POMEROY — At a time when women were restricted from many occupations, Elizabeth Munoz became one of the first in the country to fly military aircraft during World War II.
“Women were considered not quite up to doing most things,” said the 92-year-old Pomeroy veteran. “You could only be a teacher, a nurse, a clerk or something like that.”
But in 1942, America was faced with a shortage of pilots.
“They were losing pilots very heavily,” Munoz said. “The outcome of the war was not all certain.”
At the request of Gen. Hap Arnold, famed female pilot Jacqueline Cochran began a program to train women to become military pilots. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program began.
On Dec. 20, 1944, the WASP program was disbanded. Those women could join the military, but they wouldn’t be able to be pilots again, Munoz said.
“That was kind of a letdown,” she said. “When we went in, the promise was if we succeeded, we’d be brought in and militarized. They didn’t need us anymore. So we went back to whatever we were doing.”
Decades would pass before WASP was recognized by Congress and President Jimmy Carter as members of the armed forces. Formal accolades finally came in July when President Barack Obama signed a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to those who served in the WASP program.
For Munoz, the decision to get involved was something of an afterthought. It was her final semester at Washington State University (then called Washington State College) and with room left in her schedule she decided to enroll in a civilian pilot training program.
After graduation, Munoz, then 26, took the testing required to join the WASP program.
While attempting to meet her required amount of flight time, she met Ignacio Munoz, a flight instructor and member of the Mexican Air Force.
“I don’t know what they did exactly,” she said of the Mexican Air Force. “I never heard of any big action going on in the papers.”
They would marry after the WASP program disbanded. She said her husband was very supportive of her decision to fly for the military.
She received her pilot’s wings Dec. 20, 1943, and was assigned with one other female pilot to Marianna Army Air Field in Florida as a number of male pilots left.
As a WASP, Munoz ferried planes, taxied officers, delivered parts and provided training for fighter pilots.
Munoz also had the opportunity to test aircraft that had recently been repaired.
“You had to go up and just see if it functioned like it needed to,” she said, “and usually it did. They didn’t trust the mechanic much, maybe.”
While kept out of actual combat, Munoz said she — and she believes most of her fellow WASPs — didn’t find it unfair.
“The women had never had the opportunity to do anything like this before,” she said. “I don’t even know if they wanted to go into combat. Russian women, all the while, were flying in combat all the time. I don’t think I especially wanted to get into dog fights.”
When the WASP program disbanded, and with the birth of her son, Christopher, Munoz decided to give up flying. She said she didn’t think it was something a mother should do at that time. Instead, she became a librarian in San Francisco, where she worked until retirement.
The time spent flying during World War II was just one facet of her life and service to her country, she said, adding she doesn’t spend a lot of time relishing the past.
She has no plans to attend the Congressional Gold Medal award ceremony March 10 at the U.S. Capitol.
“I think it’s nice for the group,” she said. “I don’t think it’s that important to me. When I was flying, my work was what was important.”
Information from Lewiston Tribune, www.lmtribune.com.
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