as seen on The Denver Channel ABC 7 News
If putting on a hat could take you back in time, Betty Lotowycz would be traveling with her daughter, Sophia Stoller, to 1942.
"How's that look?" asked Lotowycz, the moment she put back on the blue WASP beret.
"That looks pretty good," her daughter said with a laugh. "I think your head might have grown."
During World War II, while men were flying planes in combat, women were answering a call closer to home.
"Somebody had to fly the planes at home, you couldn't just let them rust on the ground," said Lotowycz.
She was one of the pioneering women who paid their own way to get to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, to become a Women Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, as they were known.
Their mission was to fly military aircraft in the United States to free up men for combat flights.
The applicants were required to already have a pilot's license, but to become a WASP, they had to pass intense military training.
"You had to march in formation?" asked Stoller, looking at photographs.
"Oh God, yes," her mother said with a groan. "And we stayed in barracks and boy, was that hot. We had these rotten little cots, and they let us drag them outside for the night because it got cooler at night."
More than 25,000 women applied to be a WASP, only 1,800 were accepted, and just over 1,000 graduated -- including Lotowycz.
She flew different types of aircraft all over the country, delivering planes and cargo to bases, and even serving as a test pilot for military aircraft that could be less than reliable.
"When you were testing aircraft, after they had been worked on if there had been a problem, didn't you usually ask the mechanic to come up with you?" asked Stoller, remembering the stories her mother has told her over the years.
"You bet we did!" Lotowycz with a grin. "And if he said he was busy, we'd say, 'Well, work on the plane a little longer, and we'll go up together again.'"
In less than two years, the WASPs flew more than 60 million miles for their country before the government suddenly disbanded the program.
The pilots had to pay their own way home and were almost forgotten.
"WASP, what's a WASP? An insect that will sting you! Watch out!" laughed Lotowycz.
The women couldn't get veterans benefits or even jobs.
Lotowycz applied to be a commercial pilot using her nickname, Gerry.
"And you got as far as the interview they said sorry the flying public wasn't ready?" asked Sophia.
"For women pilots," Lotowycz finished her sentence, shaking her head.
It wasn't until 1977 that the WASPS were finally given status as veterans, and in 2009, they received the Congressional Gold Medal.
"It is wonderful to get recognition after many years of being pushed to the side," said Stoller. "Because, you know, we sort of accept that after a while. 'It doesn't count, or it wasn't important.' But actually, it did count. It was important. I'm very proud of you mom."
Betty and three other local veterans will be honored during the Bolder Boulder's Memorial Day tribute on Monday.
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