WASP Squadron

09/03/2026

WASP Spotlight: Josephine “Dodi” Pitz Egan (43-W-5)

Born in 1913 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Josephine “Dodi” Pitz Egan graduated high school and went on to earn a degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. She became the first licensed female pilot in Manitowoc.

After the start of World War II, Josephine joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). While stationed at New Castle Army Air Base in Wilmington, Delaware, she ferried aircraft including the PT-19, B-17 and C-47.

Years after the WASP were disbanded in 1944, Josephine continued working with WASP Headquarters to push for legislation that would grant WASP veteran status.

Josephine married U.S. Air Force Col. John “Bucky” Egan, who served in World War II as a 100th Bomb Group pilot and squadron commander of a B-17 Flying Fortress unit stationed at Thorpe Abbotts. He was also a prisoner of war for 18 months in a German prison camp.

John Egan is one of the main characters portrayed in the television series Masters of the Air. Historian and former Navy pilot Jenn Bennie visits John and Josephine’s gravesite and explores the real story behind Masters of the Air in her program, WalkWithHistory. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p905-fC9nMI

Josephine passed away April 13, 2006, at the age of 93. She joined John, who died in 1961, at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where she was buried with military honors.

Photos courtesy of Wings Across America, 100th Bomb Group Foundation and the Egan family.

09/01/2026

08/28/2026

Nella the AT-6 will be at Aviation Discovery Fest in Dallas on November 6-7!

Rides will be available ✈️ There will also be tons of other historic aircraft, ground vehicles, reenactors, veterans, and more.

👉 Get the details and book a ride at https://aviationdiscoveryfest.org/

08/26/2026

Happy 12th birthday to one of the WASP Squadron’s youngest supporters, Emberly!

We love seeing her honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots at WASP events and can’t wait to celebrate with her aboard Nella the AT-6 later this year.

🎉 Please join us in wishing Emberly a very happy birthday!

08/20/2026

No better way to celebrate than to hug a pilot. 🥰

A ride on a warbird is an emotional experience for sure. If you've taken a flight, tell us how it made you feel!

08/18/2026

Experience what it was like to be a WWII pilot trainee!

Nella the AT-6 Texan is coming to an airport near you with the AirPower History Tour.

This historic aircraft was flown by the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX during WWII. While Nella’s ties to the WASP make her unique, she also provides the opportunity to experience the same environment that all WWII pilot trainees shared.

Climb into history. Hear the engine roar. Step into the shoes of a WWII pilot in training.

📅 Tour schedule: airpowersquadron.org/tour-schedule

Photo by Gary Chambers.

08/14/2026

✈ WASP Spotlight: Barbara Hart Kennedy, 44-W-6

Barbara June Hart Kennedy was born in Sacramento on June 7, 1922. After graduating from Sacramento High School, she enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley. Her studies were cut short, however, by a call to service during WWII.

Barbara joined an elite group - the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) - flying military aircraft domestically during World War II, freeing up male pilots for combat missions.

After earning her silver wings in WASP training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX, Barbara was assigned to Minter Field in Bakersfield, CA. She flew many types of aircraft including the PT-17, BT-13, AT-6 and the UC-78.

Barbara also had nerves of steel, as in one instance she successfully landed while a plane that was on fire.

After the war, she worked as a flight attendant for Pan American Airlines in the Pacific and Asia. In 1948, she married Douglas Kennedy and started a family.

She was among about 180 surviving WASP who received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.

Barbara took her final flight just before her 100th birthday in 2022.

✈ Want to know more about the WASP? Visit the link in the comments. ✈

📸 Texas Woman's University Archive Collection.

08/11/2026

That feeling 🙌

08/06/2026

Discover the remarkable story of pioneering aviator Cornelia Fort in the Aug. 12th episode of Warbird Tube.

As a civilian flight instructor over Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Fort came nose-to-nose with a Japanese Zero as the attack began. In September 1942, she became the second woman accepted into the newly formed Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. The WAFS later merged with the Women Airforce Service Pilots in August 1943.

Join Judith Stanford Miller, writer and producer of Crosswinds: The Courageous Life of Cornelia Fort, for a special conversation about Fort’s life, service and legacy.

📅 Wednesday, Aug. 12
🕖 7 p.m. Central
🎟️ Register to watch: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7772239246455583577

08/04/2026

Where are these two WWII beauties off to now? ✈️

Find out where FIFI the B-29 Superfortress and Nella the AT-6 Texan and their friends are landing next at airpowersquadron.org/tour-schedule

Commemorative Air Force B29 B24 Squadron