in American society, partly because of the dedication of Americans on the home front to win the war and their willingness to take on new work roles to support the war effort. The story of how America united to support the troops and help design, build and deploy the most massive airborne fighting force the world has seen is the core message of the National Museum of World War II Aviation.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program was one such example of that American commitment during WWII. The Museum will proudly feature their story.
 Women left behind their traditional roles as homemakers and joined the wartime workforce as assemblers (where their dexterity proved invaluable), technicians, weapons testers, and myriad of other wartime related jobs. Women also backfilled jobs that men had traditionally done, critical jobs that needed replacements for the men who went to war, such as firefighters, guards, and security personnel.
The tens of thousands of aircraft that were produced had to be transferred from their points of final assembly to the war front, or tested on remote airfields where they could be put through the rigorous testing to ensure they were the best the boys needed to fight the enemy.
 Courageous WASPs volunteered for those sometimes deadly non-combat missions and they served without fanfare and little notice until recently, when these aviators received some long-overdue recognition. They were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, in a recent ceremony on Capitol Hill.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123194315 | |
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WASP spirit soars |
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The roar of the engine instantly stopped; complete silence except for the wind rushing past the canopy of the single engine trainer. The steady pull of the 600 hp nine cylinder engine was gone. The AT-6 "Texan" was close to the ground, just 750 feet in altitude. The landing had to be perfect and done in one pass. A pilot's worse nightmare.
Crisp and Capable, Jean Reimer in her WASP uniform
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Reacting quickly, Jean Reimer brought the aircraft around and executed a dead-stick landing, a landing with no power assist available. She was one of two WASPs to experience a complete engine failure in the AT-6. To Jean it was another day in the sky doing something she loved: flying aircraft.
Jean's story is probably typical for this remarkable group of women who joined up to do their part in winning the war. And her frustration in pursuing a post war career in flight is likely representative as well.
Despite her clear ability to fly, her thousands of hours of flight time, her ratings as a commercial pilot and a flight instructor, and her ratings to fly multi-engine aircraft and for instrument only flight, Jean was turned away from job after job as a pilot. Even the airlines would not accept her as a "stewardess" as they were known then. Too old, at 30 years of age.
It was certainly the era, but consider the disappointment Jean and other women faced when attempting to use the skills attained in the conflict to get jobs after the war was won.
Jean finally turned her back on flying and found her passion in research, donning SCUBA gear and searching for specimens as a technician for the famed Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Spirit through the generations: Jean, daughter Diane and granddaughter Tina
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The spirit and strength of this WASP is seen in her smile, undimmed by the decades after WWII. Traits passed on to daughter Diane, a pilot, and granddaughter Tina, a computer specialist with the USAF who provided The National Museum of World War II Aviation with background information and photos that accompany this story. We are in their debt.
Copyright 2010 The National Museum of World War II Aviation |
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Gazette Coverage |
The Colorado Springs Gazette featured The National Museum of World War II Aviation in its Sunday, March 14 edition, in a front page story. On its website, the Gazette will also be documenting the restoration of "White 33", a P-38 "Lightning" that saw combat in WWII. The plane will be featured at the museum when it opens.
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