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[Violet Cowden in A-2 leather jacket, circa 1943]

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[Violet Cowden in A-2 leather jacket, circa 1943]

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Title	[Violet Cowden in A-2 leather jacket, circa 1943]
Date	1943
Date approximate?	yes
Subject headings	World War, 1939-1945 Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)
Era	World War II era (1940-1946)
Service branch	Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)
Item description	Portrait of WASP Violet Thurn Cowden in an A-2 leather bomber jacket and scarf. The WASP Fifinella patch can be seen on the jacket.
Veteran's name	Cowden, Violet Thurn
Veteran's biography	Violet Thurn Cowden (1917-2011) of South Dakota served in the WASP from 1943 to 1944 . Violet Thurn Cowden was born in South Dakota to a farming family. She graduated from high school in 1934 and enrolled at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. She graduated in 1936 and worked as a teacher in town. While there, she took flying lessons and earned her private pilot’s license . When war was declared, Cowden enlisted in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service—U.S. Navy). Before her basic training, she was contacted by the WASP and accepted into class 44-W-4. She began training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, in March of 1943. She graduated in August 1943 and was sent to Love Field in Dallas, Texas, where she ferried planes. She also completed pursuit school in Brownsville, Texas. When the WASP was disbanded in December of 1944, Cowden spent a year in New York City where she worked for an airport in a non-flight position. She later moved to California and started a ceramics business with a fellow WASP and a high school classmate. Cowden remained active in WASP alumnae affairs, having served as the president of the regional and national organizations.
Type	image
Original format	photographs
Image type	Formal portrait
Original publisher	[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Contributing institution	Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
Source collection	WV0399 Violet Cowden Papers
Collection summary	Related Material:""Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story" DVD in the WV0002 General Printed Materials and Video recordings Collection.
Rights statement	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional rights information	IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the rights holder noted above for permission to reuse.
Object ID	WV0399.6.003
Digital publisher	The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304 -- http://library.uncg.edu/
OCLC number	900814620

[Violet Cowden in A-2 leather jacket, circa 1943]

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