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North High Hall of Fame Inductee - 2003
Beverly Jeanne Moses
Class of June, 1940
Died: July 18, 1944

Beverly Jeanne Moses
		On June 27, 1944 Beverly graduated from basic training at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas. Beverly's graduation roster from her WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) Class 44-5 (06/27/44): http://wwii-women-pilots.org/classlists/clslist.html#44-5 Her orders took her to Las Vegas Army Air Field, Nevada. Based on the flip of a coin between Beverly and Mildred Taylor, Beverely won the copilot position for an instrument training flight with four others in an AT-11. The pilot was Lt. Frank Smith. During the training mission, the flight was redirected to search for a downed parachute near Mt. Charleston. Later that day, Mildred reported back from her mission in a B-17 and couldn't find Beverely. Maybe she went on a night mission? Mildred began checking around but no one knew where the AT-11 was. It was now midnight. A search was started early the next day and the plane was found pancaked into the side fo a mountain. The plane was mostly intact, but the center section was burned and all 6 personnel were killed. Summary: While flying as the co-pilot in an AT-11, she was killed in a crash in the mountains near Las Vegas on July 18, 1944. (KIS) Beverly was born in Des Moines, Iowa, along with two brothers and two sisters. When she was 17, her mother died and she had to care for the younger children. After attending AJB business school, she got a secretarial job at Solar Aircraft Company. While working there, she took flying lessons and joined the Civil Air Patrol. She entered training to become a WASP on December 7, 1943 and graduated on June 27, 1944 at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas.

References

In 1976, after the Air Force announced that it was training the "first women to fly for the military," the surviving WASP went to work to correct the error of fact. With the help of Colonel Bruce Arnold (General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold's son) and Senator Barry Goldwater (who had flown with WASP aviators in the Ferry Command during the war), the WASP went before Congress to ask for militarization.
Despite strong opposition from various powerful individuals and organizations, the measure passed through Congress. In 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed the bill making the WASP part of the Air Force. They received no back pay or death insurance, but they did finally get the one thing they had fought so hard for: recognition that the WASP had answered America's call when she needed them. They too had fought and died for their country.
This exhibit features the artifacts and memorabilia of Utah WASP Alberta Hunt Nicholson (1914-2002). Her Santiago Blue service dress uniform and flight uniform are shown, along with other personal items. The exhibit was made possible by the generous financial support of the Dr. Ezekiel and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation and Pacificorp. Permission to use the image of the WASP mascot "Fifinella" in the exhibit was graciously provided by The Walt Disney Company. http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5678

Deceased: July 18, 1944. Beverly is buried at Oakwood Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, IA
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
01/25/10: The Civil Air Patrol is continuing to search for the wreckage of Beverly's AT-11 in Nevada.

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