Women who served our country…WASPs

I’ve had several people ask me about the novel I’m writing, wanting to know more about the true story behind the story.  Future posts will reveal more, but for today I’ll share some basics.

The story is about a fictional young woman, but the setting is anything but fiction.  It involves the WASPs of World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots.  In the early/mid 1940s, more than 1,000 ladies trained in Sweetwater, Texas. After graduation, they performed varied miltary piloting duties across the country–and some overseas, freeing up more men for combat.

They served as ferrying pilots, flight instructors, objects of target practice, and test pilots for experimental or newly-repaired aircraft.  Thirty-eight of them died in the line of duty.  The WASPs were disbanded in 1944; thirty-three years later Congress granted them veteran status.

I get so excited talking about this project that I have to restrain myself from sharing more now.  You’ll find future posts about these courageous women.  In the meantime, follow this link to the WASP Museum if you want to read more: National WASP World War II Museum.

…And with Veterans’ Day right around the corner, please take time to thank each veteran you know.  I’m so grateful for their sacrifices on behalf of all of us.