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Women Air Force Service Pilots, 1943-1944

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' sudden entry into World War II, the military found itself without enough qualified pilots. To release male pilots for combat flying, the Army Air Force, in August 1943, authorized the establishment of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. Although the organization operated under the Civil Service, the WASPs were subjected to most of the military procedures required of men, with the notable exclusion of combat flying. 

The WASPs’ contribution to the military effort in World War II was significant. Besides ferrying aircraft for the Air Transport Command, they flew test flights, performed tow target missions, provided instrument training for male trainees, and participated in a variety of other flying missions. Approximately a thousand WASPs flew 60 million miles on operational assignments in 77 types of aircraft before the program was inactivated in December 1944. They delivered pursuit planes, such as the P-38, P-40, P-51 and P-47. They towed targets in B26s and flew gunners in B-17s. One woman flew a B-29 as the aircraft’s first female pilot, and another was the first woman to fly a jet fighter plane as a test pilot. Thirty-six women pilots were injured, and 38 lost their lives during their service. 

Following the war, it took 33 years of lobbying before congress issued honorable discharges and veterans’ benefits to WASP members. This legislation, passed in 1979, also authorized them to wear the World War II Victory medals and the Honorable Service pins that they had earned during their service.

Please view the Finding Aid for the MS 31 Yvonne Pateman, WASP Collection to see what invaluable records this collection holds.

Fifinella, the logo of the WASP team created by Disney.

A scan of the colorized and official WASP logo created by Disney.

WASP trainees Ruth Roberts, Helen Dettweiler, Celia Hunter, Solange D'Hooghe, Caryl Jones, Margaret Seip, Meredith Rolfe, Yvonne Pateman, Ruth Anderson, Eleanor Dyer, and Rose Penn. 1943.

A digitized page from Yvonne Pateman's collection depicting Women pilots in the WASP program.

Graduation day for the Women of the WASP program.

A digitized page from Yvonne Pateman's collection depicting Women graduating from the WASP program.

Yvonne Pateman in winter gear, top right. Pateman with Carlstrom, Scott, and O'Keefe on bottom.

A digitized page from Yvonne Pateman's collection with two images of Pateman alongside other pilots.

In 1976, 12 female lieutenants from across the Air Force were selected to serve as Air Training Officers to mentor female cadets at the Academy. Through their mentorship, these women helped develop military skills and guide cadets through the rigorous curriculum as the first admitted women into the Air Force Academy.

In 2023 the ATOs and the Friends of the Air Force Academy Library helped Clark Special Collections preserve and highlight their Academy experience by donating funds to pay Friends’ archivists to digitize the entire collection. The ATOs generously volunteered their own time to properly identify and label over 1700 photographs, making them available to Air Force Academy cadets and other researchers. 

The project – the first of its kind – has been a major success. The McDermott Library is now proud to offer this extensive digital photograph collection and index for the Women ATO Collection.

 

Ginny Caine Tonneson was one of six women first appointed to the Air Force Academy. She was named to the Dean’s, Commandant’s, and Superintendent’s List at various points in her cadet career.  In 1977, Ginny was part of the relay team that holds the distinction of becoming the first USAFA female All-Americans.  She was captain of the swimming team and a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay team that won the AIAW Small College National Collegiate Championships in 1979.  She was named an All-American three additional times and received the inaugural Outstanding Athletic Achievement Award at graduation.   

Following graduation, she married her class- and squadron-mate, Larry Tonneson. As an intelligence officer she had assignments at Langley AFB, Virginia (460 Reconnaissance Technical Squadron/480th Reconnaissance Technical Group, HQ Tactical Air Command/Intelligence); Norfolk, Virginia (HQ US Atlantic Command/J2); Elmendorf AFB, Alaska (HQ Alaskan Air Command/Intelligence), and Peterson AFB, Colorado (HQ Air Force Space Command/Intelligence).  In 1992, she was assigned to the Air Force Academy as the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of Cadet Squadron Eight.  Eighth Squadron won the Superintendent’s Trophy for outstanding academic and leadership achievement in 1993 and, in 1994, Ginny became the first woman to receive the O’Malley Award as the Outstanding AOC.  She was the Officer in Charge of the AOC School and became the Deputy First Group Commander, where she won the 34th Training Group Officer of the Year Award in 1995.  Ginny returned to the Intelligence career field in 1995 where, as Joint Service Specialty Officer, she became Chief of the Intelligence Division for US Atlantic Command/J7 at Suffolk, Virginia.  She finished her career as the Chief of Reconnaissance Processing and Exploitation at the HQ Aerospace Command and Control and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Center, Langley AFB, VA. During her time in the military, she was promoted below-the-zone, was a Distinguished Graduate of Squadron Officer School, and graduated from Air Command and Staff College, Armed Forces Staff College, and Air War College.  She retired as a Lt. Colonel in 2000 so that she could pursue her passion – education.   

Ginny holds two Master’s Degrees (History and Education) and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William and Mary (honor’s designation). She has been a post-doctoral research associate and adjunct professor at William and Mary. She has her own educational consulting company where she works on teacher and leader effectiveness projects with state departments of education, educational organizations, individual school districts, and international schools in over 30 countries.  She has authored/co-authored two education books. 

Ginny’s love for the Academy runs deep. Her father was stationed there for over 25 years, so she considers the Academy and nearby Monument, Colorado home. She has been a cadet sponsor, a USAFA Admissions Liaison Officer, and was the President of the Eastern Virginia USAFA Parents’ Club. She became a Life Member of the Association of Graduates (AOG) upon graduation and later served as the AOG Stewardship Director and Director of Class Giving. She has been elected twice to the AOG Board of Directors where she has served as Secretary since 2017 (term expires in 2025). She is also a member of the Sabre Society and the Polaris Society. She is especially proud that their son, Matthew (USAFA ’04), became the first cadet with both parents as graduates, and their daughter, Jennifer, continued the Air Force legacy by serving as an Air Force surgeon.  

Clark Archives and Special Collections is honored to have the MS 32 Caine-Tonneson collection available for research. This rich collection contains a first-hand look at the trials and challenges of acceptance into USAFA and navigating the culture of being the first women at the academy and rising to the top.

The Academy Photograph Collection contains over 100,000 images on slides, negatives, and positives and covers everything from Basic Training to Graduation. This is a pivotal collection that helps humanize the history of USAFA and connect current cadets to the cadets of the past.

  

 

Newspapers and publications originating from and around USAFA, and globally, can be found in Clark Archives and Special Collections.