Seized by the sun: the life and disappearance of World War II pilot Gertrude Tompkins

212 Pages·2017·10.289 MB·English

by  Silver, Gertrude Tompkins;Ure, James W

. . . continued from front flap
young adult nonfiction / biography
O
account of the WASPs’ daily routines, train- f the 38 Women Airforce Service Pilots
ing, and challenges; and describes the ongoing “Part concise history of the WASPs and part unsolved mystery, (WASPs) confirmed or presumed dead in
search for Gertrude’s wreck and remains. The Seized by the Sun is a long-overdue tribute to a determined World War II, only one—Gertrude “Tommy”
result of years of research and interviews with and talented young woman as her identity changes from a Tompkins—is still missing. On October 26,
Gertrude’s family, friends, and fellow WASPs, shy and stuttering society girl to a confident military pilot. A 1944, the 32-year-old fighter plane pilot lifted
Seized by the Sun is an invaluable addition to deftly reported, shining portrait of an inspirational woman.” off from Mines Field in Los Angeles. She was
any student’s or history buff’s bookshelf. ——ElizAbEth WEin, award-winning author of never seen again.
Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire Seized by the Sun is the story of a remark-
able woman who overcame a troubled child-
“Seized by the Sun is a compelling slice of Americana and a
James W. Ure is a former staff writer and hood and the societal constraints of her time
wonderfully detailed glimpse at life in the WASPs from the
editor at the Salt Lake Tribune and wrote fea- perspective of a privileged yet tortured young woman.” to find her calling flying one of the fastest
tures for the Deseret News, as well as other fighter planes of World War II. It is also a com-
——KAthryn J. AtWood, author of
newspapers and magazines. He is also a for- pelling unsolved mystery.
Women Heroes of World War II
mer publicist and executive director of the Born in 1912 to a wealthy New Jersey
Sundance Film Festival. He lives in Salt Lake family, Gertrude’s childhood was marked by
City, Utah. her mother’s bouts with depression and her
A father’s relentless search for a cure for the
woman with gray eyes walked toward the aircraft. Her curly
debilitating stutter that afflicted Gertrude
dark hair bounced lightly against the collar of her leather
throughout her life. Teased and struggling in
flight jacket. As a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, Ger-
school, young Gertrude retreated to a solitary
Women of Action trude Tompkins’s job was to fly this sleek plane across the country
existence. As a young woman she dabbled in
to Newark, New Jersey. From there it would be shipped to Europe
raising goats and aimlessly crisscrossed the
Women of Action is a lively, accessible
for combat against Nazi Germany. . . . Gertrude climbed into the
globe in an attempt to discover her purpose.
biography series that introduces young
cockpit and settled in the metal bucket seat, using her parachute as As war loomed in Europe, Gertrude met
adults to women and girls of courage
her cushion. She latched the seat belt and shoulder harness. Ger- the love of her life, a Royal Air Force pilot
and conviction throughout the ages.
trude punched the ignition switch. The four-bladed propeller made who was killed flying over Holland. Telling
a slow, hesitant turn. The exhaust ports exploded noisily, stream- her sister that she “couldn’t stop crying, so she
ing acrid smoke back into the cockpit as the big paddles bit into the focused on learning to fly,” Gertrude applied
to join the newly formed Women’s Airforce
air faster and faster. She ran up the throttle. The engine reached a
Service Pilots. She went on to become such
high-pitched snarl. The exhaust ports breathed clear now. It had
a superior pilot that she was one of only 126
come alive, this airplane, and was shivering to be away.
WASPs selected to fly fighter planes. After her
first flight in the powerful P-51 Mustang, her
Jacket design: Sarah Olson stutter left her for good.
Gertrude’s sudden disappearance remains
Front cover image: Gertrude Tompkins, courtesy of The
a mystery to this day. Award-winning author
WASP Archives, Texas Women’s University Libraries
James W. Ure leads readers through Ger-
Printed in the United States of America trude’s fascinating life; provides a detailed
continued on back flap . . .
SEIZED
SUN
by the
THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF

WORLD WAR II PILOT GERTRUDE TOMPKINS

★ ★ ★
James W. Ure
Other Books in the Women of Action Series
Code Name Pauline by Pearl Witherington Cornioley,
edited by Kathryn J. Atwood
Courageous Women of the Civil War by M. R. Cordell
Double Victory by Cheryl Mullenbach
The Many Faces of Josephine Baker by Peggy Caravantes
Marooned in the Arctic by Peggy Caravantes
Reporting Under Fire by Kerrie L. Hollihan
She Takes a Stand by Michael Elsohn Ross
Women Aviators by Karen Bush Gibson
Women Heroes of the American Revolution
by Susan Casey
Women Heroes of World War I by Kathryn J. Atwood
Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn J. Atwood
Women Heroes of World War II—the Pacific Theater
by Kathryn J. Atwood
Women in Blue by Cheryl Mullenbach
Women in Space by Karen Bush Gibson
Women of Colonial America by Brandon Marie Miller
Women of Steel and Stone by Anna M. Lewis
Women of the Frontier by Brandon Marie Miller
A World of Her Own by Michael Elsohn Ross
SEIZED by the SUN
Copyright © 2017 by James W. Ure
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978-1-61373-587-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ure, James W., 1939– author.
Title: Seized by the sun : the life and disappearance of World War II pilot
Gertrude Tompkins / James W. Ure.
Description: First edition. | Chicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press
Incorporated, 2017. | Series: Women of action | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016047279 (print) | LCCN 2016050005 (ebook) | ISBN
9781613735879 (cloth) | ISBN 9781613735886 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781613735909 (epub) | ISBN 9781613735893 (kindle)
Subjects: LCSH: Silver, Gertrude Tompkins, 1911–1944. | Women Airforce
Service Pilots (U.S.)—Biography. | World War, 1939–1945—Participation,
Female. | World War, 1939–1945—Aerial operations, American. | Air
pilots, Military—United States—Biography. | Women air pilots—United
States—Biography.
Classification: LCC D790.5 .U74 2017 (print) | LCC D790.5 (ebook) | DDC
940.54/4973092 [B] —dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016047279
Interior design: Sarah Olson
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
To Cassandra, Demetria, Forrest, Jesaia, and Winonna
★ ★★★ ★
The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fi ne,
bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’t it be? It is
the same the angels breathe. —Mark Twain

★ ★★★ ★
CONTENTS
Note on Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Prologue: Lost Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1. It’s Awful Having a Stutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Childhood Ups and Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
3. Confidence Grows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
4. Traveling Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5. Finding Her Footing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
6. Taking Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
7. The WASPs Are Born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
8. Welcome to the WASPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
9. Basic and Advanced Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
10. Pecos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
11. On Silver Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
12. Flying for Her Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
13. Dilemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
14. Seized by the Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
15. Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
US Air Force List of Gertrude Tompkins
Silver’s Personal Effects Recovered from
Footlockers and Quarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
General Barton Yount’s Tribute to
WASPs Killed in Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187