June bent biography wasps
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So you just do it.”
How female pilots were treated by their male counterparts differed from base to base; it depended on the commanding officer. And they traveled around the world.
Sources:
iGen
Findagrave.com
Telegram.com
Texas Womens University
WINGS & WASP blog
Mrs. Neither of them flew planes again, but they took up gliding as a hobby.
She was June Braun when she met a fighter pilot who had just returned from combat in North Africa. And they traveled around the world.
They moved to Massachusetts about six years ago to be close to their daughter, who lives in Hopedale. They received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, in a ceremony on Capitol Hill.
About 200 women who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were on hand to receive the award.
“We were having too much fun.”
She has lost many of her pilot friends and looks forward to reunions where she can meet others who lived the life she did.
June Braun Bent
June Braun Bent
WASP Class 44-W-3
March 1, 1913 – April 3, 2015
Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6, UC-78
Assigned bases: Merced Army Air Field (Calif.) and Minter Field (Bakersfield, Calif.)
June E.
Bent’s cousin happened to owe her some money. Neither of them flew planes again, but they took up gliding as a hobby. When some died on duty, it was fellow female aviators who helped pay their funeral expenses, she said.
……Despite the danger and obstacles they faced, the women in interviews fondly recalled the camaraderie they shared.
“It was fun coming into a strange airport and having the mechanics say, ‘Where’s the pilot?’ ” said Dorothy Eppstein, 92, of Kalamazoo, Mich.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/11/wwii-female-pilots-win-belated-recognition/
Women like them, both military and non-military, led the way.
So you just do it.”
How female pilots were treated by their male counterparts differed from base to base; it depended on the commanding officer. He was John T. Bent, known to friends as Jack, and he noticed her while she was sitting with a friend at the Air Force base in Merced, CA.
“He asked, ‘May I sit with you?’ He did, and two and a half months later, we were married.”
They were married at the chapel on base, in their uniforms, in July 1944.
They tested the planes to make sure they were safe for male pilots to use in combat.
It was like being a guinea pig, but Mrs. Bent said that was part of the fun.
“You did it every day, like pounding a typewriter,” she said. Mrs. Bent is hoping she can attend.
Many women lost their husbands in the war; Mrs.
Bent found hers. They tested the planes to make sure they were safe for male pilots to use in combat. “I didn't have any civilian clothes with me,” Mrs. Bent said. They had two daughters. Mr. Bent worked for Kodak and Mrs. Bent designed jewelry for fun. But rude comments from doubtful men didn't deter Mrs. Bent or the 1,101 other women who decided to use their piloting skills to help their country win World War II.
They became the Women Airforce Service Pilots, women who were trained to fly non-combat missions in 1943 and 1944.
Women pilots who served in World War II were considered civilians, even though they had almost the same training as male cadets and served alongside military officers. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home.
These aviators – all women – got long-overdue recognition on Wednesday.
They didn’t get any benefits: if a WASP died in service, her family had to pay to bring her body home.