Fort Myers Florida Weekly

WWII pilot, 97, to receive national museum award




HAYDU

HAYDU

Many a nonagenarian blessed to live so long likely has a story to tell about the days of old. But few can say they flew military aircraft during World War II as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Bernice “Bee” Falk Haydu did. The Singer Island senior who flight-tested UC-78s and AT-11s from 1942 to 1944 will receive The National WWII Museum’s Silver Service Medallion to acknowledge the feat.

“There are actually many people today who never knew women flew in World War II,” said Mrs. Haydu, the first WASP to earn the honor. “I will be accepting it not just for me but for all of the WASP.”

The American Spirit Awards takes place June 8 at the New Orleans museum, and the 97-year-old mother of three, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of one will don her uniform and represent the band of sisters who served their country at more than 120 bases across the United States.

“Of course, I’m extremely honored to have been chosen,” Mrs. Haydu said, noting that the uniform she will wear belonged to another WASP member, as hers has been on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum since 1969. “I’m kind of a little overwhelmed at all of the honors that are being given.”

Bernice “Bee” Haydu, a Women Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, during World War II, stands next to an AT-6 Texan at Page Field in Fort Myers on Feb. 20, 2016. DOD PHOTO BY NAVY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS GLENN SLAUGHTER

Bernice “Bee” Haydu, a Women Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, during World War II, stands next to an AT-6 Texan at Page Field in Fort Myers on Feb. 20, 2016. DOD PHOTO BY NAVY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS GLENN SLAUGHTER

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill into law honoring the Women Airforce Service Pilots with a Congressional Gold Medal. Mrs. Haydu was in the Oval Office to witness the signing. In 2014, she accepted the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the Federal Aviation Administration for achieving 50 years of flying experience. She has 54. In 2015, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Flushing, N.Y., presented her with an honorary doctoral degree. She sported a cap and gown and tossed her tassel.

“It brings to light who we were, and what we did. We were not a really well-known secret.”

The biggest honor of them all precedes the others by decades. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter approved legislation recognizing all who belonged to the WASP as veterans 33 years after Congress dissolved the program. She led the effort.

President Barack Obama signs S.614 in the Oval Office at the White House, July 1, 2009. The bill awarded a Congressional Gold Medal to veterans of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA

President Barack Obama signs S.614 in the Oval Office at the White House, July 1, 2009. The bill awarded a Congressional Gold Medal to veterans of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA

“We all anticipated being able to stay in service, and here we were being pushed out. We wanted to serve our country, but we wanted to serve it as pilots.”

WASP’s beginnings

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, pilots were in short supply. Not only were they needed to fight the war but also deliver advanced trainer planes to flight schools in the South. Twenty-eight female aviators volunteered to take those ferrying jobs, forming the country’s initial WASP squadron. More than 1,000 would join the program during its two-year lifespan, operating out of Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.

They flew every aircraft in the arsenal. In addition to ferrying, they towed gunnery targets, transported equipment and shuttled non-flying personnel to points of destination, as well as flight-tested aircraft that had undergone repairs. Seven months of take-offs and landings were required for the women to get their wings.

Because the plane was an open cockpit biplane, during the winter months, the pilots wore winter gear such as a fleece-lined helmet and pants. COURTESY PHOTO

Because the plane was an open cockpit biplane, during the winter months, the pilots wore winter gear such as a fleece-lined helmet and pants. COURTESY PHOTO

“I guess the hardest things were the check rides,” Mrs. Haydu said. “That was the worst part because, naturally, you get very nervous, and you hope you’re giving them a good ride so you get a passing grade.”

The battle to succeed was an uphill one.

“A lot of the men did not want women flying airplanes.This was their thing.”

Hooked on flying

The Montclair, N.J., native, who grew up during the Great Depression, graduated from high school in 1938 and financially was unable to go to college. She landed a job as a secretary instead. Bored and “always feeling very sorry for myself,” she decided to attend night school and enrolled in an aviation course. Then she took a flying lesson.

“I loved it. I was just hooked the first time I was up in the air.”

She obtained her private pilot’s license in Martins Creek, Pa. Following her service in the WASP, she returned to New Jersey, became a flight instructor, part owner of a flight school and eventually ran a Cessna dealership with her late husband, Joseph, also a pilot. The couple moved to Florida in the late 1970s and throughout the years owned 14 different types of single- and twin-engine planes.

Paul Garber, historian emeritus of the National Air and Space Museum, discusses Women Airforce Service Pilot history with Bernice “Bee” Haydu, a Women Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, veteran, while S. Paul Johnson, director of the museum, looks on, March 24, 1969. Mrs. Haydu donated her complete uniform, which is still on display. COURTESY PHOTO

Paul Garber, historian emeritus of the National Air and Space Museum, discusses Women Airforce Service Pilot history with Bernice “Bee” Haydu, a Women Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, veteran, while S. Paul Johnson, director of the museum, looks on, March 24, 1969. Mrs. Haydu donated her complete uniform, which is still on display. COURTESY PHOTO

“We would fly to California. We would fly to the Bahamas for a game of golf and come back the same day.”

She quit driving last year after injuring her arm in a fall from a treadmill.

But that does not seem to have slowed her down. She spends her time speaking to the nation’s youth and enlightening them about her life’s work, which includes authoring “Letters Home: 1944-1945,” a book that chronicles her time in the WASP through the letters she wrote to her mother while on duty.

“I love to talk to these young people. I tell them, ‘If you have a desire to do something, go ahead and pursue it. Don’t let them say girls don’t fly. Just don’t listen to them. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep right on going.’”

Bernice “Bee” Haydu prepares to fly a Stearman Kaydet during flight training at an auxiliary field near Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, in 1944. COURTESY PHOTO

Bernice “Bee” Haydu prepares to fly a Stearman Kaydet during flight training at an auxiliary field near Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, in 1944. COURTESY PHOTO

One response to “WWII pilot, 97, to receive national museum award”

  1. George Bray says:

    She make for country a lot.

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