WASP Jane Dolores Champlin -
Class 43-W-4
(14 May 1917 - 7 June 1943)
(Excerpt from To Live and Die a WASP)
Jane Dolores Champlin was born May 14, 1917, in Chicago to
David and Katherine Champlin. When her father died a month before Jane’s 14th
birthday, her mother took Jane and her brother to
 |
| Jane Delores Champlin, Women Airforce Service Pilots |
June 7, 1943, Jane was on a nighttime, cross-country
training flight near Westbrook, Texas, almost 40 miles west of Sweetwater. With
her in a BT-15 was her instructor, Henry Awbrey. Her roommate, Jennie Hrestu,
was flying nearby. Early the next morning, after flying for over two hours, an
exhausted Jennie returned to Avenger Field. Although Jane still hadn’t
returned, Jennie wasn’t concerned. Awbrey had a reputation among the women of
getting lost, and rumor said that once on a training flight he had even fallen
asleep. Besides, Jennie was just too tired
to care. |
| Jane Delores Champlin, Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) |
The next morning, at the flight line assembly, everyone
heard that Jane was dead. Although there were no witnesses, investigators
believed that Jane was making a turn when she lost control, perhaps the engine
catching fire, and neither she nor Awbrey reacted quickly enough to avert
disaster. They smashed into the earth and the plane burst into flames.
RIP
