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Show The Old Serjeant Didn't W ant to Be a "Petticoat Herder The sergeant was "Old Army." Hash marks indicating nearly 30 years of service adorned his left sleeve, topped by the stripes of a master sergeant. So, you can imagine his reaction when, on reporting as crew chief on an army flying boat, he found a woman civilian pilot of the Ferrying Division Air Transport Command at the cor.trols, another in the copilot's co-pilot's seat. ""Aftijr 30 years in trie Army I herd Petticoats," the sergeant mumbled to other male members of the crew. Grumbling, he supervised the I starting of the engines Grumbling, he settled back in the depths of his humiliation as the huge plane took ' off, bound for delivery under lend-; lend-; lease to the British at Montreal. "Women fiyin' in the Army." he ' i muttered in disgust, adding for em-phaala, em-phaala, "and me with 'em Hell!" But on arrival at Montreal, it was j a different story "I'm sorry, mum," the sergeant greeted his pilot, "for what I said back there I'd a dum sight ruther ride with you than a lot of them young fellows." That, remarked WASP Pilot Lenore Le-nore McElroy, a veteran woman civ ilian pilot with 3,000 air hours to her credit, "was about the finest compliment I ever received " You see. the sergeant is crowding 50 ano any male who flies a plane is a "young fellow" in his vernacular. |