What is the rest of the WASP motto - "We live in the wind and the sand
but our eyes are on the stars"?  From what piece was it taken?

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Clarification of Question by bee5957-ga on 08 Jun 2003 11:08 PDT

I did WASP research before asking a question - both library and internet.
Talking to one is where the question was raised.

Hello Bee5957-ga,

I got in touch with a wonderful person, Natalie J. Stewart-Smith, who
obtained the information you’re seeking. She’s Assistant Professor,
English Department, Drama Troupe Sponsor of the New Mexico Military
Institute.


I decided to write Natalie because of the thesis she wrote about the
WASPS:

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Of World War II: Perspectives
on the Work of America’s First Military Women Aviators
by Natalie Jeanne Stewart-Smith 
http://home.earthlink.net/~reyesd99/stewartsmith/wasp1.html



The WASP Song

The words and music are by LOES MONK 43-W-8 

“With the wind and the sand in our eyes 
And our goal placed up high in the skies 
We are the WASPS who serve the Air Corps so true, 
We're coming, just watch us ZOOM...down upon you! 


On through the storm and the sun 
Fly on till our mission is done 
From factory to base, let the WASPS set the pace, 
We're a thousand strong! “

http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/songs/wasp_song.htm


Natalie added the following information:

“Loes Monk is the author. She would have graduated from flight
training 17 Dec 43.  W - indicated women air cadet class.”
 
“To be precise, 43-W-8 means FISCAL year 1943 (not calendar year)  1
July 1942 was start of fiscal year 1943. Today the military fiscal
years starts 1 Oct.  (I was a battalion supply officer in Korea in
1974 when the fiscal year was moved from 1 Jul to 1 Oct)”
. 
Silver Wings and Santiago Blue and Women of Courage are two
documentaries on WASPs which have singing on them.  Some of the songs
are sung by the last class 44-W-10 others are from a reunion at
Sweetwater, TX.

  
Wasps on the Web:  
Andy Hailey's website which is dedicated to his mom and her friend who
were WASPs
http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/home.htm 


Search Criteria:

WASP Motto
WASP history
WASP song


I enjoyed researching your question and I thank Natalie J.
Stewart-Smith for her generous help.


Best regards,
Bobbie7-ga

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 10 Jun 2003 11:21 PDT

Should you need further information from Major Natalie J.
Stewart-Smith at the New Mexico Military Institute, her email address
is Stewartsmith@email.nmmi.cc.nm.us.
It is included at the bottom of her thesis webpage.
http://home.earthlink.net/~reyesd99/stewartsmith/wasp1.html

---

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 19 Jun 2003 15:43 PDT

Hello Bee5957-ga,

Today I received a message from Deanie (WASP) which should completely
resolve the mystery about the WASP Motto.

“My daughter, Nancy, the Director of Wings Across America, forwarded
your
e-mail in to me to answer.  I have been searching, and I have finally
found
a WASP who knows, so here it is, as quoted from her e-mail this
morning:”

”Our motto first appeared in the first issue of The Avenger, May 11,
'43.;
Managing Editor: Mary Nelson, Editor: Gene Slack.  Gene got credit for
being
the author of "We live in the wind and sand and our eyes are on the
stars'.
At the time, I was an instructor, and one of my favorite books was
'Wind,
Sand and Stars' by Antoine de St. Exupery, so I knew where the idea
came
from.  I called Mary this morning and asked if she also knew that book
then.
When she said, 'yes', the mystery was solved.'

Best wishes,
Bobbie7

Bee5957-ga,

I sent an e-mail inquiring about The Women Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP) motto to a person that may have the information. When I receive
a reply I will get back to you.

Thanks,
Bobbie7-ga

Greetings Bee5957:

This is certainly an interesting quest.  I, too, have sent email
queries and I hope I'm able to answer your question.  Below are some
facts that may assist in your answer.

From the timeline about the development and emergence of WASP located
at http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/resources/timeline.htm#1939 it is
stated:

"August 4th, 1943 - AAF Reg 20-8 WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots)
name officially designated-- includes administrative personnel, but
only pilots may wear wings."

On August 20th (same site) it is noted:

"General Arnold, CG/AAF issues  orders: "Acronym for all AAF women
pilots will be ‘WASP’, Women Airforce Service Pilots, period." (This
included all women flying for the Army Air Forces other than Nancy
Loves' original 27 recruits to New Castle, who had not been trained by
the AAF, who  would remain WAFS)."

Another site at http://members.aol.com/bear317b/wmhistry.txt lists
August 5th as the date and states:

"AUGUST 5, 1943	- Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) - established
[merged from Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) founded by
Nancy Love in September 1942 and Women's Flying Training Detachment
(WFTD) commanded by Jacqueline Cochran]"

***********

In explaining the "wind and sand" portion of the motto "PERSPECTIVES
OF THE WOMEN PILOTS" at
http://home.earthlink.net/~reyesd99/stewartsmith/chapter2.html states:

"Weather on the Texas prairies, dust and wind storms especially, could
be a problem for flight training. One group of new cadets was caught
in the air during a sudden blinding dust storm. The PTs had no radio
contact to Avenger Field so the women flew about hoping for a break in
the storm. On the ground their instructors anxiously awaited a change
in the wind. Some tense minutes passed before all the planes were
accounted for. Another storm damaged seventeen new aircraft on the
ground. The winds were so violent that an airplane which was tied down
flipped over, a total loss.25"

From "The WASP Song" words & music by LOES MONK 43-W-8 at
http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/songs/wasp_song.htm

"With the wind and the sand in our eyes 
And our goal placed up high in the skies 
We are the WASPS who serve the Air Corps so true, 
We're coming, just watch us ZOOM...down upon you!"

The index of WASP songs may be found at
http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/songs/songs.htm and some have midi files
so that you can listen to the WASP ladies singing their songs.

The "43-W-8" after Monk's name stands for the 8th class of WASP to
graduate in 1943 (on December 17th according to the
http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/resources/timeline.htm#1939 and see
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wasp/wasp32.htm for the class
list) so the motto may have been in place before the song was composed
OR the motto was formed after the program began and based on Monk's
lyrics.  The first class to graduate was on April 24th, 1943,
according to the timeline mentioned previously and a guess would be
that Jacqueline Cochran (by the way, the first woman to break the
sound barrier in 1953 in an F-86 Sabre jet) or Nancy Love originated
the motto as they were the leaders in bringing the WASP idea to
fruition.  But for now, that's only a guess.

I'll let you know if I discover confirmation of the originator of the
motto.

Best regards,
journalist-ga


OTHER LINKS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:

Nancy Harkness Love short bio
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wasp/wasp16.htm

Jackie Cochran short bio
http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/aero/women_aviators/jackie_cochran.htm

Fly Gals
http://home.earthlink.net/~saltybeth/flygals.htm
This is a play but an interesting observation is found in the
character bio of Jackie:
"The greatest female pilot of her time. Has a slight Georgian dialect.
Started the WASP. Married to millionaire financier Floyd Odlum. First
woman to break the speed of sound. Coined the phrase, 'I like Ike.'" 
I then searched for confirmation on the Ike motto but found nothing
else but the play.

Finfinella - WASP mascot
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wasp/wasp30.htm

WFTD (pre-WASP)
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wasp/wasp4.htm

SEARCH STRATEGY:

WASP motto origin
"Nancy Love" WASP motto
"Jacqueline Cochran" WASP motto
"Jackie Cochran" WASP motto
"Loes Monk" WASP motto

I'll add this to the tidbits that bobbie and journalist have provided,
since it's turning out to be such an interesting search.

Antoine de Exupery, best known as the author of The Little Prince,
also wrote a number of luminous books in the 1930's about flying,
among them was one called "Wind, Sand and Stars".

Although I don't think the precise WASP motto appears in the book, it
is nonetheless filled with similar imagery. He writes beautifully of
being bound to the sand by earth's gravity (I wish I could remember
his exact phrases) while lying on his back after crash landing on a
Saharan dune, staring up at the stars.  He even finds a meteor on the
dunes, connecting the sand to the stars themselves.

I'd be surprised if the WASP flyers weren't familiar with it --
Saint-Exupery's books have long been favorites of the flying world.

There may not be a way of definitively linking the WASP motto to the
book, but I'd bet that it wass at least the inspiration, if not the
word for word source.

pafalafa-ga

Bee5957 --

Although there is a lot of material about the WASP online, I do not
believe that an answer to your specific question will be found there. 
I hope that some other researcher will prove me wrong.

I have scanned copies of three well-researched books about the WASP
that I was able to find at nearby libraries and bookstores (a few
other books, mostly out of print, are available from new or used book
sellers online).

In one of those books, I found a one-long-sentence reference to the
origin of the WASP's motto.  This brief reference alludes to when, and
the circumstances under which, a song with the motto's words was
written, but the author does not provide any other information about
the motto (e.g., the rest of the words of the song or its title -- if
it had one).  I have been unable to find any other responsive
information.

If the e-mails sent by bobbie7-ga and journalist-ga do not result in
more comprehensive information about the motto, I would be happy to
post the information I have found as an answer.

markj-ga

Bee5957-ga,

I received a reply today to my email inquiry. 

My contact said that it may be from a poem or from a poem that perhaps
a WASP wrote.  She’s going to get in touch with a WASP friend of hers
and see if she knows more about the Motto.

I will let you know when I receive any new information.

Thanks
--Bobbie7-ga

Very nice job, Bobbie...

paf

I feel like Nancy Drew!  :)  I posted my guess of the origin and
Bobbie's great dedication to the job seems to have confirmed it. 
Forget McMillian and Wife, I'm hanging out my shingle as McGoogle and
Cat.  lol

Great job, Bobbie!