Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 |
The second presentation of former WASP Florence Emig Wheeler at the Santa Rosa Veterans building was very comforting for me. It was wonderful to have her on the panel as she had edited my book, She Flew Bombers. I introduced her saying, she was born on April 6, 1922 in Santa Clara, California, to William J. Emig the sheriff of Santa Clara County.
Florence spoke with enthusiasm, “My interest in flying was sparked when my father encouraged me to join the San Jose State College flying club in 1940. Before I went into the service, I was a flight instructor in Reno, Nevada and Alturas, CA where five of my students were accepted into the WASPs, I felt very proud of that accomplishment. I joined the last class of WASPs in Sweet Water, Texas in 1944. I arrived on the base, and I was overwhelmed as well as excited to see the many beautiful, tanned WASPs marching two by two to training classes wearing tan slacks and white shirts instead the first issued surplus GI size 44 mechanic uniforms which had to be rolled up and fasten by a belt to fit.
One of my assignments to graduate from the Sweetwater training classes was a timed cross-country flight. I climbed up to 5,000 feet from Garden City, Kansas and was to land in Lincoln, Nebraska. Well, I was a California girl and was used to flying in a state that had marvelous mountains, valleys and hills which were easy markers to show where I was.
I flew from Texas to Kansas and became completely lost! Here I was as an accomplished pilot and instructor with 1,500 hours logged hours and I never got lost! Kansas is completely flat with no obvious markers. At last, I saw a railroad down below and I immediately flew down to read the railway station sign which told me where I was!” Laughter erupted from the audience.
Florence continued, “Fortunately, I found the town on the map and made it to Nebraska four minutes late but luckily the instructor passed me.” The audience applauded very loudly.
Florence finished her story; “The WASPs were deactivated in December 1944 and I returned to San Jose to complete my degree and resumed flight instruction at Reid-Hillview Airport, San Jose.
“I received my degree in Home Economics at San Jose State College and taught at Healdsburg High School for 30 years where I met and married my husband, Marshall Wheeler, a history teacher.”
I sewed and improvised this WASP uniform I’m wearing for speaking events such as this one. Here is my original hat made of the traditional Santiago Blue material used for graduation uniforms. That material was discontinued but as you can see the colors are close. Also, my uniform does not have a drop seat which had been necessary when there were no bathroom facilities available.” More laugher was heard from the audience.
“One of my most satisfying events was teaching my father, Sheriff Emig to fly to get his pilot’s license in 1950 at the age of 74. This made me feel so proud!”
I added to Florence’s story, “On March 10, 2010, Florence attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington, D.C., honoring the entire WASPs in service during the war. President Obama presented the medals to each WASP.
I called Florence up after hearing about the ceremony on the radio and asked her if she went to the ceremony. She said she went there with her son. I asked her if she was paid for travel and hotel expenses.
Her simple answer was, “No.”
I replied, “That’s terrible.”
Florence answered, “That’s the way it is!”
Florence Emig Wheeler passed away of a heart condition in Santa Rosa, California, on March 30, 2015, at age 92.
I attended Florence’s touching remembrance ceremony at the Unitarian Church in Santa Rosa. It was a wonderful slide presentation of her life and was well attended. It brought tears to my eyes and felt very grateful that I met this amazing powerful woman who had a great spirit of determination.
Next time: Stay tuned for the third amazing and powerful WASP’s interview from Betty Deuser Budde!
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2025 |
Interviewing the six WASPs that I was able to locate was fast approaching and I bought a dress that made me feel professional and added my mother’s string of pearls.
The Sonoma County Arts council did all the publicity for the upcoming event.
I was interviewed by several local radio stations plus a San Francisco station which enhanced my confidence to put on this event.
On the eventful day I recruited my 3 close friends, Sivani, Kathy, and Amy for needed support at the event, and I was glad I did because the room was filled with capacity with standing room only!
With butterflies in my stomach, my friends and I kept looking out the window anticipating the arrival of each of the WASPs hoping and wondering if they would all show up! Each of the WASPs came with a caregiver or relative and some with a cane or in a wheelchair. This frightened me a bit, but I optimistically hoped that they all had prepared a good presentation for the interview. The WASPs sat in front at a long table as I held the microphone for each to speak.
Much to my surprise a camera group arrived from the Santa Rosa CMedia Lab and asked me if they could film the program!
I interviewed the first Amazing WASP, Nancye R. Lowe Crout a petite lady wearing a Navy blue beret who spoke in a calm, expressive, articulate, sweet Texan voice from a typed script that she had prepared.
She read to the audience her adventures in flying and joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
“I was a 20-year-old girl in North Texas, and I rode my bike to take a Civilian Pilot Training Program at the expense of the government, at my local college which only accepted 10% women. I received my pilots license and obtained 50 hours of flight training.”
“With flying in my blood and the war escalating I read in the newspaper about the newly formed Women Airforce Service Pilots with the famous aviator Jacqueline Cochrane as director.”
“I was recruited in February,1943 as one of the only 3,000 women in the US that had a pilot’s license.
In the 4th WASP training class, the gals were put up in a Huston hotel room, given $150.00 a month from the US Civil Service Commission. We had to pay for our food and room. Each morning we were taken by bus to the first established WASP Army Base at the Avenger Field training center in Sweetwater Texas.”
“In April 1943, I stayed at the first established barracks for women at Avenger field.
“I graduated and received my silver pinned wings in 8/43 while training on military airplanes. Our job was to ferry over 77 types of military planes from the factories to the 134 army bases for the men to fly into combat.”
My first assignment was to fly a B-34 to Camp Davis, North Carolina and towed
a 30-foot-long muslin aerial target sleeve at the end of 1500 feet of steel cable for the gunnery crew of male army soldiers on the ground who shot off round after round of live ammunition at my target sleeve. This artillery practice at a moving target helped the army men prepared them for use in overseas in the war. Fortunately, I was never hit as several other WASPs were hit in the foot by stray bullets. This was a necessary job but nerve-wracking!”
I was trained to also perform critical non‑combat aviation tasks including learning radio‑control work and I flew drones.
In December 1944 congress deactivated the WASPs as the war was winding down.
The WASPs were considered federal employees, not military personnel, and received no veterans’ benefits. 38 WASPs died in service to the WASPs.
I applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attended communication school where I met my Bombardier husband who had navigated 35 bombing missions to England.
It took 67 years for the WASPs to be recognized for their WW II service, and I received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.
I was young, adventurous and so lucky that I found something I loved: FLYING and this was a means for me to help our country win the war.
A loud, long applause erupted as Nancye Lowe Crout finished her well written account of serving during WW II.
I thanked Nancye for her wonderful speech and mentioned that her brother and niece came from Texas to hear her presentation.
After each WASP presented, I would read a passage from She Flew Bombers that tied into their story and displayed photographs.
Stay tuned for the second WASP, Florence Emig Wheeler, 87 telling her amazing testimony.
To purchase the CD with the complete interviews visit: https://jeaneslone.com/shop/
Saturday, Aug 2, 2025 |
After publishing She Flew Bombers, I joined the small friendly Healdsburg Literary Guild where we discussed events like doing readings at the old Healdsburg Cemetery on different holidays with the public was invited.
At one of our meetings of only ten people, David Beckman, member of the Sonoma County Arts Council, invited me to apply for a grant for their upcoming event.
Much to my surprise I received the grant and was full of excitement and formulated a plan to present the WASPs in a public event.
This was new territory for me I had a BS degree in Health Education and was working to get a MS degree in Marriage, Family counseling. Besides the fact I owned a large Child Care Center license for 44 children and employed six childcare workers. All of this did not educate me in public relations or even public speaking. I knew I would have to learn on my own and was “flying by the seat of my pants”. No one helped me with the planning and the only thing that propelled me was my amazement and love of the WASPs.
Apparently, I seemed to have a personality of determination with an ability to learn and experience serendipitous events that were literally thrown my way!
Former WASP Florence Wheeler had a roster of WASPs that she lent me. There had been 1,078 WASPs that served during WWII.
This roster came from the many reunions that Florence went to in her eighties. It listed all the members of the WASPs that attended. At first, I emailed all the WASPs in all the Western States this proved to be futile as all the emails bounced back or were unanswered. I consulted Florence and she told me that she didn’t email and most of the WASPs just used relatives emails to put on any forms.
I was resolved to find 10 WASPs to attend this public event and called many of the WASPs. Again, many of the phone numbers had been disconnected but I persevered.
Most of women would say to me on the phone, “I would like to go but I can’t drive anymore, and I’ll have to check with my son, daughter, grandchildren or caregiver to bring me up to Northern CA. With each phone call I would smile and think: “You flew bombers and can’t drive?” I reminded myself that the former WASPs were all in their eighties!
Time went by as at last I got the commitment of Six not TEN Wasps to come to the event. I proceeded to pay to rent the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Building on Sept. 12, 2009 from 1-4 PM. I actually had to guess on how many hours this event should be!
Stay tuned for my next blog about one of the WASPs who told her story about her amazing job in the WASPs. These amazing women ferried over 77 types of aircraft from the factories to over 135 Army bases for the men to fly into combat during WW II.
