Before Mary's passing, she gave this material to a friend and collector. I was able to obtain it due to the former owners need to support his family. He said he would have NEVER given it up for anything less!!
Helen's Obituary...........
Helen Schaefer, a member of the elite group of female fliers who flew military aircraft during World War II, died Friday after a brief illness at Seton Hospital in Daly City. She was 81.
The retired lieutenant colonel was one of 1,074 women civilian pilots who flew for the U.S. Army Air Corps as Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs. Ms. Schaefer had been fascinated by flying since she was a girl, but it was not until 1940, when the government established a civilian pilot training program, that she was able to realize her ambition. Finishing second out of 55 in her ground-training class, she was awarded a scholarship for flight training -- and won her private pilot's license in three months.
In February 1943, with only 100 hours of flying time to her credit, she volunteered for the WASPs. After intensive training, she was assigned to the 5th Ferrying Group at Love Field, Dallas, where she transported planes from factories to training bases and points of embarkation.
In 1949, Ms. Schaefer received a direct commission as a first lieutenant in the Air Force. In 1975, she retired as a lieutenant colonel.
A San Bruno resident for 50 years, she worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco and later as a dispatcher for the San Bruno Police Department.
She is survived by her sisters, Mary Du Pre of Millbrae and Dorothy Rogalsky of San Bruno, four nephews and one niece.
I have been waiting for her files from St.Louis for several months, and will add them to this thread when they arrive...........
