Death Valley Flyers BW photo 8 the net
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with color The Death Valley Flyers 1943 photot 5 TIMELIFE
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More Missing Details: Ghosts of the Battlefield is proud to announce our newest exhibit, The Death Valley Flyers, celebrating the remarkable women of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during World War II.
In 1943, LIFE magazine photographer John Forea accompanied a group of prospective WASP pilots on a camping and flying excursion into California's Death Valley. His photographs captured these young aviators against the dramatic desert landscape, preserving moments of friendship, confidence, and adventure before many of them would go on to serve their nation during wartime.
The women of the WASP program ferried military aircraft, towed aerial gunnery targets, tested repaired airplanes, and instructed pilots, freeing thousands of male aviators for combat duty overseas. Although they flew military aircraft under dangerous conditions, their service would not receive full recognition for decades. Thirty-eight WASPs lost their lives while serving their country.
The images featured in our exhibit were originally photographed by John Forea for LIFE magazine in 1943. The photographs displayed have been professionally restored and colorized by Ghosts of the Battlefield. Through this restoration process, these historic images have been brought back to life, allowing modern audiences to experience the beauty, confidence, and determination of these pioneering women as never before, and are displayed as part of our ongoing efforts to preserve and interpret military history for future generations.
These women were more than beautiful faces in the desert sun. They were pilots, pioneers, and patriots whose courage helped change American aviation forever.


... and to us an expression of the day,
Hubba, Hubbah!!