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Show Page 3 Thursday, July 13, 2006 NORTH COUNTY NEWSPAPERS Among the first women to wear a uniform the Detroit area had signed up, the first women to be recruited to the Air Corps, and we were interviewed and photographed. Our picture and a write-up appeared in the Detroit Free Press. We were sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., for six weeks of WAC training. After basic training, it was only 24 hours until 1 received notice that I would be sent to an Army Air Corps base. I Next week: Billy encounters the prejudice and discrimination discrimina-tion that were common in that era. veterans Editor's note: This is the first of a four-part series about Wilma "Billy" Plunkett had to be in the air force. But at the time, there was no air force unit for women. Still, I checked with the recruiters. One day the sergeant said, "We've just gotten word that the Army Air Corps is going to open up for women, but you'll have to take the regular Army basic training. When the red tape is cleared, you can go into the Army Air Corps." Some believed I was an idiot for believing that such a thing could happen, but I accepted his promise, and so I joined the Army. I and four other ladies from These excerpts from local veterans are courtesy of the Orem Heritage Committee. Complete stories of the veterans will eventually be put on the Orem City Web site, www. orem. org. Readers aware of any veterans who have written about their military service are asked to arrange to have these archives in the Veterans History Project, Library of Congress. Phone Don Norton (225-8050) on how to do this. , . Barstow, who was one of the. first five women to join the Army's branch of women who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps (it became the WAC's when it was militarized in 1943). The history of women who served in uniform in World War II is complex, owning in part to reservations about the propriety propri-ety of letting women wear the uniforms (as Billy's story confirms). con-firms). The WASP's (the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, a merger of the WAFS, Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron; and the WFTD's, Women's Flying Training Detachment) were deactivated in December 1944, as a result of the lobbying lobby-ing of male pilots who wanted to avoid being sent to the Pacific. Pa-cific. The women were doing much of the flying stateside. Barstow worked for years as a photo archivist in the BYU library. Here is her story in her own words. Plunkett . - Wilma "Billy" forldWarll started long before Pearl Harbor it started on September 1, 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland. Though I was only 18 at the time, I walked the floor all day, and my mother was quite concerned. con-cerned. She didn't understand why something happening on the other side of the world would upset me. When I told her it meant that we would soon be at war, she didn't believe be-lieve me. At the time, I was working in one of the paper mills in Otsego, Mich., the only real source of jobs in the town. As soon as I heard about Hitler invading in-vading Poland, I started arguing argu-ing with the women I worked with. I stated that in time, women would be in uniform, but nobody would believe it. I was given to understand in not ladylike language that I was crazy the men of this country would never allow women to wear the uniform, even if the powers that be thought they wanted women in uniform. 1 heard of a course in welding weld-ing being offered at Western Michigan College in Kalamazoo, Kalama-zoo, 15 miles away. I quit my job at the mill and took that course. After passing the course, I found an opportunity fci lor July 14 Until My 20. 2006 to help build B-24's at Willow Run, near Detroit. On the Sunday of the bombing bomb-ing of Pearl Harbor, I think that was the first time I fully understood the meaning of the word fury. Of course I had been following closely the war in Europe. At the plant at Willow Run, I was assigned to install the wiring wir-ing under the pilot's compartment. compart-ment. Then the union called a strike to increase wages from $1.15 to $1.25. 1 refused to leave my job. The bombers were needed. Then one day, a certain section of the pilot's floor where I was working opened up, and a large wrench was dropped on my head. The doctors could find nothing wrong with me, though I suffered suf-fered severe headaches for a long time after. I was now a marked woman, as were about a dozen other of us who had refused to strike. And every one of us was hurt on the job. Meanwhile, I was keeping in touch with the recruiters. 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Tire pricing excludes installation. d 14" $399 jl'yM (4) w nuns (4t 55( of itsmnu tms M15" $499 pWl (4) 15" (4) 21SS5M5 or m6SHt3 Wrw Ip' $539 Xjl(7X (4) If mh-k () 225MOK16 Una W 17" $699 W 17 mkh (4) 2154SHI7 HTM sgj 18" s799 - (4) It" irKi 14) 22Sltmn Um m 20"J1,299 NWjf 14) 20" (4) ZJinsm Mm 51 20"21,699 4 VMi (4) 20" whMH (4) ITsmKtB ant 5m 22 " s2,199 ft f 4 " W 3QS4M22 tnt l Pnce excludes accesmms Wfiml styles mi my Talon V T5T hrraws pmet mtani . rmot S4SM 2163M18 Z15ffiWI7 . 225WB18 llJ.tO 85351117 I7M nW4IW1 1)09 B6S&II7 . 540H1B 140.99 iHTttun torn V-Rated! Complete i Brake Service - r-w.iiij.nn- - Healthy Car Special S3 OFF i Your Brake Experts! i Most Vehicles. Participating stores only. Not alid with any other oiler. Expires 73106. ' Balance all 4 tires Rotate all 4 tires Oil S lilter change Top oft all fluids Check belts & hoses Check Charging System Brake Inspection Vehicle Check lube chassis 1 Healthy Truck Special $54.99 Most Vehicles. Participating stores only Not vaint with any other offer Expires 73 10b. GREATER SALT LAKE AREA BOUNTIFUL 400 W. 500 S 292-2111 COTTONWOOD 4546 S 900 E 262-4626 DOWNTOWN 910 S 300 W 322-1043 DOWNTOWN (CITY CENTER) I78E South Temple 919-8241 DRAPER 1022 E. 12300 S FORT UNION 2284 E. 7000 S HEBER 898 S Main St KEARNSTAYLORSVULE 3725 W 5400 S MURRAY 4745 S. State St SANDY 8835 S. 700 E SO. JORDAN 10227 S. Redwood Rd SUGARHOUSE 3120 S. Highland Dr OLYMPUS 2002 E. 3300 S TOOELE 855 N Mam St WEST JORDAN 3176 W. 7800 S WEST VALLEY (EAST) 2830 W. 3500 S. . WEST VALLEY (WEST) 3557 S. 5600 W. . 523-9300 733-4242 654-1711 964-9935 262-2436 566-1177 446-5444 467-5461 487-1028 882-4061 565-0031 967-7166 967-6404 WOODS CROSS 1 398 S 500 W. VALLEY FAIR MALL 3601 S 2700 W NORTHERN UTAH BRIQHAM CITY 390 S Main CENTERVILLE 220 W Parrish Ln CLEARFIELD 548 N Mam St KAYSVILLE 320 N Mam St LAYTON 235 N. Main LAYTON lANTELOPEi 1159 W Antelope Dr. .. LOGAN 240 E. 1400 N OGDEN (4th STREET) 458 Washington Blvd. OGDEN INORTHVIEWi 1813 N Washington Blvd . OGDEN ISO HARRISONi 5734 Hamson Blvd . . . OGDEN (WALL) 3190 Wall Avenue ROY 5140 S 1900 W TREMONTON 55 N. 300 E 292-1439 840-5203 734-9429 295-0531 773- 8158 546-1326 544-4476 776-5560 752-4622 393-8481 737-4781 476-7066 399-4449 774- 6300 257-3395 UTAH COUNTY AMERICAN FORK 748 E State Rd 756-6000 LEHI 144 N 850 E . 766-1806 OREM-NO. 703 N State St 224-1 177 OREM-SO. (UNIVFHSITY MAI L , P'l'.S Stale SI 802-0541 PAYSON 318 E 100 N . 465-9934 PROVO 1595 N 200W 374-1177 SPANISH FORK 570 N Mam SI 798-9827 SPRINGVILLE 495 S 1750W 489-8577 CENTRALEASTERN UTAH FILLMORE 445 S Mam St MOAB 1026 S Mam St . . MT. PLEASANT 266 U Stale St NEPHI 855 E 100 N RICHFIELD 208 S Mam Si ROOSEVELT East Hwy 40 . PRICE 790 W P.'ice River Dr 743-7777 719-2446 462-3100 623-0300 896-8473 722-5561 813-2446 VERNAL 1265 W 500 S 789-8872 ormMfir? Cedartort Rodeo SLACK 8:00 a.m. RODEO SHOW 4:00 p.m. Ticket Prices: tickets Children 6 & Under: FREE available AT Ages 7-12: $3.00 the COUNTRY Adults: $5.00 STORE JULY Monday, July 24th, 2006 at the Cedar Fort Arena 17-23 JSfcSL Candy Race: "Open to all kids 6 & under Money Calf: Open to all kids 8 & under Steer Riding Barrel racing 4 Pole Bending Team Roping Breakaway Roping Calf roping Bull Riding Mutton Buston' Bring your lawn chairs or the back of your pickup to watch cowboys and cowgirls of all ages PARADE: Line-up: 11:30 a.m. at Cedar Fort Park. Parade route qoes across 1100 W. and down Center St. CARNIVAL: at the Elementary School Ball Park following the Parade. iames, cake walk & luncf Fun-Fun-Fun! COPY ai rffcrtiirti friiftii-- " A " A " -i rSVft ntvfrirfl iltinhA (tin hut if t tTi 1 ftiSrf-i - flint fct V iti 'It, in K tth.k. fh.fr. fi.f-- .4i..i HLtt-iit i. L a. .J |