Susie Winston Bain Collection
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Oral history interview with Susie Winston Bain
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Documents Susie Bain's early life and school experiences in Texas; her service in the WASP and its influence on her opinions and non-military life; and her life in Greensboro, North Carolina, after the war. Bain discusses growing in Texas during the Depression; having to drop out of the University of Texas; a job as a horseback riding instructor at a girls' camp in Texas; and her dislike of a job at a CPA firm. " Bain discusses the WASP in great detail, including her understanding of history of the WASP and her impressions of some of its key figures such as Jacqueline Cochrane, Nancy Love, Hap Arnold, and Eleanor Roosevelt. She also details Cochrane's ongoing efforts to militarize the women; negative attitudes toward the organization and women in the military; and how demoralized she was when the WASP was deactivated in the fall of 1944. " Bain also describes WASP uniforms, including the ill-fitting zoot suits; flight training and ground school at Avenger Field; ferrying planes out of Love Field; towing targets used by the B-17 bombers for live ammunition target practice; her love of flying; details of specific planes; and her fear of washing out of the program. Bain also provides many anecdotes and specific experiences that occurred while she was in the WASP. " Other topics include Bain's family history and her life in Greensboro following the war.
