Take a closer look at the lives and accomplishments of some of the WASP. New profiles are added regularly and will grow as the staff and volunteer of the CAF RISE ABOVE continue their tireless efforts to research and share the remarkable stories of these important American figures.

Margaret Ray Ringenberg

Margaret Ray Ringenberg June 17, 1921-July 28, 2008 Class 43-W-5 Planes flown: PT-17, PT-19, AT-6, B-24, C-45, DC-3, PT-26, L-2, L-4, C-54 Bases assigned: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Margaret was introduced to the

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Gleanna Roberts

Gleanna Roberts  January 11, 1919 – June 20, 1944 Class 44-W-9, Trainee Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas in June, 1944 Gleanna was born in Sharon Center, Johnson County, Iowa. She

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Marie Michell Robinson

Marie Michell Robinson May 23, 1924 – October 2, 1944 Class 44-W-2 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, in September, 1943 Graduated: March 11, 1944 Training location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assignments:

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Verneda G. Rodriguez McLean

Verneda G. Rodriguez McLean January 11, 1918 – March 19, 1982 Class 44-W-6 Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6, C-45, UC-78 Assigned bases: Moore Army Air Base (Mission, Tex.) Verneda G. Rodriguez McLean was an American aviator and served

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Alyce Stevens Rohrer

Alyce Stevens Rohrer September 07, 1922 – February 01, 2024 Class: 44-W-4 Planes flown: PT-17, PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, AT-11, UC-78 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned bases: Perrin Army Air Base (Sherman, Tex.) “Excuses

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Barbara Donahue Ross

Barbara Donahue Ross March 25, 1920 – August 21, 2010 Class: WAFS Training Location: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Planes flown: L-5, PT-17, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-63, C-47, A-20 Assigned bases: New Castle

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Mary Eleanor Martin Sabota

Mary Eleanor Martin Sabota Class 44-W-3 February 5, 1918 – November 23, 1999 Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6, AT-10, B-25, B-26, P-40 ,P-63 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned bases: Dodge City Army Air

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Adela Riek Scharr 

Adela “Del” Riek Scharr August 10, 1907 – March 11, 1998 Class: WAFS Training Location: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6, AT-9, P-39 Assigned bases: New Castle Army Air

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Dorothy E.  Scott

Dorothy E.  Scott February 16, 1920 – December 3, 1943 WAFS “The Originals” October, 1942, Dorothy Scott was hired as a ferry pilot in the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of the Air Transport Command. On

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Bettie Mae Scott

Bettie Mae Scott (A) July 26, 1921 – July 8, 1944 Class: 44-W-3 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, October, 1943 Graduated: April 15, 1944 Training location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.)

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Margaret June “Peggy” Seip

Margaret June “Peggy” Seip June 24, 1916 – August 30, 1943 Class 43-W-5 Training Location Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Margaret Seip was a trainee killed in an accident on August 30, 1943 with her instructor Calvin

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Helen Jo Anderson Severson

Helen Jo Anderson Severson November 2, 1918 – August 30, 1943 Class 43-W-5 Training location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) April 6, 1943 Fun fact: Number of Trainees: 124 trainees, 85 graduates. This was the first class

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Dawn Seymour

Dawn Y. Rochow Balden Seymour July 1, 1917 – July 18, 2017 Class: 43-W-5 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned Bases: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.), Buckingham Army Air Field (Fort Myers,

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Marie Ethel Cihler Sharon

Marie Ethel Cihler Sharon (A) April 21, 1917 – April 10, 1944 Class 43-W-4 Entered Army Air Force flight training: February 14, 1943 at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas Graduated: August 7, 1943 Training location: Houston

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Evelyn Sharp

Evelyn Sharp (A) October 1, 1919 – April 3, 1944 WAFS “The Originals” October, 1942, Evelyn Sharp was hired as a ferry pilot in the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of the Air Transport Command. On

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Barbara Poole Shoemaker

Barbara “Puddles” Poole Shoemaker January 28, 1917 – September 23, 2008 Class: WAFS, The Originals Training Location: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Planes flown: PT-19, PT-26, AT-6, AT-17, B-24, C-47, P-38, P-39, P-47, P-51,

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Dorothy Fulton Slinn

Dorothy Fulton Slinn October 14, 1918 – February 11, 1985 Class: WAFS Training Location: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Planes flown: PT-19, PT-26, BT-13, AT-6, A-20, B-25, B-26, C-47, P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47,

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Elizabeth Whitlow Smith

Elizabeth “Betty” Whitlow Smith December 29, 1920 -June 16, 2011 Class: 43-W-2 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) Planes flown: B-24, P-40, P-47, P-51,, PT-19, BT-15, AT-6, PT-17, A-24 Assigned bases: Love Field (Dallas, Tex.)

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Nancy E. Nesbit Staples

Nancy E. Nesbit Staples April 10, 1921 – November 10, 2006 Class: 43-W-4 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) and Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Planes flown: PT-19, AT-11, B-34, B-25, C-45, C-47, C-53, UC-78 Assigned

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Alice Jean May Starr

Alice Jean May Starr July 17, 1920 – June 28, 2023 Class: 43-W-4 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) and Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned Bases: Romulus Army Air Base (Mich.) Planes flown: B-25, C-47,

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Betty Pauline Stine

Betty Pauline Stine September 13, 1921 – February 25, 1944 Class: 44-W-2 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, September, 1943 Betty was born in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. She attended

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Dora Dougherty Strother

Dora Dougherty Strother November 27, 1921- November 19, 2013 Class: 43-W-3 Planes flown: AT-6, AT-11, A-24, A-25, BT-13, B-25, B-34, B-17, B-29, PT-19, PQ-8, L-4, L-5 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) and Avenger Field

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Mary Barnes Sturdevant

Mary Jean Barnes Sturdevant September 28, 1921 – June 24, 2017 Class: 44-W-7 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned Bases: Merced Army Air Field (Calif.) Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6 Mary Barnes Sturdevant was

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Margaret Phelan Taylor

Margaret Phelan Taylor WASP Class 44-W-5 September 20, 1923 – July 1, 2015 Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6, AT-11 Base assigned: Stockton Army Air Base (Calif.) “I learned to fly to be able to join the

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Shirley Slade Teer

Shirley Slade Teer Class 43-W-5 April 4, 1921 – April 26, 2000   Planes flown: B-26, B-29 Assigned bases: Love Field (Dallas, Tex.) Dodge City Army Air Base (Kan.) Harlingen Army Air Field (Tex.)  

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Alta Corbett Thomas

Alta Corbett Thomas May 26, 1918- August 28, 2017 Class: 43-W-4 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) and Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned Bases: Camp Davis Army Air Field (N.C.) and Liberty Field/Camp Stewart Army

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Marion R. Tibbetts

Marion R. Tibbetts January 5, 1915 – Nov. 28, 2001 Class 43-W-6 Planes flown: PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, B-24, C-47, UC-78 Assigned bases:Romulus Army Air Base (Mich.) and Greenville Army Air Base (Greenville, Miss.) Born January

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Marian J. Toevs

Marian J. Toevs May 13, 1917 – February 18, 1944 Class: 43-W-8 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, July 10, 1943 Graduated: December 17, 1943 Assignment: Engineering test pilot Assigned bases:

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Gertrude Tompkins Silver

Gertrude ‘Tommy’ Tompkins-Silver October 16, 1911 – disappeared October 26, 1944Class: 43-W-7Graduated: November 13, 1943Assignment: Ferry pilotAssigned bases: Love Field (Dallas, Tex.) and Pecos Army Air Base (Tex.)Planes flown: AT-6, AT-17, UC-78 Gertrude Tompkins Silver was

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Mary Elizabeth Trebing 

Mary Elizabeth Trebing  December 31, 1920 – November 7, 1943 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, February 21, 1943 and training at Houston Municipal Airport, Texas Graduated:  August 7, 1943 Assignment:

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Margaret Ann Hamilton Tunner

Margaret Ann Hamilton Tunner September 3, 1917 – October 13, 2009 Class: 43-W-2 Training Location: Houston Municipal Airport (Tex.) Assigned Bases: Romulus Army Air Base (Mich.) Planes flown: P-47, P-51, P40, P-63, P-39, DC-3, B-17,

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Florene Miller Watson

Florene Miller Watson December 7, l920 – February 4, 2014 Class: WAFS  ”The Originals” Training Location: New Castle Army Air Base (Wilmington, Del.) Planes flown: PT-19, BT-13, AT-6, P-38, P-40, P-51, P-63 Assigned bases: New

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Mary Louise Webster

Mary Louise Webster June 30, 1919 – December 9, 1944 Class: 44-W-8 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, March, 1944 Graduated: October 16, 1944 Assignment: Administrative pilot, Engineering test pilot Assigned

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Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz

Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz (A) June 22, 1918 – June 29, 1944 Class: 43-W-6 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, April 25, 1943 Graduated: October 9, 1943 Assignments: Tow target pilot,

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Lucile Doll Wise

Lucile Doll Wise August 1, 1920 – August 2, 2018 Class W-43-7 Planes flown: AT-11, B-25, C-45, C-60, UC-78 Assigned bases: Asheville Weather Wing HQ, (AACS) (N.C.) Kansas City, 23rd Weather Region HQ (Kan.) “Jacqueline

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Rita Murphy Wishchmeyer

Rita Edna Murphy Wishchmeyer October 2, 1921 – May 3, 2015 Class: 44-W-3 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13, AT-6 Assigned bases: Dodge City Army Air Base (Kan.) and Craig Army

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Virginia “Ginny” Hill Wood

Virginia “Ginny” Hill Wood Oct. 24, 1917 – March 8, 2013 Class 43-W-4 Planes flown: BT-13, AT-6, B-25, B-17, P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-51, P-61, P-63 Bases assigned: Long Beach Army Air Base (Calif.) Virginia

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Betty Taylor Wood

Betty Taylor Wood  March 1921 – September 23, 1943 Class: 43-W-4 Entered Army Air Force flight training: Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, February 14, 1943 and at Houston Municipal Airport, Texas Graduated: August 7, 1943 Assignment:

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