Because my mother is no longer alive to ask, I try to imagine the emotions that would have been swirling through her mind as she entered Penn Station on an unknown day in early January of 1944—fear, excitement—surely she must have experienced both. It was cold then, temperatures hovered around 27 degrees—and although I don’t […]
Veterans Day: My Mother the WASP
In December of 1943 my mother, who then went by, Elinor Fairchild, received a letter from Jaqueline Cochran, Director of Women Pilots of The War Department, letting her know that it looked as if they would have room for Elinor in the next WASP training class slated to begin, January 9, 1944. I can almost […]