MARY LOU NEALE

Mary Lou (Colbert) Neale was born in 1915 in Juneau, Alaska.  She was living in the Washington, D.C. area in 1941, and (as a "military brat") kept a close eye on pilot Jacqueline Cochran’s efforts to convince General “Hap” Arnold to bring females into a program as military pilots.

The Civilian Training Program opened up to women (after Eleanor Roosevelt questioned the dictum of "boys only"), and "1 girl for every 10 boys" became the rule from late 1939 to 1941.

Mary Lou had the Primary (which led to the private pilot license) and the Secondary (aerobatics) courses under her belt before they

closed it down to females due to the necessity to train male combat pilots.

When Jacqueline Cochran finally got the go-ahead to select 25 women pilots for this "experimental” program, (following the regular Air Corps Cadet training course and with some 450 flight hours and the required Commercial license) Mary Lou was the first to apply.

Mary Lou was the first candidate Jackie Cochran signed up for the Women Air Force Service Program (WASP) and was a member of the first class, 43‑W‑1 which started in Houston, TX, on Nov.15th, 1942. She was among 23 female pilots who graduated in April 1943.  Mary Lou was stationed in Dallas, TX, Long Beach and Palm Springs CA. 

She was assigned to the Ferry Command, flying P‑38s, P‑51s, P‑47s, P‑63s, P‑39s, B‑25s and various training aircraft between the west and east coast military bases for 26 months. Mary Lou was checked out in all the trainers, fighters and most of the bombers.

Mary Lou established and was later Commander of the WASP 21st Ferrying Group at the Palm Springs Army Air Force Base.  She served as ferry pilot until the last hour on the last day (December 20, 1944), when all WASP flying was halted.  She received a commission as Captain in the USAF Reserve after the WASP organization was deactivated. 

Mary Lou and all other WASPs were declared military veterans in 1977 for the vital role they played in the war effort.  Here's Mary Lou's page on the Texas Woman's University WASPs page.

On March 10, 2010 she, and all fellow WASPs, received the United States Congressional Gold Medal for her service as a WASP during WWII.

UPDATE:  We are very sad to report that Mary Lou passed away on September 12, 2011, shortly before her 97th birthday.