The Originals - Sarah Rickman Byrn

Who were The Originals?

• Experienced women pilots – the first to fly for the U.S. military
• 28 women who dared to challenge 1940s barriers of gender, politics and bureaucracy
• Farm girls, socialites, daughters of working families, college graduates; from 15 different states; married and single; three with young children
• Young women – ages 21 to 35
• Three of them died serving their country
• World War II heroines with “the Right Stuff”

Based on personal interviews with the nine who were still alive as of 2000, on papers and diaries, and on interviews and correspondence with descendants and others who knew them. This book tells the story of the WAFS, who they were, how they are different from the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots), and how they ultimately became part of the WASPs. A must reference book for libraries in aviation communities, but it reads like a novel. Second Edition, Revised and Updated.