Flying high then

Deirdre Newman

A picture of Beverly Beesemyer at age 25 is reminiscent of a glossy

of a young movie star -- a face of soft features, with sparkling eyes

and a warm smile.

But the photogenic exterior belies her fierce passion for flying

and the gritty determination that allowed her to become a pilot.

That passion was realized in 1943 when Beesemyer was inducted into

the selective Women Air Force Service Pilots of World War II. Her job

was to tow targets in B-26s for the gunnery practice of male pilots

in B-17 bombers.

“It was kind of spooky because you could hear the ta-ta-ta-ta [of

the live ammunition exploding] over the six engines,” Beesemyer said.

On Wednesday, Beesemyer and 15 of her pilot peers were honored by

the owner of Wingnuts Restaurant in conjunction with the 100-year

anniversary of the birth of aviation. The former pilots brought

pictures from their aviation days, which will be framed and displayed

at the Costa Mesa restaurant, where the event took place.

“If you think about what they’ve been through and what they’ve

done, it’s amazing,” said Gregg Diganci, the owner of Wingnuts, whose

decor has an aeronautical theme. “It’s too bad they’re getting this

recognition so late in life.”

The women’s service was established to fill the void left by the

lack of qualified male pilots, who were busy flying overseas combat

missions. The program organized and trained women for the military’s

essential domestic flight duties.

Only 1,830 women were accepted into the program, and after seven

months of arduous training, 1,074 female aviators earned their wings.

Many flew hazardous training missions and participated in aerial

gunnery practice, tracking and searchlight details and chemical and

smoke-disbursing flights.

And they are a modest bunch: Many insist that it was dedication,

not bravery, that inspired them to fly for their country.

“It was wanting to be helpful in the war effort,” Beesemyer said.

“It didn’t take any bravery. At the time, you don’t think about it.

It was more fun than anything.”

Bea Thurston, the national president of the WASPs, was stationed

in Victoria, Texas. She also towed targets. She summed up the irony

of the male-dominated Air Force’s opinion of women at the time.

“They thought we were capable of getting shot at, but not going

overseas,” Thurston said. “If they had hit me, that would have been

the end.”

Ruth Guhse, 79, was inspired to be a WASP after she saw a picture

of a WASP on the cover of Life magazine. She wasn’t old enough at the

time, but when they lowered the age limit to 18 1/2, Guhse headed for

the desert of Baker to learn to fly.

“I got accepted, but you had to take a college equivalency test,

which I thought would blow it for me because of some stuff I never

heard of,” Guhse said.

She passed, but a friend of hers who took the test at the same

time wasn’t so lucky.

By the time Guhse was inducted, there would only be about two

weeks left before the WASPs were disbanded, but she got to log flight

time in PT-17 biplanes before moving up to AT6 planes with 650

horsepower.

“Everybody that flew that plane loved it,” Guhse said. “How many

girls had opportunities like that in those days?”

The service was disbanded at the end of 1944 so that returning

male military pilots could retrieve their positions, ending a

progressive time for women pilots.

Guhse went home and cried a lot, she said. She became a stewardess

just to be aloft again.

The squadron was deactivated without proper military distinction,

and the female pioneers had to wait until 1978 for the government to

recognize them for their wartime contributions.

The Southern Californian group of WASPs has been having

get-togethers since the end of the war. Wednesday’s was especially

sweet for organizer Vi Cowden, 87, since it was her birthday. Blue

WASP scarf on, Cowden presided over the gathering.

Standing on a chair to achieve maximum height, her grandson

Quinntin Ruiz, 8, performed a sign-language rendition of “Proud to Be

an American” while the ladies dined on wings.

“It’s wonderful to have all these special guests,” Cowden said.

“These are all my sisters in the sky.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.