skyrider 0 #1 March 10, 2010 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (March 10) -- It's been 66 years since Violet Cowden flew fighter airplanes during World War II, but when she took to the skies recently off the coast of Southern California, it was like she was home. "It's like I never left," said Cowden, 93, who flew a light fighter plane for an hour, completing stunts that included barrel rolls and a mock dogfight with two other airplanes. "I feel more comfortable in the air than I do in a car," she told AOL News. Cowden took the flight Feb. 26 as a prelude to an even more exciting event -- receiving a Congressional Gold Medal. As part of the dwindling group of Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, Cowden and her sisters in flight received the highest honor bestowed upon a civilian during a ceremony today at the U.S. Capitol. Although the WASPs worked for the military, they were not enlisted and their place in history has been largely ignored until now. "I wish more of us could be here," Cowden said from her Huntington Beach home. "Every year we lose more and more." Of the 1,102 certified WASPs, only about 300 are still alive. Of those, about 200 attended the Capitol ceremony. Relatives of the deceased pilots received medals in their honor. "The medal is something that we did not expect, so of course we are very pleased," said Pearl Judd, 87, a WASP from southern California. "When we were discharged in December 1944, we were told to go home and our records were sealed. We didn't get our veteran's status until 1977 and didn't have the right to have a flag on our coffin until after 2000." Judd told AOL News that she fell in love with airplanes as a child and signed up to join the WASPs when she heard of its formation. WASPs were used to test and ferry war planes across the United States, freeing their male counterparts for deployment in battle. The pay was $150 a month during training, with a $100 raise after graduation. Recruits had to pay for their own room and board and uniforms. Judd was a test pilot, making sure airplanes that needed repair were worthy to go back into battle. "They tried out everything on us -- we flew every plane that they had on the Air Force menu from [the] first jet to the B-29," Judd said. "The B-29 was a little touchy. Its engines caught on fire." Cowden had the most glamorous job of the group -- she flew the fabled P-51 Mustang fighter plane from factories to various military bases around the country. The P-51 has been credited with winning the war by guarding the larger bomb-dropping aircraft from attack. Its lightness and speed made it a match for any approaching enemy aircraft. "I've never felt afraid of flying," said Cowden, who sometimes flew the single-seat aircraft for five hours at a stretch. "I'm so comfortable in the air." The former first-grade teacher from South Dakota grew up on a farm and wanted to fly long before she knew planes existed. As a young woman, she scrimped to take flying lessons and, when the war broke out, she tried to enlist. "I thought I would be flying up and down the coast looking for the Japanese," she said. "I didn't think I'd be in combat, but I would've loved it." Asked if she had wanted to be deployed over Berlin, Cowden piped: "Absolutely. No question." Combat or not, the petite pilot endured some prejudice in her job from men who thought she was overstepping her bounds. "Once I delivered an AT-6 [aircraft] in Kansas. It was supposed to be the commander's personal plane. He refused to accept the plane when he saw that I had delivered it," Cowden said with a smile. "When I got out of the airplane, wherever I went, it was a shock usually." Cowden said the GIs would often watch her landings and then tease her if the plane bounced -- which was infrequent. One of her most notable achievements was delivering the first P-51 to the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous group of black fighter pilots. After the war ended, Cowden packed up her navy blue polyester uniform and headed to California, where she opened a ceramics business. She married and had a child, but her days as a pilot were just a prelude to even more adventures. "My daughter and I backpacked for three months around much of the world," she said. The 1966 trip included the Great Wall of China, Taiwan, India, Germany, England and Sri Lanka. Cowden also likes to hang glide and skydive. At 93 years young, knitting and jigsaw puzzles aren't her deal, and she doesn't go to the local senior center. "I don't fit in," she said. Cowden attributes her youthfulness and vigor to her frame of mind. "No matter how bad things were, I thought there must be something good happening, so I always tried to look at the best side of life rather than the negative," she said. Mike "Maverick" Blackstone was in the cockpit as a backup pilot during Cowden's recent flight. He flew the plane during takeoff, but the rest of the flight and the landing were under Cowden's control. "She is a great pilot," said Blackstone, a retired airline pilot who works for Air Combat USA, which stages mock dogfights and invited Cowden to participate. "You would assume someone her age would just sit there and rely on co-pilot," Blackstone told AOL News. "It was just like back in the '40s. She had a grin on her face and knew where she was going." Pictures at link: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/female-world-war-ii-pilots-to-receive-top-congressional-honor/19389988?icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl1|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Ffemale-world-war-ii-pilots-to-receive-top-congressional-honor%2F19389988 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #3 March 10, 2010 Thats pretty cool...and all this time I though WASP stood for We Are Sexual Perverts...who would've known? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #4 March 10, 2010 totally 100% cool...gave me goose bumps...what a person! ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #5 March 10, 2010 Quote totally 100% cool...gave me goose bumps...what a person! Did ya check out her pictures? she will see 100 easy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #6 March 10, 2010 Quote Quote totally 100% cool...gave me goose bumps...what a person! Did ya check out her pictures? she will see 100 easy! yeah, she looks great. reminds me of my dad a little. he comes to visit and i want to show him my ultralight trike. as I am setting up he asks me..."do you think I will be warm enough wearing this?" here i thought he just wanted to watch me fly, nope, he wanted to fly rear seat! he's 85. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,623 #7 March 10, 2010 Outstanding. However, I think the following sentence is far fetched: "The P-51 has been credited with winning the war by guarding the larger bomb-dropping aircraft from attack."... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeJD 0 #8 March 10, 2010 Quote Quote totally 100% cool...gave me goose bumps...what a person! Did ya check out her pictures? she will see 100 easy! I loved the 'then and now' shot - wished there'd been a bigger version. We have a funny way of thinking about young people and old people as somehow different beings, but nope - just the same lady, in the same pose, six or seven decades on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #9 March 11, 2010 Quote You liked that, huh? You know you are our own version of a WASP.... Wicked Amazing Supersonic Phaller. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #10 March 11, 2010 Quote Quote You liked that, huh? You know you are our own version of a WASP.... Wicked Amazing Supersonic Phaller. Phaller>???????????Someone who makes things PhallicYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longtall 0 #11 March 11, 2010 Fantastic !" 90 right, five miles then cut."---Pukin Buzzards Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zep 0 #12 March 11, 2010 The P 51 was an awsome Anglo-American airplane, and for far too long the women who served and helped the war effort went without the recognition they deserved. Gone fishing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #13 March 11, 2010 What an amazing ladyThey shouldn't have had to wait so long for their medals - they've been treating shabily (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocheese 0 #14 March 11, 2010 A funny thought: Somewhere there is a 90 year old guy trying to send her a "How YOU doin?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danornan 64 #15 March 11, 2010 Here is a picture of her in uniform. Nice looking lady! Sorry don't know how to do the clickies - Looking for a 10 year old... http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/results167.aspx?i=3898&s=6Dano Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #16 March 11, 2010 Quote Here is a picture of her in uniform. Nice looking lady! Sorry don't know how to do the clickies - Looking for a 10 year old... http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/results167.aspx?i=3898&s=6 y'found one (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orchid 0 #17 March 11, 2010 That's awesome, people like that inspired me!"Love is doing small things with great love." Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #18 March 11, 2010 Quote Quote Quote totally 100% cool...gave me goose bumps...what a person! Did ya check out her pictures? she will see 100 easy! yeah, she looks great. reminds me of my dad a little. he comes to visit and i want to show him my ultralight trike. as I am setting up he asks me..."do you think I will be warm enough wearing this?" here i thought he just wanted to watch me fly, nope, he wanted to fly rear seat! he's 85. Very Kewl! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rstanley0312 0 #19 March 11, 2010 Quote Outstanding. However, I think the following sentence is far fetched: "The P-51 has been credited with winning the war by guarding the larger bomb-dropping aircraft from attack." I see what you are saying but it is credited with winning the war in the sky. The war as a whole... I'm with you, its far fetched but it was def. a big part of our victory.Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it. Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000 www.fundraiseadventure.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #20 March 11, 2010 I'm sure they meant "Part" of winning the war....Just liek the WASP were a Part of winning it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #21 March 11, 2010 QuoteQuote Outstanding. However, I think the following sentence is far fetched: "The P-51 has been credited with winning the war by guarding the larger bomb-dropping aircraft from attack." I see what you are saying but it is credited with part of winning the war in the sky. The war as a whole... I'm with you, its far fetched but it was def. a big part of our victory. I know what you are both trying to say and I can't agree that a single piece of equipment had that large an effect on the outcome of the war...... But THE biggest part of the victory was due to the men and women involved. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeJD 0 #22 March 11, 2010 She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess. Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #23 March 11, 2010 QuoteShe'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess. Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right? I don't knwo about the soviets, but she never flew in combat, but she flew Fighter planes! (test pilot, and delivery service) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hungarianchick 0 #24 March 11, 2010 Great story! Very inspirational! "I don't go to the senior center. I don't fit in" "I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #25 March 11, 2010 Quote She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess. Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right? ...and some of the blokes that we're not quite sure of (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
