Final Flight

A Granddaughter's Mission

Erin Miller

The power of action and an individual's determination never ceases to amaze me. While many people in the world don't make an effort because they think it won't matter... I'm here to tell you it does.  Erin  Miller is one of those people who took action and created change. 

I had the honor to meet Erin at the Women in Aviation Conference a few years ago, and what a delightful person she is. I believe there is a great deal of spirit that runs in their family. 

Erin wrote a book on her journey on behalf of her grandmother and all WASPs. 

Final Flight Final Fight: 

My grandmother, the WASP, and 

Arlington National Cemetery 

"When Arlington National Cemetery refused to accept my grandmother's last request to be laid to rest there, I refused to let her legacy as a veteran die along with her.

My grandmother, Elaine Danforth Harmon, flew as a pilot with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II. Despite being part of the first group of women to fly for the United States Army, the WASP remained officially unrecognized as members of the military due to discriminatory thinking about gender on Capitol Hill and beyond. 

Women flying planes? 

Too progressive for the World War II era.

When I was young, I thought of my grandmother's trips to accept awards, or to visit the White House, or to give lectures about her time in the service, as her hobby. I knew what she had done and I knew that in the 1970s they had lobbied Congress to get the veterans' status they had been denied during the war. From that point on, my grandmother shared her story of service with the WASP during World War II with anyone who would listen.

But it was not until after she died that I fully understood why she had spent so many years talking about her service with the WASP. My grandmother's last request was to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Our family was surprised when the United States Army, which managed the cemetery, denied that the WASP, and therefore my grandmother, were eligible for placement in the cemetery.

The Army said 'no' 

to the wrong family. 

I led our family's campaign on behalf of my grandmother, and all the women of the WASP, across social media, traditional news outlets, and to Capitol Hill to fight for their equal recognition at one of the nation's most well-known cemeteries. My grandmother's final fight came after her final flight - but I was honored to follow in her footsteps to ensure her legacy would not be forgotten." Erin Miller

Erin Miller, Esq.

http://www.finalflightfinalfight.com/

twitter: @millerlawmd

Facebook: @officialerinmiller

Erin's sister "Tiffany" is on a mission of 

making change too!

If you haven't signed the petition, 

please

Click HERE to 

be part of Aviation History! 

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

 

Tiffany Miller

Friday's Fabulous Flyer!

Tiffany Miller

Last week I posted a request to help rename of the Oakland airport to Maggie Gee. Today's Friday Fabulous Flyer is the woman responsible for this initiative! Tiffany's story and the effort behind her action follows. She has proven that change can happen with effort. Thank you for yours! 

"My name is Tiffany Miller. My grandmother, Elaine Danforth Harmon, flew planes for the US military during WWII as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). This group of brave women were the first women to fly US military aircraft.

Elaine 

Growing up, I saw how much my grandmother cared about preserving the history of the WASP. She attended innumerable events for veterans, she spoke at schools, and even responded to fan mail. When she passed away in 2015, we already knew that her last wish was to be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. Even in death, she was thinking about what she could do to ensure future generations would have the opportunity to learn about the WASP. She viewed Arlington as a type of museum where people can learn about our country's military history.

We thought that arranging the funeral would not be an issue, so we were surprised when my mother's request was rejected. We found out later that a few months before my grandmother passed away that the Secretary of the Army issued a memo which basically stated that the WASP were not "real" veterans and therefore were ineligible to be in Arlington.

This was devastating for my family and we knew we had to make this right for my grandmother. I ended up posting a petition to change.org which kicked off a campaign that ultimately led to federal legislation being passed which enshrined the right of the WASP to be in Arlington. 

While my family and I were working on my grandmother's campaign, my sisters pressured me into getting a Twitter account so that I could help them with the social media aspect of the campaign. I started research information about women aviators and women in the military, anything remotely related to our campaign that I could Tweet to help draw interest to our cause. It was while doing this research that I learned there is an airport in Istanbul, Turkey that is named after Turkey's first female military pilot. I mentioned this to my husband who said, 

"Doesn't that tell you a lot? 

I bet you can't name a single US airport 

named for a woman." 

And he was right! I was kind of appalled at myself. This was something I had never thought about.

While my priority at the time was my grandmother's campaign, I immediately thought, we need to make this right too! 

Maggie Gee, 

Grandma's dearest WASP friend

I thought about my local airport in Oakland and how it is not currently named for anyone. And then I also thought about how Maggie Gee, my grandmother's dearest WASP friend, lived her whole life in the East Bay and became inspired to fly as a child because her family spent Sundays watching planes take off at the Oakland Airport. 

I thought of how she was one of only two Chinese American women to serve as a WASP. I thought of how Maggie went on to become a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories after the war. I thought of how she acted as a community advocate for decades, working on fair housing and voter registration initiatives. She was an exemplary human being and, in my opinion, deserving of the honor of having an airport renamed for her.

Since undertaking this campaign, I have learned that almost half of the busiest US airports (27/60) are named for men while none are named for women. Additionally there are almost 20,000 airports in the US and not a single one is named for a woman of color. I also learned about recent efforts to increase female representation among publicly displayed statues in San Francisco and New York's Central Park. 

The lack of representation of women and people of color is all around us, but this erasure is so normalized many people are not even aware of it. But this absence perpetuates the misperception that women and people of color have not contributed anything important to our country's history. "

"I think it is far past time 
for us to right this wrong" 

Tiffany

Please Help to rename the 

Oakland International Airport 

to the Magee Gee Airport 

by signing the petition. 

It's easy... simply click HERE

to sign the Petition

"I think she is most deserving. The WASPs were an important part of our air component during WWII. As a member of the first class of women pilot that were trained in the Air Force I fully understanding the pioneering spirit. As president of Women Military Aviators I fully endorse the naming of a major US airport after one of America's Aviation Pioneers." 

Kathy Rambo-Cosand.

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

Memorial Day 2019

Memorial Day: is a U.S. Federal holiday that remembers and honors those who have died while serving their country.

I was told that we should not say "Happy Memorial Day" because there is nothing happy about people dying. While that's true... I'm happy that we have a day to remember our heroes who gave their lives for our freedom. 

Remember those who served before.

Remember those who are no more.

Remember those who serve today.

Remember them as we eat and play.

Remember our protectors-

who are not home today.

Remember them all on Memorial Day.

Emily Toma

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

Making Aviation History

Rename the Oakland Airport

Your help is needed,

and it's as easy as clicking HERE

and Signing the Petition. 

Help to make history and change the name of the Oakland International Airport to Maggie Gee International Airport. 

Maggie Gee passed away at the age of 89 February 1, 2013, but let’s not allow her to be forgotten. The WASPS are passing and a huge part of history is flying on. Notice of passings are identified on a blog titled the WASP Final Flight Blog, and I have reproduced the information about Maggie below. Maggie's passion started at the Oakland airport and her legacy should be carried on. 

“Margaret "Maggie" Gee, whose Chinese name was Gee Mei Gue, was born on August 5, 1923 in Berkeley, California, the daughter of a successful Chinese importer and a first generation Chinese-American. Maggie’s grandparents (on her mother's side) had been fishermen who immigrated to the United States to escape the Taiping Revolution and settled in Chinatown, where her parents met and married. However, her father did not want to raise his family in Chinatown, so before Maggie was born, he moved his family to Berkley. 

When the stock market crashed in 1929, Mr. Gee had a heart attack on a San Francisco street and died shortly thereafter, leaving behind a wife and six children. Maggie’s formative years were spent witnessing her mother take on greater and greater responsibility, not only raising six children and working, but remaining actively involved in her church and her community. 

When America entered WWII, Maggie passed a drafting test and left her first year of college to work at the Mare Island Naval Shipyards in Vallejo, California. There, she worked as a draftsman for the engineers who were working on classified projects on US Naval ships needing repair. 

By 1942/43, Maggie had saved enough money to move to Minden, Nevada, to learn to fly. She paid $800 for six months of training and fifty hours of flying time. After she soloed and flew the required hours, Maggie applied for the WASP flying training program at Avenger Field, Texas and was accepted into class 44-W-9. 

In June, 1944, Maggie left her home in San Francisco and boarded a troop train which was filled with soldiers at Berkley, California. For the next two days, she either sat on her suitcase or stood up -- all the way to Sweetwater, Texas. There 107 women pilots who entered the same class with Maggie; however, only 55 earned their silver wings and graduated as WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) on November 8, 1944. 

After graduation, Maggie was sent to Las Vegas Army Air Field, Nevada, where she served as a tow target pilot for flexible gunnery training for male cadets until the WASP were deactivated on December 20, 1944. She then returned to Berkley and completed her formal education, after which she traveled to Europe and was in charge of a European Service Club in the early 1950's. 

When Maggie returned to the United States, she began her life as a physicist/researcher, working and studying at the UC Berkley and at its National Laboratory in Livermore. Her research covered the fields of cancer, nuclear weapons design, fusion energy, and other related fields.

"I’m very optimistic about the world and people... it will be all right...You can make changes. I think just one small person can make a little bit of change..."

Maggie's lifetime passion for politics began in the Truman Administration, and she continued her work by supporting voter registration and fundraising, serving on the Berkley Community Fund, the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, and as a board member of the Berkley Democratic Club in Berkeley, CA. She also served on the California Democratic Party Executive Board and Asian Pacific Islander Democratic Caucus. 

Maggie's legacy will live on in the lives of all of those she educated and changed with her passionate patriotism and her extraordinary sense of social justice. 

Maggie's legacy will live on in the lives of all of those she educated and changed with her passionate patriotism and her extraordinary sense of social justice."

Respectfully written and posted by Nancy Parrish

Feb. 4, 2013 

Please sign the petition. 

Each signature will make a difference. 

Help to inspire the future of Aviation

by remembering the past and honoring our aviators.

Click  HERE  To Sign 

and become part of Aviation History. 

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

Flight For Truth!

More Fact than Fiction?

Imagine the following message being left on a pilot's phone by their union medical advisor. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. But Flight For Truth is underway! Justice will be next!

Spoiler Alert! 

Flight For Truth

Chapter 10
January 8, 2018

“Hi. It's Dr. Fourberie calling from the ALPO Air Medical office. Hey, I just got a little bit more correspondence on your situation and some information from Dr. Wood. I saw the back-and-forth with you requesting sort of his actual diagnosis from him and also a suggestion for a treatment plan that might get you back to flying, and he defers on the treatment plan because he's correct. As an evaluator he's not in the role of your treating physician, so he would not sort of determine a treatment plan. You would go to your own specialist or provider to manage any condition like that. 

The problem is, is that with— you know, the only way back to medical certification is to dispute the diagnosis of a bipolar spectrum disorder. That's disqualifying. And even if you were to say, okay, I'll do a mood stabilizer or some other thing and get into either pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment or therapy, that's not going to be satisfactory to the FAA because all of the medications for it are disallowed. It's considered a condition that can be treated and managed but is not essentially curable and is always disqualifying, even if it is fairly— you know, effectively treated for the time being. So unfortunately, sort of getting treatment is not going— for a condition like that, I don't think we're going to have any luck with regaining medical certification. 

The one option to regain medical certification would be to effectively and completely and convincingly dispute the presence of the diagnosis to begin with. That's the— based on our experience with the FAA that's the one and only way that a bipolar spectrum disorder we can have any sort of success with. So we are, of course, standing by to assist you with this however and whenever we can. 

I am here until about 4:00 Mountain time today. I'm not sure if they're going to close the phones up a little bit and cut the staff loose a bit early because it is right before a four-day holiday for the New Year. We are going to be out of the office Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I'm back on Tuesday and then I'm actually out of the office next week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then back the following week. Dr. Max is another flight surgeon, will be filling in for me during the hours that we are here Wednesday, Thursday, Friday next week that I'm gone, so certainly there's someone else standing by to assist you with anything you need immediately. 

But that is our next sort of step with this as far as medical certification goes, which is my primary function in assisting you here, is to try to get an independent evaluation that would very, very effectively counter Dr. Wood’s conclusion of a bipolar spectrum disorder, and that's going to be tricky because Dr. Wood is sort of a big gun with the FAA. You'd have to convince the FAA that he's totally wrong and that you do not have any sort of bipolar spectrum disorder, and that would be a difficult situation. But I think I gave you Dr. Brody’s name and number. She's certainly a good person for you to talk to and explain your situation to, and she would probably be the best next step. As I stated, she would read your report for free and tell you if this is hopeless. 

But as I say, we are here standing by. I'm here for a little bit longer, at least, today and a little bit next week and Dr. Max is also covering for me next week. So if you have any questions or want to talk strategy on that, please feel free to give us a call. Thanks.”

Only the names were changed 

to protect the guilty. 

Hard to believe. 

Start the Series Now!
Be ready for the next two novels. 

Flight For Control 

The journey begins! 
How far can you break an industry 
before you break a pilot?

Flight For Safety 

Economics before safety?
Safety Management Systems is an FAA 
mandate designed to improve safety.

But what about pilot training?

Flight For Survival  

How far airline management would go 

to destroy a pilot in their economic path.

Flight For Sanity 

The most sinister plot 

of all! The process to remove a pilot

who is attempting to improve safety. 

Flight For Truth

From diagnosis to discovery. 

The shocking truth of corruption!

(February 2020)

Flight For Justice

The courtroom battle. 

Truth? Honesty? Justice? 

We'll find out. 

(February 2021) 

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

41st Annual ISA Conference, Sydney

You're Invited! 

May 7-8, 2019 

Our annual ISA conference is in Sydney in May. It will be a wonderful opportunity for our Australian women airline pilots to meet and spend time together with other women airline pilots from around the globe. Qantas has generously agreed to sponsor us this year, and will host us at their Sydney campus. 

Registered to attend so far:

120 women airline pilots
35 guests of pilots
32 airlines from around the globe are represented
43 women from Australian carriers

CHECK-IN TUESDAY 7 MAY, 1000-1600 

(Pre registration online required) 

The ISA Conference registration check-in will be on the mezzanine outside the LOFT 1 meeting room, on Level 3 of The Four Seasons Sydney Hotel 199 George St, The Rocks. Pick up your conference ‘Welcome Bag’ and name tag, drop off your silent auction items, and meet up with ISA delegates for coffee and chat.

GALA COCKTAIL RECEPTION, 

TUESDAY 7 MAY, 1830-2200 

Hosted by Qantas in The Street at Qantas Head Office Mascot, as you arrive head up the red carpet to the ‘Engine’ for photos. The festivities will begin with a Welcome to Country ceremony and a few speeches. The very talented Qantas Pathfinders’ Charity Review cast and crew will perform for us. Throughout the evening, canapes and drinks will be served with plenty of time for everyone to mingle with our international members and guests. The silent auction will also be happening all around, so take the opportunity to bid online for the fabulous prizes. 

The fundraising proceeds go directly to the very successful ISA scholarship program, which enables the future success of women airline pilots. So far ISA has provided over US$1.4M in scholarship assistance and they would like to promote and encourage aspiring Australian women pilots to participate in their scholarship program. ISA holds a silent auction with items donated both by members and sponsors and tend to be very popular with those wanting to secure a memory of significance from the conference. This year bidding in the silent auction will be on-line and in $USD! An email with details will be sent out before the conference. 

Dress Code: 

Evening cocktail wear 

BUSINESS MEETING, LUNCHEON, CAPTAIN AWARDS & PHOTO WEDNESDAY 8 MAY, 0800-1600 

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce will speak, as well as Captain Deborah Lawrie, long-time AU ISA member 

DINNER CRUISE, 

WEDNESDAY 8 MAY, 1830-2300 

The raffle will be held during the dinner cruise on Wednesday. Tickets will be sold in both $AUD and $USD for our international guests. 

PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES 

On Monday 6th the pre-conference activities include the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb and dinner at Mr Wong’s. 

POST-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES 

Please check the ISA website for the post conference activities. There is still some availability at the Featherdale Tour and River Cruise on Thursday 9th, the Blue Mountains tour on 10th and the HARS Museum tour on Sunday 12th.

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

AIRPORTS

Each with stories all their own! 

Join Eastern Airlines Kitchen Talk Radio to learn more than you ever thought you could know about the airports that Eastern used to call home. Your stories are welcome too! 

LaGuardia Airport

Newark Airport

John F Kennedy Airport

Atlanta Airport

Miami Airport

Episode 410
Monday
April 22, 2019
7 pm EST

Call in: 

213-816-1611

at 7:00 P. M. EDT 

or listen in by clicking the hyperlink:

www.blogtalkradio.com/capteddie.

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene