SETTING: Avenger Field, the WASP training base, in Sweetwater, TX
TIME: November 1943 through May 1944
There will be a brief intermission between acts.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
The WASP program was created in August 1943, combining the previous Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS) and the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). Their mission: to work as test pilots to ferry aircraft stateside. But the women's roles weren't officially recognized as military service. They dressed in military-like uniforms they bought for themselves, but were not classified as military or eligible for veteran status. They paid their own way to go into training and, when disbanded, they paid their own way back home. 38 WASP and trainees were killed flying for their country. They received no recognition, no honors, no benefits, no gold star in the window, and no American flag allowed to cover their coffins. Classmates and friends took up collections to help pay for burial. As the end of the war drew near, the WASP were deactivated in December 1944 because critics decried it as a waste with so many male pilots then available. All records of the WASP were classified and sealed for 35 years, so their contributions to the war effort were little known and inaccessible to historians. Finally in 1977, the records were unsealed after an Air Force press release erroneously stated the Air Force was training the first women to fly military aircraft for the U.S. At that time, President Jimmy Carter finally designated the women eligible for military veteran's benefits. In 1984, the WASP were awarded the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal. Many of their descendants continue their fight today to have WASP remains buried in Arlington Cemetary with Officer's honors. All told, the WASP have fought for over 70 years to get equal recognition. We are honored to present their story with our wonderful cast, and we hope you fall in love with their fight and spirit the way we have. To the WASP: we salute you. -Katie, Billy, and the cast and crew of Decision Height
