Other than Ruth Nichols, Aline Rhonie stands out as being one of the more humanitarian among female Register pilots. Her activities on behalf of the French and British just before the outbreak of WWII were widely published, awarded, appreciated and respected.. Some of her humanitarian award certificates are exhibited in the Rhonie Collection at her Certificates & Cards section.

Below, seven news articles that appeared around the U.S. noting her return from France where she was active in the Section Sanitaire Automobile (SSA) ambulance service. Three memorabilia (two brochures and a shoulder patch) related to her SSA service are exhibited.

To put the news articles in historic perspective, they were published during the 18-months or so before the U.S. entered WWII. Much of Eastern Europe had fallen to the German army, and France was soon to follow. The Battle of Britain was still a few months in the future. U.S. involvement in WWII was still over a year away.

Los Angeles Evening Herald, May 1, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

It is clear from this article and the ones that follow that Rhonie was acutely aware of an impending conflict that would involve the U.S.

Cuero, TX Record, April 17, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Ft. Lauderdale, FL News, May 11, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Below, two news articles that reveal her plans for a two-month U.S. air tour to publicize the SSA and its activities. At left, a news article revealing her proposed itinerary for the New England states.

Springfield, MA Morning Union, May 21, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Below, her fabric shoulder badge for the SSA. This would have been sewn on her uniform. The image is about actual size.

Aline Rhonie's SSA Badge, Ca. 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Brochures were printed for Rhonie to distribute during her flights around the U.S.; one each for the Aero-Club de France and the British War Relief Society. Below, the French brochure. Note: I scanned these brochures open flat , so the first image is of the cover and page 4, and the second image is of pages 2-3.

Aero-Club de France Solicitation of Support, May, 1938 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

The list of committee members reads like a Who's Who of Golden Age aviation. Among Register pilots who served on the committees, note Richard Depew, Jack Frye, Beckwith Havens, Nancy (Harkness) Love and Robert Love. Please direct your browser to the LETTERS section of her Collection to get a feel for how she went about including these people on the committee rosters.

Below, pages 3-4. For the Club, Rhonie is the, "... officially designated American liaison officer."

Aero-Club de France Solicitation of Support, May, 1938 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Below, the British version of the brochure, again scanned flat open. The wording reflects variation on the same theme of defining Rhonie's role and soliciting funds for aviator canteens for rest and relaxation.

British War Relief Society Solicitation of Support, May, 1938 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Pages 2-3 below.

British War Relief Society Solicitation of Support, May, 1938 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

New York Mirror, May 21, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

How revealing to be told by direct quote by Rhonie that she, "... was one of my father's great disappointments." And, "... I suppose I'm the nearest thing he got to a son."

A child psychologist of today might predict that such a young girl could grow up to be suspicious of men and possess a self-talk that they just weren't good enough at anything they tried. Or, at the other extreme, they could grow up to be super achievers, with the self-talk that, "Maybe if I do this, then my father will love me." But, no one at dmairfield.org is such a psychologist, so the grain of salt prevails.

Below, left, Rhonie lobbies for increasing women's roles in aviation during wartime. Note near the bottom of the article that Ruth Nichols lobbies against women flying during wartime, preferring to relegate female flying purely to peacetime, humanitarian needs.

Detroit, MI Times, May 22,1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Directly below, a news article showing her aircraft, a Luscombe with the Aero-Club de France logo.

Manchester, NH Union, May 23, 1940 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

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Of 42 female pilots who signed the Davis-Monthan Register, Aline "Pat" Rhonie combines the good traits of many of her sister signers. She ranks high among her sisters in hours and miles flown throughout her life in aviation. As shown above, she stands out in her humanitarian activities on behalf of the French and British just before the outbreak of WWII. She was a member of the WAFS and the WASP.

Across two decades she received awards and certificates of appreciation from the French and United States governments. She held and mutually respected a wide network of friends, among them some of the movers and shakers of Golden Age aviation. She was a fine artist of considerable repute, who has a robost Web presence in that area to this day.

She signed the Register once in 1934 on Tuesday, March 20th. Please refer to her biographical link, above, for details on that landing, including the airplane she flew and the circumstances of her voyage.

Unless otherwise noted, these images were scanned at 300dpi. Please note also: other than cropping, sizing and optimizing the images for web display, they are unretouched in any way. Most of them are published nowhere else but here at www.dmairfield.org. The images are displayed without much technical commentary. Rather, the links will take you to further information, where available.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 12/11/10 REVISED: