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2 March 18, 2016
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Paths of two Air Force women ‘firsts’ crossed over Great Falls
By By John Turner
341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. — An Army
newspaper from Aug. 25, 1944, shows Pfc. Emma Jane
Burrows Windham wearing a leather flying jacket, fire
extinguisher in hand, and grinning near a B-17 bomber.
“Windy,” according to the article, earned her air crew
status in June while with the 7th Ferrying Group at
Gore Field in Great Falls, Montana. Windham is today
considered the first crew chief and aerial engineer in the
Women’s Army Corps.
A candid photo from the same period shows Hazel
Ying Lee, smiling in her dark blue Women Airforce Ser-
vice Pilots Dress Uniform. As a civilian pilot employed
by the U.S. Army Air Forces, Lee flew high-performance
pursuit aircraft from factories to operational centers in-
cluding Great Falls. Today, Lee is recognized as the first
Chinese-American woman to fly aircraft for the United
States military.
Both were accomplished aviators before World War II
and used those skills to serve their country after hostilities fore the war in Europe came to an end, when her B-17G
broke out. Ultimately, both gave the supreme sacrifice in
the course of their duties.
March is Women’s History Month. This year’s theme,
“Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring
Women in Public Service and Government,” is an oppor-
tunity to remember pioneer women in military aviation
while also highlighting the bond forged between Great
Falls and the Air Force by the flames of World War II.
The war’s intense demand for manpower afforded new
opportunities for women, both on the home front and
abroad, as males were increasingly needed for combat.
In Great Falls, women were employed in numerous roles
at Gore Field and at the newly-built Great Falls Army
Air Base, now named Malmstrom Air Force Base. Some,
for example, learned aircraft maintenance and prepared
In Your Corner
By Staff Sgt. Christopher Rodriguez
Nellis AFB Chapel Office
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. —
It’s the fifth round of the fight. You are
exhausted and the sweat from your brow
makes it hard to see. Every muscle aches;
the bell rings and you stagger to your stool
by the ropes. Who is in your corner? I’m a
boxing fan. I look at life as a boxing match.
We get hit from all different directions
and attempt to maintain our balance every
round. We fight back in in order to not get
knocked down. knocked down. But, some-
times we do fall or stumble. This is what a
basic boxing match looks like.
So, who is in your corner?
Bullseye News Staff
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Commentary BULLSEYE
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military airplanes to fly north to Alaska. Others, like pilots logged over 60 million miles in the air and ferried
Windham, served in the Army Air Forces as WACs. more than half of all combat aircraft within the U.S.
Windham hailed from San Antonio, Texas. A wartime Hazel Lee was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1912 to im-
feature by “Stars and Stripes” reported that she and her migrant parents during an era of anti-Chinese sentiment
five brothers all held civilian pilot licenses. A recent ac- in America. As a teenager, Lee took a job as department
count portrays her as an only child who successfully ran store elevator operator to pay for private flying lessons and
away from home sometime after age 12 to escape a hard, soon joined the one percent of American women holding
migratory life. Either way, Windham studied aeronautical a pilot’s license. After Japan invaded Manchuria in 1932,
engineering at the University of California and was the Lee attempted to join the Chinese Air Force in 1933. She
director of flight training for the New Mexico Wing of remained in China until 1938, working a military desk
Women Flyers before enlisting into the WAC in late 1943. job and flying for a commercial airline.
While serving in Montana with the Air Transport Lee joined the WASP program in 1942 soon after
Command, Windham flew regular hops to Seattle, Alaska America entered the war. Six months of instruction at
and Florida as the engineer on multi-engine aircraft. By Sweetwater, Texas, qualified her to ferry cargo and trainer
early 1945 she had been reassigned to the Air Inspector’s aircraft with the 3rd Ferrying Squadron at Romulus AAB,
office in England where she was noted as the only WAC Michigan. Advanced training in 1944 at the Army’s
aerial engineer in the European Theater of Operations and Pursuit School at Brownsville, Texas, designated Lee as
so much a rarity that military police stopped her on the among 130 women certified to fly high-powered fighters
street to question her authorization to wear air crew wings. like the North American P-51 “Mustang” and Bell P-63
“Kingcobra.” Remembered as both jolly and fearless, Lee
Tragically, Windham was killed in a training mission consistently flew seven days a week with little time off.
over England on March 31, 1945, less than six weeks be-
Thirty-eight WASPs died in this duty. Because they
“Flying Fortress” collided with another aircraft in a heavy were not then considered military personnel, they did
overcast. She was 23 years old and the first WAC to give not qualify for death or injury benefits or even flags on
her life in the line of duty in the ETO. their coffins. Fellow WASPs, typically paid less than male
pilots and also responsible for their own food, lodging
Windham was also one of 16 WACs to receive the and uniforms, took up collections amongst themselves
Purple Heart during the war. Nearly 40,000 women served to bury their comrades.
in the AAF as WACs or its predecessor the Women’s
Army Auxiliary Corps, performing in more than 200 job Lee was the final WASP fatality. She was mortally
categories including administration, logistics and com- injured Nov. 23, 1944, when the P-63 she was delivering
munications. More than 500 WACs were on flight status for the Lend-Lease program collided with another as both
during World War II. approached Great Falls AAB. She died two days later, less
than a month before the WASP program was disbanded.
While regulations didn’t allow WACs to serve as pi-
lots, the AAF met the need with the civil service WASP The trailblazing lives of Lee and Windham each in-
program. From its inception in 1942 until the program’s cluded Great Falls. Remembering their service reminds us
end on Dec. 20, 1944, more than 1,100 women completed we have a rich Air Force heritage worth exploring during
rigorous training to fly all types of military aircraft. WASP Women’s History Month and beyond.
You might assume your family, friends best part about dealing with these issues is things like: “You got this,” or “Keep up the
or co-workers, however in reality we never you don’t have to go through it alone. There great work!” They give mental support
know who is in our corner until life throws are experienced trainers in your corner. such as instructing the boxer how to get
us a left-hook out of nowhere. the upper hand, to protect himself, or to
The military has absolutely phenomenal capitalize on a weakness of their opponent.
Unfortunately, we all may have expe- programs to help. One such resource is the
rienced something of this nature in our Airmen & Family Readiness Center. For Would you agree boxers can win with-
lives and careers making life in the mili- example, you are in debt and see no way out out support? Of course not. They need
tary complicated. All Airmen deal with or you just need some financial guidance support in their corner. The U.S. Air Force
stressful issues daily. Everything from the — there is a Personal Financial Readiness provides people and resources ready to
pressure to attain and maintain thousands course they offer which will teach you all help. Who is in your corner? Who can
of regulations, to caring for our families, to about budgeting. you count on?
serving on deployments and even suffering
the sucker punches thrown at them. Sometimes you will get to be the spec- Let us, your Nellis Chapel Team, be in
tator or the trainer. They give physical your corner. You don’t have to struggle on
When we look at the issues these Airmen support such as water, ice on a busted eye- your own. We will support you whenever
face, to blame someone or something for it brow, a towel, a place to rest, a Band-Aid. you call and even when you don’t. At the
but many people would say that it’s just a They give spiritual and moral support to end of the day we all need someone in our
magical four-letter word called “life.” The help keep the boxer confident with saying corner. We will always be in yours.
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