The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 10

10A THE PALM BEACH POST MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1 1, 1991 In Brief WWII fliers didn't have glamour job iivkyK it v- -1. mtis' James climbs from a pfane in 1943. Landings were 'sweat ball moments' because of trees used to camouflage defense plants. 'The planes don't know the.sex of the pilot. There was a great male mystique about who could do what for a long TERESA JAMES r.

1 1 1 I 'We had no radios. No nothing. We wore a helmet and goggles. It was rough flying back says James, shown in 1934. Far-right party-gains support in Austria election Palm Beach Post Wire Services VIENNA, Austria A far-right party whose leader has praised Third Reich labor policies anil promised to protect "Austria for the Austrians" won a surprising'28 percent of the vote in Vienna city elections Sunday.

The Freedom Party of Austria posted its third electoral success in as many months by capitalizing oji anti-foreigner and anti-Semitic sentiments that have flooded across Austria. The Freedom Party's strorig showing in the Vienna local election was mostly symbolic, as the leading Social Democratic Party which won 47.7 percent of the vote, has said it would refuse any coalition with the right-wing party. Soviets, Afghans talk MOSCOW Afghan rebels arrived Sunday in Moscow for talks on ending their civil war with the Soviet-backed Kabul government. The talks, spurred by a new U.S.-Soviet peace plan, will be the first direct peace talks in Moscow between Soviet officials and the rebel "transitional government," that is fighting Afghan President Najibullah. Ky man kills 4, self HARRODSBURG, Ky.

A man following a car in which his estranged wife was riding shot and killed her and three others before committing suicide, witnesses and officials said Sunday. Robert Daigneau drove up beside the car, jumped from his pick-, up truck and shot at the car's occupants, said Tina Keck, whose father is among the dead. Daigneau fled the scene and; later shot himself in the head as he sat in his truck, police said. Lucky Numbers The Associated Press Here are winning weekly state lottery numbers picked last Illinois: Lotto: Maryland: Lotto: 3-11-22-36-40-41 Massachusetts: Sa. New York: Sat.

Lotto: 13-26-27-38-44-45 Supplementary: 2 -Northern New England (Maine; Vermont, New Hampshire): Megabucks: 7-20-22-31-32-40 Ohio: -3 Super Lotto: 2-8-13-27-43-45 3 Kicker: 1-4-7-2-1-6 Rhode Island: Lotto Bucks: 5-6-27-35-36 'They hadn't seen or heard of women pilots and when they looked at us their eyes literally popped out of their other fighter planes as they approached the base for a landing. "Those gals were terrific. They would fly the airplane and follow regulations strictly. They did a hell of a good job," he said. 'A sad day' As the war drew to a close, some in the country including male soldiers who were shocked to learn that women were flying combat planes began to grumble.

In March 1944, the House Civil Service Investigating Committee questioned whether the WASP program should continue. The Army-Navy war training program was being disbanded, releasing approximately 900 male pilots who would have been integrated into the "walking" Army. Cartoons lampooning the WASP program and heavy lobbying prompted the committee to deactivate the group on Dec. 20, 1944. James said the group was devastated to hear the news.

"Boy, that was a sad day in my life," she said. "We sat there stunned. "At that time 98 percent of the pursuit aircraft were being flown (to bases) by women and they dumped us." A frustrated James returned to her parents' flower shop in Pittsburgh. There was no demand for flying lessons after the war. And the response from commercial airliners was that public opinion would not permit women in the cockpit.

James began to write Congress to get veterans status or some recognition for the women pilots. Out of frustration she and a fellow WASP wrote to nationalist China, offering their flying expertise. The letter from the Chinese moments, I'll tell you that," she said. After landing the plane and taking some of her leave in Hollywood, where she dined at the Brown Derby with Bob Hope, James traveled back to the base to continue delivering planes to U.S. bases as quickly and efficiently as she could.

She had a special dedication. George Martin, a student pilot she married a month before she was called to duty, was killed when he was shot down over France. Merger in the air James and the other WAFS lived on $250 a month, which had to pay for lodging and food. But the promise of becoming a permanent part of the military was sweet. On August 5, 1943, the WAFS were merged with the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs a group of about 1,000 women who had graduated from a flight training school in Texas.

James said the original 25 WAFS welcomed help in supporting the war effort. The WASPs towed gliders and flew planes equipped with targets, so the soldiers could practice shooting anti-aircraft guns. "We lived in old barracks never knew where we were going to lay our heads at night or what kind of airports we would be flying to," she said. "We were always trying to find someplace to eat. There was nothing glamorous about our jobs.

It was work." Thirty-eight women died in plane accidents. "With a couple, we had to take up collections to get their bodies home because we had no benefits of any kind. Nothing," James said. Retired Lt. Col.

Robert Johnson said his men would mock attack VETERANfrom 1A The former speed skater and model, who began flying at 19 to impress a handsome pilot, had met yie military's minimum requirements by having a commercial license and at least 500 hours of flight time. Here I am on my way and I $till don't believe they will let us ferry airplanes for Uncle Sam! she wrote in a a Sept. 17, 1942, journal entry, as her train made its way to Delaware. Could it be that I tack faith? Imagine it. The Spirited Women, Powder Puff Pilots, Bird Women, Sky Menaces trying to get in the Army.

The 28-year-old James was sworn into the WAFS on Oct. 6, after a battery of flying and physical tests. A month later, she was delivering aircraft. The President has been on an inspection tour of the defense projects throughout the States. He is mad at Congress and the Press.

Russia is screaming for a second front The thing, I guess, is for each of us as individuals to do our job the very best we $an. Cross-country ride She was the first in the group to fly a plane across country, transporting a PT-19 from Hagerston, to Burbank, Calif. "I had never flown past Chicago before then," she said. James recalled flying the open-cockpit plane with a top speed of 90 mph. "We had no radios.

No nothing. We wore a helmet and goggles. It was rough flying back then," she said. It took five days to make the trip, marked by the shedding of successive layers of clothing as she moved closer to California. "There were no facilities for women to stay in at the bases," she said.

"And sometimes we had to find hotels. They hadn't seen or heard of women pilots and when they looked at us their eyes literally popped out of their faces." The WAFS are coming! They're girls! Look! They would not have stared one-half so much had we been the freaks from the circus sideshow, she wrote in her journal. For security reasons, the runways and buildings at the defense plants were camouflaged with trees and shrubs. James recalled having difficulty determining where to land at the California base. "That was one of my sweat ball Per Month for 24 1992 LINCOLN Driver and passenger side air II I i'l i.

I ffi I I I II V- 'I Live at Palm bag Air Force said the country was not in the practice of engaging women pilots. More than 16 million miles James continued to write Congress and was commissioned a major in the Air Force Reserve in 1950, working in Pennsylvania and Alaska as a special services officer. She moved to Lake Worth in the late 1970s. Her efforts for recognition of the early women pilots were largely ignored until the 1970s, when the WASPs organized to push for veterans status. And, following on the heels of the women's movement, some in Congress listened.

Terry Emerson, former legislative assistant for Sen. Barry Gold-water, said the senator was "deeply committed" to passing a bill that would recognize the WASPs. "The senator had personally flown alongside some of the WASPs in WWII. He heard a lot of positive comments about the women. But when he prepared for a campaign in the Senate to put (legislation) through, he discovered that wartime attitudes were more shocking than he knew, Emerson said.

A "Women were treated as non-persons." In the late 1970s, the group finally received veterans status after more than a decade of solid lobbying. "We moved so many aircraft," said James, who is retired but still active with flying organizations. "We flew more than 16 million miles and ferried most of the aircraft used during World War II." Two accounts of James' contributions have been recorded for posterity. PBS featured her in a documentary on the WASPs, and a book, On Wings To War Teresa James, Aviator, is to be published next year. Author Jan Churchill said she met James and realized that her story should be told.

"Many don't know that women were flying high performance military aircraft then," she said. "The planes don't know the sex of the pilot. There was a great male mystique about who could do what for a long time." Said James: "How I ever learned to fly is something I'll never know. My heart used to damn near stop when I was up in the air." i for Mm in Hillsboro but Beach Lincoln -SONNY COHEN, food, fMi Advertising Club OF THE PALM BEACHES Media Merchandise Bams! i I I buy my cars Mercury Hillsboro Beach 1,100 lease inception 4j099 payments 'j fQ76 Airline tickets, cruises, VCR's, TV's, golf outings, dinners, gift certificates, plus Radio and TV schedules, newspaper ads, and much more! Arrive at 6 for a delicious Buffet and to inspect the items to be auctioned! 24 monthly lease payments at 4 9 i Refundable sccurity deposit 500 ji 1 Down payment Factory rebate assigned to dealer 2jQ00 Total down payment Items were donated by area Radio and TV Stations, Newspapers, and many other fine Local Businesses! Join Local Celebrities for all the Auction Bargains Fun in the Gold Room at Palm Beach Jai Alai! PA LEV BEACH Total cash due at Months Total amount of CONTINENTAL Supplemental Restraint System. mil AD Al mm 4-wneei oisc ami-iock Brake system (usi LKUJ $10 at the door The Good News Continues! There's only a $10 admission donation.

That includes your great buffet and auction entrance! But, even that is refundable after any purchase of $25 or more! Auction proceeds benefit Pathfinders High School Scholarship Fund, Northwood Institute Ad Club Chapter, Public Service Campaigns and other worthwhile projects! To donate items call the Ad Club of the Palm Beaches at 688-0888. Everybody winsTues, Nov 12! Don't miss It! Lase parentis based on a 1 992 Continental Executive Series, suggested lease capitalized cost of 89.45 of M.S.R.P.,$2,000 factory rebate and $1,100 down payment used as a capitalized cost reduction for vehicle lease. Lessee payment includes destination charges but exc udes title and taxes Lessee may have the opuon but is not obligated to buy the car at lease end or at a price to be negotiated with the dKaier g-Lessee 1S sponsible for excess wear and tear and on 1 1 1 per mile charge for total mileage overTO.tXX). (Lessee is allowed 15,000 miles pw year with a two year lease.) Lease subject to credit approval and insurability as determined by Ford Credit For SjgnajjeasejermsjttHjja delivery from dealer stock hy December 3, 1991 Great Buffet! bid media Live Auction! admission in Cesta Lounge the auction! Cost Mf Jim Graham 6 PM Closed auction 7 PM Free the after Bill' 0 I 'raiV Ft li 0 1 In You'll love this entertaining old fashioned auction of great buys! Bring a friend! Auction Senice donated by.