News
Veteran’s Day Celebration- Run for the WASP
Third Annual Benefit 5K Run and 1.3 Mile Walk
November 10, 2012
1:00 PM
$25 per person/$20 for pre-registered students and military personnel
$25 on the day of the race for any runner or walker not pre-registered
Register by clicking on “Run for the WASP” button on top right of page, print registration page and mail with entry fee to:
National WASP WWII Museum
P.O. Box 456
Sweetwater, TX 79556
Ten different age groups will be given awards
The Museum will be open to the public. Admission is free.
Enjoy this 5K course running or walking 1.3 miles through the Sweetwater TSTC campus from the Museum and circling the 1943 WASP Wishing Well on the school campus. Special guests will include a WASP and a Dyess Air Force Pilot, who will be available for autographs and pictures. The race kickoff will include a fly-over by the PT-19 airplane housed at the museum.
TSTC will provide water, snacks, and US flags marking the course. Please feel free to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy at the museum after the race.
Participants have included children, babies in strollers, dogs on leashes, school groups, and others. We look forward to having you join us also for this special Veterans Day Celebration.
Run for the WASP 2010 Pictures
Allison Bryant, Carlsbad, NM, Pl. 3
And They Are Off!
Barbara & Doug Bevins
Brooks Boynton, Roscoe, Pl. 1; Shanna Armstrong, Ft. Worth, Pl. 1
Capt. Regina Wall and WASP Mary Vandeventer
Charles Walker, C. City, Pl. 1
Dyess AFB Personnel
Dyess Airman with rescued Iraqi Dog
Elliott Marshall, Snyder, leads the pack
Even Babies Can Walk
Female #44
Marvin Keenan, Sweetwater, Pl. 2, Male 60-69, Grandaughter Courtney
Mary Kaplan, Ret. USAF, Sunrise Beach, TX, Pl. 1 - 70-79 yrs.
Michelle Steakley, Sweetwater, Pl. 2
Micki & Lana's Friends
Awards Ceremony
Run for the WASP
Run for the WASP
Run for the WASP Awards
Tom Hutcherson, Sweetwater; Mary Kaplan, Sunrise Beach, TX Pl. 1-Oldest Competitor at 71 yrs.
Youngest Competitor, Courtney Berringer, Sweetwater Pl. 1 - 1-14 yrs.
Tom Campagna, Midland, Pl. 1; Shanna Armstrong, Ft. Worth, Pl. 1
WASP Mary Vandeventer, Run Chairman Marvin Keenan, Capt. Regina Wall
WASP Homecoming 2011- Pictures
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
Photo Courtesy of US-UK Asso.,
WASP HOMECOMING 2012
Mark you calendar for May 26, 2012 Memorial Day Weekend Celebration. This will be a day to remember and you are invited to be a part of this grand event! The day’s festivities will include:
◊ Honor Parade From Texas Theatre To The National WASP WWII Museum
◊ Car and Motorcycle Show – $20 Entry Fee to Compete in the Show (or you are welcome to join in the parade just for the fun)
◊ Free Airplane rides for kids 8-17 yrs of age
◊ WASP Autograph and Picture Session
◊ FiFi’s Famous Frenchfries & Hamburgers Grill – $7.00
◊ Fly-In Including Vintage Planes
◊ Luncheon and Speakers at Texas State Technical College Campus $20 – Reservations Deadline: April 15th
◊ Silent Auction
◊ Evening Gala/Dinner – Dance With 1940′s Era Big Band – Reservations Deadline: April 15th:(individual seats $35). Table sponsorships available: Silver Medal Table for 6 -$250 and Gold Medal Tables for 8 -$500 Reservations Deadline: April 15th…Period Dress Welcome
Mark your calendar and Phone: 325-235-0099 to reserve your place at the Luncheon and/or Dinner-Dance. Come early to enjoy the day.
Sharron Davis, Museum Director
210 Avenger Field Road
P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, TX 79556
We at the WASP museum would like to thank our WONDERFUL sponsors of HOMECOMING 2011:
American Airlines: Veteran Compassion Program
Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce
Walmart of Sweetwater
Pecan Plantation 99s
Transportation Vehicles provided by Sam & Julie Toliver
Brookshire’s Food Store
Texas State Technical College
Chuck Wagon Gang
TSTC Winds of Texas Club
City Janitorial Supply
History of the Museum
History of the National WASP WWII Museum
- The National WASP WWII Museum began in 2002 with the vision of two women, WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish and her daughter, Nancy Parrish. They believed that the history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots should be showcased at Avenger Field on the grounds where most of the WASP trained during World War II.
- Sweetwater community leaders learned about the vision for the Museum during a presentation at a meeting in the fall of 2002. On December 9th of that year, a steering committee met for the first time to investigate the Museum’s feasibility. Officers for the steering committee were elected at that time.
- Incorporation documents were presented to the steering committee in January 2003, and the Museum was incorporated in the state of Texas in July 2003. The Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce supported the Museum both financially and with key leadership.
- In September 2003 the Museum Board of Directors leased 55 acres of land at Avenger Field from the City of Sweetwater. The two hundred-year lease included the land as well as a hangar that had been built in 1929 to serve as the first Sweetwater Municipal Airport.
- In 2004 the Board of Directors recruited new members to support the Museum, developed a master plan around architectural drawings, mailed the first official newsletters, and continued to seek funds to build a nationally recognized memorial to the WASP.
- Renovations to the hangar began in early 2005 culminating in the first National WASP WWII Museum Fly-In. Local, state, and national volunteers worked long hours in order to open the Museum in May 2005. The outside of the hangar was painted, and the inside of the hangar was fully renovated to house the exhibits.
- A grand opening was held on May 28, the same day that the first class of WASP graduated 62 years earlier. To signify the opening of the Museum, United States, Texas, and WASP flags were raised for the first time on the 3 donated flag poles in front of the museum. Donated flags from the fifty states and two foreign countries representing the origins of the WASP were hung inside the Museum. Twenty-nine WASP attended the inaugural event and placed their handprints in cement to commemorate their presence. A bronze statue entitled “The Graduate,” created by former instructor and WASP Dot Swain Lewis and donated by the WASP, was also unveiled.
- In 2006 the Museum grew with new members, monetary donations as well as donations of historical artifacts, new exhibits, and the advent of the first Homecoming at Hangar One, now held annually, on Memorial Day weekend. The highlight of the first Homecoming was the opening of the exhibit depicting a bay, the living quarters of the WASP while they were in training.
- As membership and interest in the museum grew, directors hired an executive director in 2007. In 2008 the Museum began to register the extensive collection, to find new marketing and fundraising avenues, to increase membership, and to build new exhibits.
- As a continually evolving project, the Museum has grown each year: 2009 saw the addition of a PT-19 display and 2010 improvements included an exhibit featuring Jacqueline Cochran memorabilia. Greater national interest, addition of new historical artifacts, and increasing excitement for the story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II enable the Museum to continue moving toward achieving its goals.
WASP CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL EXHIBIT
A replica of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the WASP is on display in the museum. On March 10, 2010 our nation recognized the service of the Women Airforce Service Pilots by awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, D.C.. One-hundred and seventy-five of the almost three hundred living WASP were at our nation’s capitol to receive this great honor. Those who could not travel and the families of the deceased WASP were also awarded a medal.
New Jacqueline Cochran Exhibit
Our new Jacqueline Cochran exhibit reveals her (see bio) connections with the movers and shakers of the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s. Her marriage to Floyd Odlum, a lawyer and industrialist who also held a major stake in RKO Films, set her in a circle of friends that included Walt Disney, Bob Hope, the Rat Pack, and Clark Gable, as well as Chuck Yeager and Amelia Earhart. Jackie and Floyd entertained Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy at their ranch.
Exhibit donor Geneva Gordon-Derr and Jacqueline Cochran became friends in the Hollywood social scene. Geneva’s husband, the mayor of Riverside, served as the Director of Parks and Recreation with Disneyland within his realm of authority. Geneva stood in for Jackie at events on occasion, even wearing her medals when representing her. Geneva sang on some of Bob Hope’s USO tours, too. Jacqueline Cochran’s interest in beauty products through her cosmetic line and the fact that Geneva Gordon-Derr was a beautiful model also brought them together.
The National WASP World War II Museum greatly appreciates this gift by Geneva Gordon-Derr and James Adams.
New Board Members
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The Founder and President of Women in Aviation, International, Dr. Peggy Chabrian www.wai.org joined the Board of Directors of the National WASP WWII Museum in January of 2010, along with five other notable individuals willing to give their time and energy to support the efforts of the museum in reaching its goals. New board member, Amy Goodpaster Strebe www.amygoodpasterstrebe.com is a resident of San Diego, California, author of Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II and Desert Dogs: The Marines of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The other outstanding individuals joining the Board of Directors are Texans Lana Kraeszig, pilot and 99 member; Tom Henderson, rancher and community volunteer; Larry Ludlum, owner of Ludlum Industries. New on the Advisory Board is award-winning actor and director, Dennis Quaid.
Major Bridget McNamara, USAF
Serving our country as a B-1 Bomber pilot and instructor, Board Member Major Bridget McNamara shares the story of the WASP at any opportunity partly because she credits the WASP with opening the door to women pilots in the military. Go to this link for an interesting interview with Major McNamara:
http://www.maxwellgunterdispatch.com/article/20100115/
DISPATCH01/100115011/1114/DISPATCH
