Amazing interview of WASP Nancye R. Lowe Crout, 87 years old!
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/