A female centenarian who served in World War II recently shared her life story with U.S. Air Force Civil Air Patrol cadets in Georgia.
Jerrie Badger, 102, a resident of Suwanee, Georgia, served in the civilian Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) unit during World War II. The competitive group only admitted 1,100 women, which was less than 5% of its applicants, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Badger is one of seven living WASP pilots, according to the Civil Air Patrol. She told the civilian auxiliary that her family initially discouraged her from becoming a pilot.
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“My family was opposed to me flying,” she recalled. “Women didn’t do that at that time.”
“They didn’t like it, but I did it anyway.”
Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold created the WASP unit in 1942, when the Air Force was still part of the Army. The WASP unit was the subject of some criticism from male pilots at the time.
“It was a very sought-after career for the men and the women were, well, [they thought] we should be at home washing dishes,” Badger recalled.
Despite the U.S. military’s desperate need for pilots during World War II, being accepted into the program and making it through was no picnic.
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“You had to be good period, or you’ll get killed,” the centenarian said. “If you got your wings, you know you were good.”
Badger, who graduated from the last WASP class in 1944, told FOX 5 that she realized her love for flying after she took her first plane ride at 18, which was around 1940.
“I found everything about it very intriguing, very interesting,” she recalled. “I found what I loved.”
National WASP WWII Museum Lisa Taylor told FOX 5 Atlanta that female pilots served at every military base in the U.S.
Thirty-eight WASP pilots died during their service, according to the United States Air Force website.
“They flew in all 77 aircraft…
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