In this interview, Liz talks with author Raquel Ramsey, the widow of decorated veteran Ed Ramsey, and her coauthor, Tricia Aurand about their book TAKING FLIGHT: THE NADINE RAMSEY STORY, about WWII Women Air Force Service Pilot, Nadine Ramsey.
In October 1944 Nadine Ramsey was thirty-three and she was flying the cutting-edge P-51 Mustang to New Jersey, its last stop before heading to the war in Europe. The irrepressible young woman from Wichita had long been determined to fly and the gathering storm clouds of World War II provided an unexpected opportunity. Taking Flight is the inspiring story of a girl from Depression-era Kansas who overcame tremendous challenges and defied convention to become an elite pilot—one of the few American women to fly fighter aircraft during World War II.
Taking Flight follows Nadine as she became one of 1,102 women to join the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots and one of only 303 WASPs to take to the skies in military cockpits, transporting aircraft to bases across the nation for use in the theaters of war. This book marks her milestones: the first Kansas woman to earn a commercial pilot license; among the earliest women to fly the US Air Mail; one of only 26 WASPs who flew the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a fighter aircraft—and the first woman to own one; the only woman in the country to instruct male pilots to fly fighter planes after the war. Disbanded in late 1944 to make way for male pilots and barred from piloting for commercial airlines, the WASPs spent the next three decades fighting to win veteran status.
Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story is a profile in courage of a woman who helped clear the flight path for today’s female combat and commercial aviators.
Visit Nadine Ramsey's webpage to learn more at nadinebramsey.com
Liz Booker is a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot and writer for young adults. She hosts the Aviatrix Book Club and the Aviatrix Book Review Website and Podcast. This episode is a rebroadcast of the Aviatrix Book Review in collaboration with
Coming Home Well. You can find Liz @LiteraryAviatrix on social media.
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Military Aviatrix
Military Aviatrix hosted by Liz Booker is a collaboration with Literary Aviatrix in exploring the amazing women of Military Aviation and opening the doors of the mind for young women to pursue their dream of becoming a pilot. Plug in and listen to stories of overcoming adversities to inspire others to persevere, historians reminding us of the sacrifices that come with war; and the heroic women who paved the way for women to soar with their dreams of flight.
Meet the Host
Liz Booker transitioned to full-time writer in 2019 after a 28-year career as a Coast Guard helicopter pilot and foreign diplomat. She holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She continues to fly, pursuing an extensive aviation bucket-list—a.k.a. ‘research’.