The interview at the standing room only event at the Santa Rosa vets building with pioneer aviator Betty June Deuser-Budde Class 43-3 at age 89 is a real hoot!
Please enjoy her stories as a WASP.
“I became fascinated with airplanes as a young girl when my father often took my family out to the local airport in Alameda, CA to watch the airplanes take off and land.”
“In 1941, I earned my private pilot’s license thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. I trained at an airport in Concord, California and obtained 50 logged in hours.”
“I joined the third class of WASPs in January 1943 in Sweetwater, Texas. After graduating I was one of only three WASPs who were called to Washington, DC to meet with Director of the WASPs Jacqueline Cochran and General Hap Arnold. We were told that we were not going to be ferrying planes, and were reassigned to Camp Davis, NC to be the first group to tow targets for anti-aircraft troop training.”
“We flew the planes from the front cockpit while an enlisted man sat in the rear cockpit to control reeling out the 36-foot target sleeve behind the plane. We would wait for direction from “Sugar Charley”, the ground control officer, and fly back and forth perpendicular to the artillery range to allow the gunners the opportunity to hit the target behind the aircraft. This could go on for hours with occasional changes in altitude to accommodate the firing from the ground of many different weapons including machine guns and 90 MM cannons at our target sleeve!”
“One of my baymates, 26-year-old Mabel Rawlinson died as her plane crashed during a night training flight at Camp Davis. She was one of 38 WASPs who died during the war.
A second WASP at the Camp had her plane crack up after landing. It made me sick to think of both deaths.”
In September 1943, I joined a secret radio-control program flying PQ-8 drone-targets and assisted with aircraft modifications, such as installing override systems for pilot safety. The PQs were used for targets, and we learned to fly them remotely.
During one of my test flights, the pilotless radio-controlled PQ-8, was hit by shrapnel but continued to fly. I lost control of it, and it eventually crashed. A farmer saw the crash and organized a search party to look for the pilot. Of course, they never found one!
I also logged time with the A-24 Douglas dive bomber, A-25 Curtiss Helldiver, B-34 Lockheed bomber and various Beechcraft ATs. I learned to fly a variety of aircraft including the PT-19, BT-13, BT-14, AT-6, PQ-8, and UC-78.” The audience had a look of amazement as Betty quickly rattled of all the aircraft.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were unhappily disbanded on December 20, 1944. This was eight months before the official end of World War II. We had to make way for returning male pilots.
I was one of only 180 WASPs who went to the capitol in Washington, DC for a ceremony to receive the Congressional gold medal of honor we wore our WWII uniforms. There were only 300 living out of 1,078 at the time.”
Applause was heard from the audience.
Betty June Deuser-Budde Class 43-3 was born on 8/15/1920 and died at the age of 94 on 10/13/2014
