Violet "Vi" Cowden was an American aviator who served as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II died from heart failure she was , 94.. Cowden was one of the surviving members of the 1,074 WASPs, who were the first women to fly American military planes. (October 1, 1916 - April 10, 2011)
Cowden was born Violet Thurn and raised on a farm in South Dakota.[1] She taught first grade students in South Dakota.[2]Cowden was issued her pilot's license before the United States entered World War II.[2] She initially enlisted in the a volunteer women's emergency service program following the Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.[1] However, before her basic training began, Cowden joined another all women's program created by the Army Air Corps, which came to be called the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs.[1] However, Cowden who weighed 92 pounds and stood at just 5-feet-2-inches tall at the time, was too short and light to join the WASPs.[2] To quickly gain weight and height, she ate bananas and milk to gain weight and tied a wrap in her hair.[2] She successfully gained the eight additional pounds and two inches needed to enlist.[2]
Cowden was commissioned as a member of the WASPs in March 1943.[2] She successfully flew her first solo flight on March 5, 1943.[2]
The WASPs, including Cowden, became the first women to pilot American military planes in history.[1] Cowden and other members of WASP did not see combat during World War II.[1] Instead, Cowden flew military planes from domestic military factories to training sites or military bases in the United States.[1]
Cowden, a long-time resident of Huntington Beach, California,[1] remained very active in community affairs throughout her life. She served as the Grand Marshall of Huntington Beach's Independence Day parade.[1] Cowden was also a member of the board of directors for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and participated in the city's Veterans Day celebration and beach restorations.[1] She participated in "Living History" in which World War II veterans gave speeches and presentations at high schools in southern California.[2]
Cowden was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, as one of the 200 surviving members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots.[1][2] Supporters had lobbied for the recognition for Women Airforce Service Pilots for more than a decade.[1] She was also the subject of the 2010 independent film, Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story, directed by Christine Bonn.[1] The film won the Audience Award for short films at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2010.[1]
Cowden went skydiving with the Army Golden Knights when she was 89 years old.[2] In 2010, Cowden took part in an aerial mock dogfight over Fullerton Municipal Airport in Orange County, California.[2]
Violet Cowden died at 8:34 p.m. on April 10, 2011, at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, California, at the age of 94.[1]
No comments:
Post a Comment