I had the honor of interviewing a fascinating woman with a fascinating story. She is now 86 years old and has had quite a life. Florence Shutsy-Reynolds (Shutsy) served her country only to have her country ignore her service. She’s waited 65 years to be recognized for her efforts in World War II and told me she doesn’t have another 65 years to wait. Now, finally, it seems she’ll get the honor she’s due. (click here to watch my Action News report or keep reading my blog for behind the scenes of my interview).
When Shutsy was seven years old she dreamed of flying. She told me her siblings and classmates all laughed at her for it. She got her pilots license in Connellsville, Fayette County just as WWII broke out. At 18, she knew she had a lot to offer and wanted to serve her country.
In the early 1940’s America had a huge problem. It needed to deliver military aircraft and materials to bases across the country but most of our pilots were already overseas fighting in combat missions. To fill the void, the government finally was coaxed into trying out a program called WASP. It stands for Women Airforce Service Pilots.
(This is Florence Shutsy-Reynolds at age 20)
The WASP program received 25,000 applications. Fewer than 1900 accepted into the program and only 1078 finished. Shutsy was one of them.
For one year and 13 days Shutsy got behind the cockpit and flew military missions for our country. She loved every moment of it. The women flew 60-million miles serving their country.
Although it was non-combat, it was still very dangerous. 38 WASP members died when their planes went down. Because they were not considered military members their family members had to pay to have their bodies shipped back home and they were not allowed to place a flag on their coffin.
Shutsy told me when the war was ending the women were told their service was done. “No thank you,” she said.”Just pack your bags and go home.” WASPs were not considered veterans. And their story was so unusual for women in those days that when they did talk about their service, people did not believe them. Shutsy told me, ”because of the roles of women back then, our government was now sweeping us under the rug.”
Shutsy says about 300 WASPs still living today and still have reunions. She says they’ve always felt something has been missing. But last week, President Barack Obama signed a bill, formally named S. 614, awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
As I talked to her, I thought of her dream at seven years old and I thought of my own daughter, Ally, who’s nine. Things have changed so much for Ally because of women such as Shutsy who were ridiculed for following their dream. She told me to tell Ally that she could accomplish anything and to never stop believing in herself.
She gave me a small charm as I left the interview. I love it. It is the symbol of WASP.
Appropriately, it has wings with a diamond in the middle which is the Greek symbol of wisdom and war. Shutsy manufactures these charms from her home and sells them to make money for WASP. She wants every member who’s passed away to have a proper grave marker for their service, something the government ignored for so long. She said some of the family members of her fellow WASPs didn’t even realize their loved one had served in the military…. not surprising since many of the women wouldn’t talk about their service since people accused them of making it up.
Shutsy expects it will be November before the medals are ready. I asked her where she’d put it. She said she planned to proudly wear it around her neck. I suppose that way, all of the people who never believed her when she talked about living her dream by flying for her country won’t question it again. I’m going to get a chain for Shutsy’s WASP charm and encourage Ally to wear it around her neck, too. A proud symbol of never giving up on your dreams….. thanks to beautiful and courageous women like Shutsy.
