Marie Michell Robinson 44-W-2
Co-pilot on B-25 out of Victorville AAF, CA. Stall, flat
spin & crash.
(23 May 1924 – 2 October 1944)
(Excerpt from To Live and Die a WASP)
Marie Michell was born May 23, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan
and by 1933 she and her brother Roy lived with their mother and stepfather in
Chicago.
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| Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Marie Robinson Michell |
“To Marie, flying was just a natural thing,” said Roy. “She
loved it.” Marie’s inspiration for flying was Jack Hayward, a young man who
went to school with Roy. “Jack was already a pilot while still in high school,”
Roy said. “Marie decided to impress him by becoming a pilot, too.” Marie’s
skill as a pilot got her a job in Chicago as a Link flying instructor at the
American Airlines Pilot Training School. On September 6, 1943, she began
training at Avenger Field. That same month, Jack Hayward, now a Navy pilot,
died when his airplane crashed.
After graduation from Avenger in March 1944, Marie reported
to the 5th Ferrying Group at Love Field in Dallas. There, Marie met an Army
flight surgeon, Captain Hampton Robinson. …
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| Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Marie Robinson Michell |
In late September, Marie transferred to Victorville Army Air
Field in the California desert. ... Capt. Robinson was already at his new
assignment, Reno Army Airfield. Somehow, the couple found enough time together
that they decided to marry. ... In a ceremony kept secret from
relatives, Hampton and Marie tied the knot. …
In the afternoon of October 2, 1944, at about 1:15,
20-year-old Marie was taking off as copilot in a B-25 Mitchell bomber. Earlier
that morning her roommate, originally scheduled to fly that day, awoke with a
toothache and without hesitation Marie agreed to take the roommates place. With
her in the plane were the pilot, Lieutenant George Rosado, and the crew chief,
Staff Sergeant Gordon Walker.
Less than a half hour after takeoff, the bomber had crashed
and Marie and the crew were all dead. The only witness was an Army aviator
flying nearby. …
After the bodies were recovered, WASP Elizabeth MacKethan
(44-W-2) was at Cochran Field, in Georgia, waiting to catch a hop on a
transport plane to Michigan so she could be at Marie’s funeral. … She began writing a poem.
Elizabeth said the words to her poem came easily; almost as if someone were dictating them to her. When she was done, she had written “Celestial Flight,” a tribute to Marie Robinson.
Elizabeth said the words to her poem came easily; almost as if someone were dictating them to her. When she was done, she had written “Celestial Flight,” a tribute to Marie Robinson.
The poem begins:
“She is not dead
But only flying higher,
Higher than she’s flown before,
And earthly limitations
Will hinder her no more.”
#RIP
#RIP
