This Remembrance Day, as I keep learning and writing about Canadian women veterans from the Second World War, I thought I’d share just a few links with you. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do!
For too long, women’s stories were ignored or overlooked, but luckily this is changing.
In the case of the WASP in the U.S., this was an intentional forgetting at the highest levels of the government and military. It took decades for former WASP to get the recognition they deserved, and the military honours they had earned. The history is coming to light more and more, in such fascinating documentaries as Fly Girls and one in progress called Coming Home: Fight for a Legacy. And, of course, at the National WASP museum in Sweetwater, Texas, which I visited in 2019!
We’re seeing more details on the “Night Witches” of the Soviet Union as well. Thanks to Dick Pickering for sending me this link to a recent article about these pilots!
And here in Canada (and across the pond in Great Britain), we had the ferry pilots with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). It’s mostly this history that I’ve been digging into – off and on – the past decade, most recently for the Canadian Aviation Historical Society with a small grant from the Canadian 99s.
If you’re looking to toast this history, what better way methinks than with an adult beverage from B52 Winery or Lucky Girl Brewing in Michigan!
Also, if there are young people in your life, you might consider passing along these books to get them hooked on this history!