World War II "flyboys" - the combat pilots whose aerial feats drew the admiration of the nation and its allies - were not the only Americans risking their lives to win the war. Women Airforce Service Pilots (better known as WASPs) took on the same types of dangerous missions, flew the heaviest bombers and fastest fighter planes and test-piloted experimental aircraft along side the flyboys. Yet the volunteer WASPs apparently posed such a threat to the American social order that they were disbanded in 1944 months before the war was won.
In Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, feminist author Molly Merryman traces the history of the WASPs and documents their struggles to gain the military status and veterans' benefits they were denied for more than three decades. Merryman, director of the Women's Resource Center at Kent State University, will discuss the history of the WASPs and sign copies of her book at noon, Friday, Oct. 16, in the Upper Hearth Lounge of the Student Union.
Merryman, who holds a Ph.D. in American culture studies, also is a documentary filmmaker whose cooperatively produced film, Queens of Columbus, won three Emmys in 1993. She has published poetry, book chapters and journal articles on film, feminist film theory, popular music and culture and feminist history.
Merryman's talk is free and open to the public. Sponsors include the Wright State University Women's Center, Women's Studies Program and Department of Theatre Arts.
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