Friday's Fabulous Flyer
Dawn Seymour
By Riseabo1-ca
"Last month we said goodbye to Dawn Seymour, who passed peacefully in her home overlooking Canandaigua Lake. Seymour, a native of Rochester, New York was 100 years old, and was one of just a handful of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) who were trained to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress during World War II, making her a legend in her own right.
An incredible woman, Seymour was passionate about sharing the WASP story with young people, and could often be seen at airshows around the North East doing exactly that. Last year at EAA AirVenture, she joined the Commemorative Air Force for the launch of the CAF RISE ABOVE: WASP initiative. Seymour was eager to ensure that our program reflect the breadth of WASP experiences, and that it accurately reflect the challenges and accomplishments of the women who joined the WASP program.
Her trailblazing spirit will live on in younger generations fortunate enough to hear her story.Class photo of Dawn Seymour. Courtesy of Texas Women’s University, WASP Archive Collection in Denton, Texas.
Dawn Seymour graduated Cornell University in the Class of 1939 when she was 22 years old. Although she did not have tremendous exposure to flying, she had a favorite tree to climb when she was young, and had found something attractive about being “up above.”
Following her graduation, Seymour was approached by Professor Richard Parmenter who offered her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He explained that he was running an experiment, under the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), whereby for every 10 male students enrolled for pilot training, he could accept one female candidate. Seymour had never flown before – so Parmenter took her to the Ithaca Airport, and on October 16, 1944, she would take her first flight in a yellow Piper Cub.
Seymour recalled the flight saying she was “dazzled by the sunbeams in the sky, and the way in which the land stretched out below seemed borderless.” Seymour described herself as “overwhelmed by the circle of land meeting sky,” recalling that she enrolled in the CPTP test program immediately. To her delight Seymour was accepted and in May 1940 she received her private pilot’s certificate, having had only 40 hours of flying.
Seymour remembered the flurry of activity which surrounded the declaration of war, and like many would-be-WASP, Seymour was eager to put her unique skill set to use in service of the United States. Seymour recalled that “I wanted to be near as I could to the fighting.” When she learned of the new WASP Program, she enrolled and was accepted for training as part of Class 43-W-5.
Following her training at Avenger Field, Seymour was assigned to Lockbourne Army Air Field where she was trained to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress. On her first flight in a B-17, the number three engine caught fire, and Seymour thought to herself “Oh my goodness, this is the airplane for me!”
Following the completion of her B-17 training, Seymour was stationed at Buckingham Army Air Field in Florida, where she would go on to fly B-17s for gunnery training. Each day, she would take up a B-17 loaded with gunnery cadets, and each cadet would take turns practicing shooting at moving targets from the B-17. Seymour had more than 700 hours in the B-17."
To Learn More about the WASPS
I'm So Thankful I was able to join Dawn
At her 100th Birthday Party!
In Loving Memory....
Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene
