Verneda Rodriguez McLean

Dr. Bruce Ashcroft

Almost by definition, Verneda Rodriguez McLean was an exceptional woman, one of only about 1,000 women who flew airplanes in direct support of the nation’s military effort during World War II.

Born on January 11, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, much of her family's story reads like a mystery.  Her mother was born in Denmark and her father was from British Guyana, how they met must have been an interesting story.  Rodriguez grew up in one of Chicago's Hispanic American "colonias," listing 445 East Ninety-first street as her home address in her pilot training classbook.  After high school, Verneda attended a teachers college in Chicago before volunter fly for the WASP, the Women Air Force Service Pilots.  We don't know what motivated her love for flying, perhaps it was Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic in 1927 or the exploits of women pilots such as Amelia Earhart.  Perhaps the flight of Italian aviators led by Italo Balboa from Italy to Chicago in 1933 sparked her interest, or the visit to Chicago of the Graf Zeppelin during the 1933-1934 Century of Progress world’s fair.  But she applied for and was accepted into pilot training at Avenger Field in ! Sweetwater, Texas.  Along with 71 other women, she graduated in class 44-W-6 on August 4, 1944. 

To show how exceptional this was, from among 25,000 applicants, the Army accepted only 1,830 for training in the WASP program, and 1,074 actually earned their wings.  Because they had to prove themselves in a “man’s world,” recruitment standards were high, and many of the WASP were among the most capable pilots in the nation.  We don't know if Rodriguez had any prior flying experience, but, somehow, she convince Jacqueline Cochran, the, even then a legendary pilot and an extremely particular head of the WASP program, to accept her into training. 

Following pilot training, Rodriguez reported for duty at Moore Field in Mission, Texas.  The women pilots at the field flew tow target missions for men taking gunnery training at the field, one of the most dangerous jobs any person could hold in the Army Air Forces Training Command.  It was not unusual for a WASP’s plane to be shot up as she trailed a target on a line behind her for novice pilots to shoot at.  The women also ferried aircraft from factories to airfields and flew other missions as required.  As the war neared its end and an increasing number of male pilots returned stateside, the Army terminated the WASP program in December 1944, releasing the women back to civilian life without any of the veterans’ benefits provided to servicemen and servicewomen because the women had flown as civilian, not military pilots. 

We know from classmate Joan Lemley that “Roddy” was fond of poetry, and under her photograph in the 44-6 classbook is the inscription, “James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupre,” the first line of A. A. Milne’s “Disobedience.”  After the war, Rodriguez returned to Chicago and worked for the weather service before moving to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.  There, she married Edward McLean, who had flown B-25 bomber aircraft in World War II.  She traveled the world with her husband, and while living in Japan, she became a highly skilled painter, practicing a traditional Oriental style.  Edward McLean served two tours of duty in the Pentagon before retiring.  While living in Annandale, Virginia, Verneda taught painting and was often invited to hold showings of her own art.  In her latter years, she also became active in the successful fight to win the WASP veterans benefits based on their wartime s! ervice. 

Her family believes that Verneda, who died on March, 19, 1982 was the first of the WASP to be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Ceremony.

Marina Raskova, “Lily” Litviak, and the “Night Witches”

Marina Raskova (1912-1943)

            Born in 1912, Marina Raskova trained to be a navigator and became the first female instructor at the Zhukhovski Air Academy.  After a series of record long-distance flights, in September 1938 she joined Valentine Grizodubova and Polina Osipenko for a 4,000 mile flight in the Rodin, or Motherland.  The three became known as “the Winged Sisters,” and they were the first women to be honored as Heroes of the Soviet Union.  Just before arriving at their destination, the women flew into a snowstorm.  As the pilot fought icing, Raskova bailed out to lighten the plane.  Ten days after the others landed, a search party found Raskova.  Her bravery and resourcefulness made her a special hero.  Josef Stalin honored the women at a reception, and Raskova wrote a book about the flight.  After the flight, the women received “tens of hundreds” of letters from girls asking about flying school, according to Raskova.

            After the German army invaded Russia in 1941, Raskova lobbied Soviet military officials to use women pilots in combat.  Most likely backed by Stalin’s approval, Raskova was allowed to recruit 200 women pilots and needed support personnel.  After an appeal over Radio Moscow, Raskova received enough applicants to form Aviation Group 122, later divided into three combat units, the 586^th Fighter, the 587^th Bomber, and the 588^th Night Bomber Regiments.  Raskova personally interviewed each of the applicants, and her recruits began training in October 1941.  Raskova commanded the 587^th, while Olga Yemshokova led the 586^th and Yevdokia Bershanskaya the 588^th. 

            The 587^th was ordered to join the Soviet 8^th Air Army in November 1942 in the defense of Stalingrad.  Winter storms made the trip hazardous.  After being stranded at an airfield short of her destination, Raskova set off on 4 January 1943.  She never made it to the front and died in a crash during a storm.  Raskova’s body was sent by special train to Moscow, where she was given a state funeral, the first of the war.  Her ashes were interred in the wall of the Kremlin.  The 587^th was renamed the 125^th M. M. Raskova Borisov Guards Bomber Regiment in her honor.

Lidia "Lily" Litviak (1921-1943)

            Lidiia Litviak, known as “Lily” after the white flower she painted on side of her aircraft, was one of the great characters of World War II, though she is little known outside Russia.  Litviak was born in 1921, on 18 August, Aviation Day.  She joined the 586^th Fighter Regiment, then transferred to the formerly all-male 73^rd Fighter Regiment. 

On 13 September 1942, she claimed her first kill, believed to be the first recorded by a woman in combat.  After being wounded several times in dogfights, on 31 July 1943, she was killed in combat.  In a twist of fate, she was listed as missing when her aircraft and remains could not be found, and she was denied any official recognition.  Finally, in 1989, authorities concluded that a woman’s body buried in an unmarked grave was that of Litviak.  Recognizing her wartime achievements, the state posthumously honored her as a Hero of the Soviet Union.  Litviak destroyed 12 German planes in her short career, while flying 268 combat missions. 

            The 588^th, later redesignated the 46^th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, was the most famous of the women’s units.  These were the “Night Witches,” so named by the German troops who were harassed and bombed by these women during the night.  Among the three, the 588^th flew the most combat missions, over 24,000, and it remained the only all-female regiment of the air force units.  Among the 30 women pilots recognized as Heroes of the Soviet Union, 24 were from the Night Witches.

For Further Reading:

• Byrd Howell Granger, On Final Approach (Scottsdale AZ, 1991).

• Frank X. Paz, “Mexican-Americans in Chicago A General Survey” (Chicago, 1948).

• Vicki L. Ruiz and Virginia Sanchez Korrol, Latinas in the United States, Vol. 3 (Bloomington, 2006).

• Marianne Verges, On Silver Wings (New York, 1991).

• The author also based his article on personal correspondence with the McLean's daughter, MaryLynn King and Joan Lemley.

 • Cottam, Kazimiera J.  “Soviet Women Soldiers in World War II: Three Biographical Sketches.  (Excerpt).”  Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military.  Fall-Winter 2000.

• Myles, Bruce.  Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat.  Chicago: Academy, 1990.

• Pennington, Reina.  Wings, Women, and War.  Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001.

• Welch, Roseanne.  Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space.  Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO, 1998.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.