Mar 6, 2011 By Patty Yauger 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE TWP. – The groundbreaking achievements attained by a local woman were celebrated Friday by active and retired members of the military, state, county and local officials and many of her admirers.

Florence Shutsy Reynolds, attired in a replica of her Women’s Air Force Pilots (WASP) dress uniform, sat and listened attentively as she watched a brief documentary about the nation’s first wartime female aviators.

She knows the story well, as she was among the 1,830 chosen from more than 25,000 candidates to take part in the World War II program.

“It was an honor,” she told those assembled in the Connellsville National Guard Readiness Center. “I loved being a WASP.”

The gathering was to mark the presentation of her Congressional Gold Medal to the Connellsville Area Historical Society and it coincided with her 88th birthday.

The congressional award, said Reynolds, recognized the dedication and sacrifice of those young women who answered the call to duty.

Her love of flying came at an early age, and by the time she graduated from Connellsville High School in 1940 , she was on her way to becoming a pilot.

A scholarship enabled her to enter a civilian pilot training program at the then-Connellsville Airport.

However, she wanted to do more.

As the nation prepared for war, there was a need for pilots to ferry airplanes and perform other related duties stateside, as male pilots were needed for combat taking place overseas.

The young pilot learned of a new program proposed by one of her role models, Jacqueline Cochran, that would allow female pilots to undertake the stateside duties, and Reynolds said that she wanted to be a part of that organization.

“I wrote to her (Cochran) at least once a week to let her know that I wanted to be in the program,” she said, adding that she was two years shy of the required age of 21 for consideration.

Her persistence and the program lowering its age requirements to enter the training program eventually paid off, and she made her way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, in December, 1943.

“We trained just like the male pilots,” she said.

Although not in combat, their missions were oftentimes dangerous, as the pilots were required to ferry damaged aircraft and become “targets” for combat training pilots.

Of the 1,074 WASPs to graduate, 38 lost their lives carrying out their missions.

While the program was short-lived, the women pilots logged more that 60 million miles and ferried more than 12,000 planes to and from their destinations.

When the program ended in 1944, another battle was looming, and again on the forefront were Reynolds and her fellow WASPS.

The WASPs, she said, did not garner the military status of other World War II veterans. There were no benefits, official recognition, honors or parades for the women pilots, said Reynolds.

In the mid-1970s, the announcement that the U.S. Air Force would permit the “first” women pilots to take part in their program drew criticism from the WASPs and a campaign was mounted to bring recognition to those that did fill those “first” female roles in the U.S. Air Force.

In 1977, the WASPs obtained veteran status and were presented the American Campaign Medal and the Victory Medal.

Last year, Reynolds and many of the surviving WASPs gathered on Capitol Hill and were presented the Congressional Gold Medal.

At Reynolds’ side in Washington for the presentation to her and again on Friday, was U.S. Air Force Reserve T/ Sgt. Christy Helgeson, who said she was at a loss as to what to present to her friend and mentor on the occasion of her birthday.

“What do you give a WASP – someone who has achieved what she has?” asked Hegelson.

Her gifts to Reynolds included a patch from her first flight suit, worn while a member of the 446th Aircraft Squadron, based at McCord Air Force Base in Seattle, Wash.; a military coin inscribed with the C-17, the aircraft she was trained on; and her senior airman patch.

“I know what it is like to be the only girl out there,” said Hegelson, recalling that she was the lone female flying crew chief at McCord. “She (Reynolds) is the one who allowed me to be out there.”

Others making presentations included Lori Lambie, aide to state Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union; Jeff Williams, aide to state Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar; and Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink.

Karen Hechler, president of the historical society, said that it was an honor for the society to be the recipient of Reynolds’ Congressional Gold Medal.

“The Connellsville Area Historical Society is proud,” she said. “We will display it with honor, along with the history of the WASPs, so that all can learn more about this amazing group of female pilots.”