BOERNE MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY STUDENTS: ABOVE AND BEYOND THE WASP HISTORY!

On Saturday, May 7th, students from Mr. Degner's  8th grade American History class from Boerne Middle School North, Boerne, Texas,  will compete in the 30TH ANNUAL TEXAS HISTORY DAY contest, at the University of Texas in Austin.  The students are hoping to advance to the NATIONAL HISTORY DAY contest at the University of Maryland in June, 2010.

The student's project on the WASP is a wonderful example of the inspirational history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots and what it can mean to this generation and generations to come.

Please read on to find out more about these great kids!

Each year Middle School teacher, Bryan Degner, assigns his 8^th grade American History students a project that must follow the guidelines of the National History Day (NHD) contest.  The students have five categories to choose from and their topic must relate to the theme provided by the NHD.  This year’s theme is “Innovation in History, Impact and Change.”  A group of 8^th graders selected the WASP as their topic because they believed that using  women pilots to ferry planes for the Army during World War II was an innovative idea and the WASP had a tremendous impact on military aviation.

In order to educate people and bring the story of the WASP alive, these five students decided to enter the performance category.  They conducted hours of research reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles but their best source was the WASP themselves.  The students interviewed eight WASP either over the phone, email or by letter.  The information they gathered was used to write a script for a 10 minute performance that depicts the history of the WASP. 

These students won 1^st place at their school history fair and 2^nd at the San Antonio Regional History Fair. On May 7, 2010 they will compete at the Texas History Day contest and hope to advance to the national contest at the University of Maryland in June.

l to r: Heather Schloss, Callen Hamilton, Connor Campbell, Caroline Coale, Emily Bow

The following are comments from each of the five students in the group:

Callen:  I think the history of the WASP is important. These women made a difference when some people weren’t ready for women to serve in the military.  It’s because of the WASP that women have opportunities in military aviation. The thing that impressed me the most about the WASP was how strong and determined they were. They served their country not for recognition but because they loved to fly and wanted to do their part during the war.

Connor:  One of the things I learned about the WASP was how tough these women were and how they were forgotten for so long.  Speaking with the WASP was a great honor and it was a lot of fun listening to their stories.

Caroline:  I think the history of the WASP is important because they showed that women are just as brave and hard working as men.  We didn’t know the WASP were going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal when we started the project.  It has been an honor to share the story of the WASP with many people that had never heard of them.

Emily: I learned from this project that women can be just as strong and determined as any man. Thank you, WASP.

Heather:  One of the fun things about this project was dressing in the zoot suits and performing at competition. One of my favorite memories was hearing Mrs. Rosa Lea Meek tell us that before she left Love Field they were told to “go home, marry your high school sweetheart and have babies.”  It’s hard to believe that was the way women were thought of. 

PERFORMANCE PHOTOS:

Representing 1st female USAF Thunderbird pilot,
Maj (now Lt. Col) Nicole Malachowski

GOOD LUCK TO CALLEN, CONNER, CAROLINE, EMILY AND HEATHER!  LET THE CAN DO ATTITUDE OF THE WASP, THEIR PATRIOTISM AND THEIR SPIRIT BE SHINING BRIGHT IN YOUR PERFORMANCES.  FOR ALL OF US, YOU ARE ALREADY WINNERS!

GOD BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

NANCY PARRISH, DIRECTOR  & WASP DEANIE PARRISH, ASSO. DIRECTOR

WINGS ACROSS AMERICA

DOOLITTLE RAIDERS AND B-25's THUNDER OVER OHIO

Part of the joy of posting information is sharing what other people have written about their experiences.  I just received an email from Ken Kula, who wrote the following eyewitness account of the last reunion of the Doolittle Raiders-- and the flyin of the B-25's, along with some of the photos he took.

There were more than a few WASP who flew the B-25, so this is completely relevant to our mission.  God bless you all!

ENJOY-- and THANKS, KEN!
Nancy

_______RESPECTFULLY POSTED FROM KEN KULA'S ORIGINAL EMAIL

Hi All!
Shirl and I drove out to Dayton Ohio (13.5 hours!) last weekend to attend the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association Reunion, held at the US Air Force Museum abeam Wright Patterson AFB.  There are 8 surviving crew members of the 80 that flew on the mission; four attended the Reunion.  A historian of the group travelled with them too.  Seven of the eight survivors are 90+ years old.  Eighty eight - year old MSgt David Thatcher (engineer/gunner -  aircraft #7), 90 year old Lt Col Robert Hite (co-pilot of aircraft #16 - the last one off the USS Hornet), 92 year old Maj Thomas Griffin ( navigator and mission planner  - aircraft #9), and 94 year old Lt Col Richard Cole (co-pilot of aircraft #1 - Jimmy Doolittle's plane) were the 4 members in attendance. 

All four men had numerous public autograph sessions to attend throughout the Friday/Saturday/Sunday weekend event.  There were hundreds of people in line waiting for every 2-hour long session - snaking through the huge museum.  We attended a  45 minute media conference to ask questions and hear their stories on Friday afternoon.  Their age showed a bit - memories faded - but they were still spry.  A few items of note:  one member said it was common to for B-25 pilots to be deaf in their left ear because their engines were notoriously loud...  co-pilot on #16 - Lt Col Hite - said that he had no doubt that he'd make it off the Hornet OK because the other 15 had already done it...  and co-pilot in #1 - Lt Col Cole -  said he wasn't afraid being first to takeoff because he was along side of the best pilot in the group.  Navigator Maj Griffin noted that he (and the other mission planners) travelled to Washington DC to plot out their attack; they had actually made up 20 sets of flight plans and charts, although only 16 aircraft flew the mission.  Great stuff hearing it from the men that actually flew the operation.  Friday night, the Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley spoke at the big formal dinner for them at the museum, and was present Saturday morning at the static display of B-25s, alongside the four Tokyo Raiders.   What we didn't get to see was the private ceremony where the surviving members toasted their departed comrades with the legendary set of 80 engraved silver goblets - face down for those deceased.

The other half of the weekend's festivities centered around the gathering of 17 B-25s, the largest gathering of the North American - built bombers since the making of the film "Catch-22" decades ago.  Staging out of nearby Urbana Ohio, the planes thundered onto the Museum grounds Saturday morning, landing on a private runway behind it.  They were presented on static display Saturday for the public, and departed Sunday around noontime to perform a 17-ship fly past to open a commemorative service for the Doolittle Raiders at the Museum. 

The gathering included one of each version: B-25A, B-25D, B-25H,  PBJ (Navy/Marine version), plus 13 B-25Js.  The fly past on Sunday was spread out (as most pilots weren't B-25 formation rated I assume) in three columns filling the sky for some 30 seconds.  The rumble of 34 Wright Cyclones engines overhead was chilling and thrilling at the same time; I'd hate to have been underneath the bombers as they delivered their payloads in wartime, but then I marveled at the resourcefulness and dedication it took to put these aircraft all overhead at once for the Reunion.


More than one unofficial report states that this is probably the final Reunion for the Tokyo Raiders Association.  We were honored to be able to watch and listen to the men, who volunteered for their mission.  At the time, I don't think they knew of the raid's importance... only historians have brought out the two main impacts of the 16-ship raid... that America's morale soared, for it was a much needed early victory in the war, and Japan was immediately put on the defensive because they now needed to protect their homeland, slowing down their offensive plans that, up until that point, had resulted in a string of victories.

Hope all is well,
Ken Kula

WASP & FLYGIRLS--What's NEXT!

To the WASP and supporters online, a little news from Wings Across America.

"FLY GIRLS TRAVELING WASP EXHIBIT"

NEXT STOP on the national tour of the The "Fly Girls of WWII" traveling WASP exhibit will be  the Kalamazoo AIR ZOO in Kalamazoo, Michigan opening May 31, 2010!

Mom & I are DELIGHTED to make this announcement, so that YOU, the WASP, would be the FIRST TO KNOW!.  All the other details  we will leave up to the Air Zoo’s  Public Relations Department.   They will soon be releasing more information about the opening of the exhibit and events surrounding the opening.

Those of you who heard my speech at the Women's Memorial on March 9  know that I offered the entire Fly Girls exhibit to the US Air Force.  General Schwartz, who spoke at the event,  was very kind. He nodded, smiled, applauded, and immediately assigned a very nice young woman in his office to head up the project.   We have been working with her to find the best way to showcase your history, but we discovered that ‘making this happen’ will take much more time than we expected.   

Fly Girls of WWII  had been extended twice at the Women’s Memorial--held over for 17 months.   The time had come  for us to remove the exhibit in order for the Women's Memorial  to have room for another traveling exhibit that had been scheduled months before.  We were grateful for the opportunity to have the exhibit on display during the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, but it was time to take Fly Girls down and move on.   We were fortunate to find an exciting and special  temporary home for the exhibit  --KALAMAZOO  AIR ZOO,  while we continue to work with the Air Force.

During the events in Washington, WASP Sue Parish and her friend, Norm Carver, visited the  Fly Girls exhibit and expressed their  desire for a chance to display the exhibit at the AIR ZOO, which Sue helped found back in 1977.   (It houses her pink P-40!)  They were so enthusiastic until they sent the Kalamazoo Air Zoo Director, Bob Ellis,  to DC to see the Fly Girls exhibit a few days after they returned to Michigan.  Bob's enthusiasm for showcasing the Fly Girls exhibit in their beautiful facility was perfect timing! 

The Air Zoo is an EXTRAORDINARY,  "outside the box, state of the art" inspirational, entertaining and educational experience of EVERYTHING AVIATION!

Watch for upcoming information on their  ‘GRAND OPENING OF THE WASP ‘FLY GIRLS’ EXHIBIT’

"WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS--AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY"

The WASP Commemorative Edition of my new book, "WASP In Their Own Words," was given as a gift from Wings Across America to the WASP who attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in DC. This limited first printing was only for the WASP.  

For those of you who sent checks to order additional copies,  I’m having a second printing so the SECOND EDITION should be printed very soon.   Meantime, thank you for your patience!  (YOUR check will not be cashed until your book is shipped.)

Additional opportunities to order more books will be announced on-line shortly, along with more specific information on the book.

UPDATE on Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski & family

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU for your prayers, cards and emails for Paul & Nicole Malachowski and their expected TWINS!  My last email from Nicole was from her hospital bed-- where she will be until the twins are born.  She is ‘hanging tough’, doing everything to ensure those little babies stay right where they are for as long as possible.  

I received this message 2 days ago:

 "Thanks for passing on all the kind emails from the WASP network...they make me smile. Also, I got 20+ cards in the mail today from WASP and families. Really made my day! --Nicole"

For those of you who might want to send her a card:

Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski 

MICC, 6TH FLOOR, Bldg. 10 

National Naval Medical Center 

8901 Rockville Pike 

Bethesda, MD 20889-5600

_____________
THE WASP HISTORY 'COMES TO LIFE!'


On Saturday, May 7th, students from Mr. Degner's  8th grade American History class from Boerne Middle School North, Boerne, Texas,  will compete in the 30TH ANNUAL TEXAS HISTORY DAY contest, at the University of Texas in Austin.  The students are hoping to advance to the NATIONAL HISTORY DAY contest at the University of Maryland in June, 2010.

The student's project on the WASP is a wonderful example of how the history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots has inspired these students and can inspire generations to come.

Please read on to find out more about these great kids!

Each year Middle School teacher, Bryan Degner, assigns his 8^th grade American History students a project that must follow the guidelines of the National History Day (NHD) contest.  The students have five categories to choose from and their topic must relate to the theme provided by the NHD.  This year’s theme is “Innovation in History, Impact and Change.”  A group of 8^th graders selected the WASP as their topic because they believed that using  women pilots to fly military aircraft for the Army during World War II was an innovative idea and the WASP had a tremendous impact on military aviation.

In order to educate people and bring the story of the WASP alive, these five students decided to enter the performance category.  They conducted hours of research reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles but their best source was the WASP themselves.  The students interviewed eight WASP either over the phone, email or by letter.  The information they gathered was used to write a script for a 10 minute performance that depicts the history of the WASP. 

These students won 1^st place at their school history fair and 2^nd at the San Antonio Regional History Fair. On May 7, 2010 they will compete at the Texas History Day contest and hope to advance to the national contest at the University of Maryland in June.

l to r: Heather Schloss, Callen Hamilton, Connor Campbell, Caroline Coale, Emily Bow

The following are comments from each of the five students in the group:

Callen:  I think the history of the WASP is important. These women made a difference when some people weren’t ready for women to serve in the military.  It’s because of the WASP that women have opportunities in military aviation. The thing that impressed me the most about the WASP was how strong and determined they were. They served their country not for recognition but because they loved to fly and wanted to do their part during the war.

Connor:  One of the things I learned about the WASP was how tough these women were and how they were forgotten for so long.  Speaking with the WASP was a great honor and it was a lot of fun listening to their stories.

Caroline:  I think the history of the WASP is important because they showed that women are just as brave and hard working as men.  We didn’t know the WASP were going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal when we started the project.  It has been an honor to share the story of the WASP with many people that had never heard of them.

Emily: I learned from this project that women can be just as strong and determined as any man. Thank you, WASP.

Heather:  One of the fun things about this project was dressing in the zoot suits and performing at competition. One of my favorite memories was hearing Mrs. Rosa Lea Meek tell us that before she left Love Field they were told to “go home, marry your high school sweetheart and have babies.”  It’s hard to believe that was the way women were thought of. 

PERFORMANCE PHOTOS:

Representing 1st female USAF Thunderbird pilot,

Maj (now Lt. Col) Nicole Malachowski

GOOD LUCK TO CALLEN, CONNER, CAROLINE, EMILY AND HEATHER!  LET THE CAN DO ATTITUDE OF THE WASP, THEIR PATRIOTISM AND THEIR SPIRIT BE SHINING BRIGHT IN YOUR PERFORMANCES.  FOR ALL OF US, YOU ARE ALREADY WINNERS!

GOD BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

That's the news for now-- God continue to bless you all, everyone!


nancy