Aline Rhonie tried early to apply her flying skills to the coming WWII effort. This section presents ten images that document Aline Rhonie's services in that regard. The first letter from TWA is in response to her request to be considered as a trans-Atlantic ferry pilot. It is not known if the interview was held or if she was successful. Regardless, she was not to be involved in that effort.

TWA Response Regarding Trans-Atlantic Ferry Service, July 11, 1941 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

A year or so later, she was successful. There were two women's organizations that flew military airplanes during WWII, the WAFS and the WASP. Remarkably, two of our 42 female Register pilots were members of both organizations. One was Nancy Harkness; the other our Aline Rhonie.

Both organizations came about because of the demands of WWII. The discussion began around using women to ferry warplanes from their point of manufacture to their ports of departure for the war fronts. The resulting dialog led Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to announce the formation of the Women's Auxilliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), naming Harkness as commander. Shortly, with the formation of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the WAFS were incorporated into the WASP and Nancy was made director of the ferrying division with headquarters at Cincinnati, OH. As you will see below, pilot Rhonie was an early member of the WAFS and she merged into the WASP (although she didn't stay long).

What was it like to fly with the WAFS? Among Rhonie's documents are the following three rare items that give a small taste of the day-to-day details. This first document is an original telegram dated September 6, 1942 from Register pilot H.H. "Hap" Arnold to Rhonie soliciting her participation to help ferry aircraft. I adjusted the light levels of this document to improve readability.

Arnold Telegram, September 6, 1942 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Rhonie responded very quickly to Arnold's call. Below, from September 24, a news article picturing her as a new WAFS recruit. Nancy Harkness at left; Rhonie second from right.

DesMoines, IA Register, September 24, 1942 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

From the Minneapolis (MN) Star Journal of the same date, the following. Pilot Rhonie is at far left.

Minneapolis Star Journal, September 24, 1942 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

The following document is extremely interesting not only for its historic value, but also for the inferences that can be made from it. It is official order CP 298 issued November 24, 1942 to Rhonie commanding her to travel from Delaware to Lock Haven, PA to acquire a Piper L-4B aircraft, specifically the one assigned number 43-983, and transport it to the Commanding Officer of the 92nd Infantry Division. The L-4B, based on the famous Piper Cub design, was used for liaison and as an ambulance during WWII. You can view a photograph of a similar model, an L-4C, at the link.

Operations Order CP 298, November 24, 1942 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

From a listing of WAFS that I have, sister pilots Meserve, Poole and Donahue were all WAFS. Manning is not on the list. Regarding their assigned airplanes, according to Joe Baugher's site, Rhonie's assignment, 43-968, went "to RFC Dec 1, 1944." "RFC" was the "Reconstruction Finance Corporation." It is not clear if the airplane was, in-turn, sold by the RFC, recycled for its metals by one of RFC's subsidiaries, or used by the RFC for transportation.

Meserve's 43-973 went "to reclamation at Great Falls, AAF, MT Sep 24, 1948." Poole's 43-928 went "to Army Ground Forces Dec 28, 1944." Donahue's 43-991 went "to Army Ground Forces Mar 22, 1943." And Manning's 43-997 also went "to Army Ground Forces Mar 22, 1943."

Further to inferences, below is a flight log kept by Rhonie during one of her ferry flights. Although the year is not indicated on the form, the dates of November 16 through 19, and the order number, CP 294, probably indicate that this ferry occurred just before the one ordered by CP 298, above. Her assigned aircraft, again from the Piper factory at Lock Haven, was 43-983. 43-983, was "surveyed at Rome AAF, NY" just two years later on July 20, 1944.

Rhonie Ferry Flight Log, November 16-19, 1942 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Following her navigation notes, above, we can trace her activities and chart her itinerary as below. She flew in a government aircraft from "NCAAB" (New Castle, Delaware, Army Air Base, approximately located on the chart) to Williamsport, PA (KIPT on the chart). From there, she took a short ride in a government auto or bus to Lock Haven, PA (KLHV). She departed with her L-4B at 3:45PM. She flew a short hop to Middletown, PA (PS14) where she remained overnight (RON). Due to "adverse weather," her departure was delayed until 2:00PM on the 17th.

On November 17 she flew with one stop at Waynesboro, PA to Winchester, VA (KOKV) where she again spent the night. On the 18th, she departed at 9:00AM and continued south through Virginia and North Carolina with three stops for fuel, arriving at Charlotte, SC at 5:05PM. After that long day of flying, she remained overnight in Charlotte, departing the next day at 10:00AM, probably returning to Delaware by whatever means were at hand. Three days in a pilot's life: one ferry flight completed.

Aline Rhonie's Ferry Route with 43-983, November 16-19, 1942 (Source: Webmaster)

The WASP, with its merged WAFS, were disbanded toward the end of the war. The women returned home without a travel allowance or a goodbye. They received no veterans benefits for their services, which, as you saw above, were vigorously executed. This outage was corrected much later, when, on November 23, 1977, the WASP received veteran's status. Further, on March 10, 2010 the Congressional Gold Medal was conferred upon all WASP. That ceremony is captured on video on dmairfield.org at Register pilot E.E. Harmon's Web page. Follow the link to review the footage and the reason why it appears on Harmon's page. Unfortunately, recognition was long in coming to the WASP, and many had passed away (including Rhonie and Nancy Harkness) before any rewards were conferred.

Below, is the gold medal received by the family of Aline Rhonie during the ceremony on March 10. The front of the medal follows. The image is only slightly larger than actual size.

Congressional Gold Medal for WASP, March 10, 2010 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

Below is the obverse of the medal.

Congressional Gold Medal for WASP, March 10, 2010 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

The award ceremony was accompanied by a program printed on deckled stock with a gold cord. The front of the program for the ceremony follows.

Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Program for WASP, March 10, 2010 (Source: Hofheimer Family)

The content of the program follows.

Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Program for WASP, March 10, 2010 (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. 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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