Grounded No More — Barbara Celeste McCloskey

Mary Peterson dreamed of flying since she was a child, but after her mother died, the burden of the household chores fell on her teenage shoulders. Her only way out seemed to be to get married, so like many other girls, she got engaged in 1940. But her fiancé also desired to fly, so when the government put out the call for aviators, he joined the air corps, leaving Mary behind. During the time her fiancé was gone, Mary secured her commercial pilot license, so when Jackie Cochran formed the WASP group in 1943, Mary submitted her application. It was the best day of her life when she got her acceptance letter. The WASPs remained civilians but were trained to the army air corps standards, and after graduation, they provided essential tasks to free up men for combat duty. The work demanded their best, and for every female pilot, it was the time of her life. Barbara Celeste McCloskey writes historical fiction from her home in Racine, Wisconsin. Other titles include: Apple Pie and Strudel Girls, Stranger in the Spot Light, Tea and Biscuit Girls, The Love Immigrants, Finding Gessler, and Stephania Comes to America.