Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)

WOMEN'S AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS (WASP) -  The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), called "Women's Army Service Pilots" in some sources, was a paramilitary aviation organization.  The WASP's predecessors, the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) organized separately in September 1942.  They were the pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots, employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.  The WFTD and WAFS were merged on August 5, 1943, to create the paramilitary WASP organization.  The female pilots of the WASP ended up numbering 1,074, each freeing a male pilot for combat service and duties.  They flew over 60 million miles in every type of military aircraft.  The WASP was granted veteran status in 1977, and given the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

Over 25,000 women applied; however, only 1,074 were accepted into the WASPs.  The accepted women all had prior experience and pilot's licenses. Of those accepted, the majority were white; aside from white women, the WASP had two Mexican American women, two Chinese American women (Hazel Ying Lee and Maggie Gee), and one Native American woman (Ola Mildred Rexroat).   Due to the existing climate of racial discrimination, the only African American applicant was asked to withdraw her application.