Women in Aviation International (WAI) has selected the 2024 inductees for its International Pioneer Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2024 will be honored at the 35th annual Women in Aviation International Conference, slated for March 21-23, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.
The 2024 Pioneer Hall of Fame inductees are:
Katherine Johnson: The late Katherine Johnson is perhaps the greatest mathematician of her time and a NASA legend. Despite racial and gender barriers, Katherine, along with her Human Computer Women colleagues, were a critical part of NASA’s 1960s Space Race. Her unprecedented mathematical calculations of orbital mechanics were a vital part of the successful first and subsequent U.S.-crewed spaceflights. After over 60 years of being an unknown story, the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures, which was made into a movie, revealed the trailblazing accomplishments of Katherine and her colleagues.
U.S. Air Force First Undergraduate Navigator Class 78-01: In 1975, the United States Air Force Chief of Staff announced the establishment of a test program for female pilots and navigators. The six navigator candidates were all U.S. Air Force officers from various career fields, including aircraft maintenance, drug and alcohol abuse program, intelligence, weather, and air traffic control. These women — Capt. Margaret M. Stanek, 1st Lt. Mary K. Higgins, 1st Lt. Elizabeth A. Koch, 1st Lt. Bettye J. Payne, 2nd Lt. Florence E. Parker, and 2nd Lt. Ramona L. McCall — helped push open the doors for other women in military aviation.
U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Flight Nurses: At the height of World War II, 500 flight nurses served with the U.S. Army Air Forces as members of 31 medical air evacuation squadrons. These missions were located on both the European and Pacific fronts. The first class of these dedicated volunteer flight nurses graduated from air evacuation training at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 18, 1943. These women had to be in top physical condition for grueling medical evacuation missions. They were trained in crash procedures, survival training, and high-altitude physiology. More than 1 million patients were evacuated by air between January 1943 and May 1945, and only 46 died en route.
“Our 2024 inductees are shining examples of grit and determination,” says Stephanie Kenyon, WAI Interim CEO. “For over 30 years, WAI has annually showcased the accomplishments of female trailblazers — as individuals and groups — through our Pioneer Hall of Fame. We are proud to honor their unique talents and skill sets which have helped pave the way for other women and largely contributed to aviation and aerospace in unique ways.”
The Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to honor women who have made significant contributions as record-setters, pioneers, or innovators. Special consideration is given to individuals or groups who have helped other women be successful in aviation or opened doors of opportunity for other women. Each year, the organization solicits nominations from throughout the aviation industry for the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame.
For more information on the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame, go to WAI.org/Pioneers.
Kent and Larry must be fun at parties…glad I don’t frequent the same events they do.
We need good pilots, not good hyphenated pilots. “Despite racial and gender barriers”. Name them. I think this is largely an urban myth. “helped push open the doors for other women in military aviation.” So they can do what? Be separated from their husbands and children, with all the known bad consequences that brings? So they can be injured or killed in combat? Used to be, the men wanted to protect their women, still and always the weaker sex, from the harsh lives that men lead for their families. In effect, efforts such as these have only served to drag women down from their once exalted position in families and society in general.
I agree with you, Kent. Only one of the three inductee nominees exhibited extraordinary talent and produced measurable and meaningful results from same on her own … Katherine Johnson. She would (and did) stand out regardless of gender (or race). The navigators were in the right place at the right time when someone else opened the door for them. The nurses were chosen because — at that time — women were the predominant gender in nursing. Men were doctors and women were nurses, generally. So suddenly they’re ‘hero’s’ because they did a good job. I recognize and laud their efforts and successes but segregating and making heros out of ’em solely because of their gender … gimme a break. More woke baloney!
As far as ‘grit and determination’ goes, each and every person who pursues pilot, mechanic or other aviation-oriented endeavors and succeeds has displayed that. Putting people or groups into individual compartmented gender exclusionary niches IS the problem anymore. If absolute equality is the end objective, there should be no need for a WAI organization … it’s discriminatory in and of itself.
From the comments written by Mr. Kent Misegades and Mr. Larry, IMHO the only acceptable words were those of the last paragraphs of Mr. Larry (“Putting people..” until “…in and or itself”).
If we can set aside your misgivings (or should I say “horror”) of women flying in the military, I would like to point out that military service is still honorable regardless of one’s gender. I would like to think that my having flown as a navigator might have made the young girls I met consider such a career path for themselves if they wanted to serve in the military. And as for wanting the “best”, I think I did pretty well at that as I was the top graduate of the Undergraduate Navigator Class consisting of 18 total men and women in October 1977. Furthermore, I was also the top student in my KC-135 aircraft-specific training that followed despite the fact that two of my classmates were Lt Col KC-97 navigators with over 6000 flight hours each from the Air National Guard. My performance in the field was well documented, too. And just for the record, women have sufficient strength to be Air Force aviators.