Mary Pauline Hartson 
January 11, 1917- August 14, 1944
Class: 43-W-5
Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, April 6, 1943
Graduated: September 11, 1943
Stationed: Dodge City Army Air Base, Kansas;
Coffeyville Army Air Base, Kansas; Independence Army Air Field, Kansas; Perrin Army Air Base, Sherman, Texas.
Assignments: Engineering test pilot, Administrative flying, Instrument Instructor
Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.)
Assigned Bases: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.)
Dodge City Army Air Base (Kan.) and Coffeyville Army Air Base (Coffeyville, Kan.)
Planes flown: BT-13, PT-19, B-26

 

Mary was a Portland native who graduated from Washington High. Soon after graduation she began working in Washington, D.C. as a clerk in the Federal Security Agency’s General Consul Office. The agency was in charge of food and drug safety as well as the Social Security program.

While in Washington, Mary received a scholarship for the Civilian Pilot Training Program that taught her to fly and earned her a pilot license. Within a year she began her six months of training with the WASP.

Although her first assignment was the Air Transport Command at New Castle Air Base, in Delaware, within a few weeks orders quickly began sending her from one Army airfield to another.

On August 14, 1944, 18 months after her WASP graduation, the sky was clear, winds from the south were light, and temperatures were simmering toward 103 degrees. Mary took off in a BT-13 from the Perrin Army Airfield in Texas with Staff Sergeant Orville Eitzen in the rear seat.

This was a basic test flight just to check out the plane’s recently repaired radio. About 15 miles north of the runway, the aircraft suddenly stalled and spun into the ground. The cockpit was open and their seatbelts were undone indicating they were trying to get out, but they were too late. There were no witnesses and the cause of the crash was never determined.

Sources:

Angel Fire
Texas Women’s University
William Miller blog
Women Airforce Service Pilots 

There have been many books about the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII (WASP); however, hardly any about the 38 women who lost their lives while flying for the Army Air Corps. This book tells their story.

“To Live and Die a WASP: 38 Women Pilots Who Died in WWII”

Share:

More Posts

Russell Clarence Nalle, Jr.

Russell Clarence Nalle, Jr. August 30, 1921 February 7, 2025 Class: 44-H-TE Graduation date: 9/8/1944 Rank at time of graduation: Flt. Officer Unit: 477th Bombardment Group Service # T66150 From: Detroit MI Born in 1921,

Read More »

Frances Dias Gustavson

Frances Dias Gustavson December 28, 1916 – February 7, 1994 Class 43-W-2 Planes flown: PT-19, BT-13, UC-78 Assigned bases: Love Field (Dallas, Tex.) Frances Diaswas one of two Latina WASP Frances Johanna Dias Gustavson was an

Read More »

Nathan O. Thomas

Nathan O. Thomas 1926 – December 22, 2024 He served stateside during World War II, and supported pilots, mechanics, and other ground personnel as an information and education specialist. Mr. Thomas was drafted in 1945

Read More »

Nathaniel Walter Goins, Jr.

Nathaniel Walter Goins, Jr. February 1918-1970 – March 30, 1970 Class: 45-H-TE Graduation date: 11/20/1945 Rank at time of graduation: 1st Lt. Service # 0582758 From: St. Paul MN Nathaniel Walter Goins, Jr. was the

Read More »

Send Us A Message