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[[newspaper clipping]] NEW YORK SUN, FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1931 Girl Flyers Ready to Aid Army Opal Kunz Heads Betsy Ross Corps, Formed as Military Auxiliary Unit. By SHERMAN B. ALTICK. Will the women flyers of this as well as other nations play a big part in the next war? Will they fly airplanes as they drive ambulances and motor cars during the last conflict? There is an indication that they will, and a unit to take part in the next major wartime emergency has been organized here. It is called the Betsy Ross Corps, and numbers among its members some of the leading women flyers in the United States. The corps of "powder puff" flyers has been organized solely for national defense, as a strictly patriotic society. It will function, according to the plans made at the organization meeting here, as an auxiliary aerial motor corps, driving aerial ambulances and air transports as the Wacs (Women's Auxiliary Corps) of Britain during the world war. Prepare for Emergencies According to the organizes of the Betsy Ross Corps, it was not formed to train combat pilots nor take part in actual aerial combat, but to act as an emergency unit. Its peacetime mission is to encourage women to improve their skill and experience, thereby making them safer pilots, and in a short time it is expected that a fine reserve group of young women pilots will be trained and disciplined t serve in national emergencies. ice. They also could be used in peacetime as pilots of airplane ambulances in case of a major catastrophe, such as the Florida hurricane of a few years ago. The officers for the first year elected at the organization meeting are Opal Kunz, commander; Gladys O'Donnell, first lieut. commander; May Haizlip, second lieut. commander; Margery Doig, adjutant; Jane Dodge, quartermaster. Many Sections Represented. The organization was completed, the constitution adopted and the insignia selected at the first meeting at which the following flyers were present either in person or proxy: Gladys O'Donnell, May Haizlip, Margorie Stinson, Florence Lowe Barnes, Eleanor McRaye, Ruth Elder Camp, LaBelle Sweeley, Ruth Bridwell McConnell, Jean LaRene, Jane Jodge, Mary Goodrich, [[underlined]] Manila Davis [[/underlined]], Margery Doig, Opal Kunz, E. Ruth Webb. The charter member powder puffites are from all sections of the country, only three of them being from New York, while there are three from California, one from Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Connecticut, West Virginia, Iowa, and the District of Columbia. Two are from Pennsylvania. [[/newspaper clipping]] [[newspaper clipping]] NEW YORK SUN, FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1931 Woman Air Force Organized for War Service Feminine Flyers of Washington to Form Military Reserve Force. WASHINGTON, May 1. IF this country should go to war again there will be a corps of women aviators ready for service. The last steps in the organization of such a reserve corps of American women pilots for noncombatant duty in case of national emergency will be taken in Washington May 9 at a meeting in Memorial Continental Hall. At this meeting the members, including some of the most noted women flyers of the country, will be sworn in and the organization will be ready for duty when called. This announcement has been made by Mrs. Opal Logan Kunz, national commander of the organization, which is known as the "Betsy Ross Corps." A west coast training camp will be opened in the Army Ninth Corps Area next June, and an east coast camp will be opened near New York next September. At these camps the women pilots will have flying and field training, ambulance and first aid instruction and general training. Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, Chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, and Mrs. Moffett; Major Gen. James E. Fechet, Chief of the Army Air Corps, and Mrs. Fechet and Mrs. Lowell Fletcher Hobart, president-general of the D. A. R., will be guests of honor at the meeting here. The members of the corps will be ready as noncombatant pilots to man ambulance planes, transport planes and to relieve men pilots for combat duty in case of emergency. [[/newspaper clipping]] [[newspaper clipping]] Liberty February 14, 1931 ^[[Feb 14, 1931]] By Alexandra Kropotkin [[image: photo of the author, Alexandra Kropotkin]] who, having become an American citizen, waives her Russian title of Princess. (Reading time: 8 minutes 23 seconds [[image: cartoon drawing of a woman flyer in foreground, and 3 planes in flight behind her]] An interesting organization for women aviators has come into being with the formation of the Betsy Ross Corps. The idea originated with Mrs. Opal Kunz of New York. Should the United States again be involved in war, it is hoped that the Betsy Ross unit will function as an auxiliary air corps in much the same way as the Women's Motor Corps functioned during the great war. According to the minutes of the first meeting, women who join will not train for combat but will "so perfect their character and their flying ability as to eventually make every member of the Corps fully capable of piloting a service type airplane." The membership application forms have been worded and filed in such a way that in a time of emergency the government not only could call upon the Betsy Ross Corps but could also rely on its members. I talked with Mrs. Kunz at great length concerning the ideals of the Corps and their practical application. The main idea is that more men pilots could be released for front-line service in war time if there existed a qualified service group of women pilots, selected not only because of their flying ability, but also because of their discipline and personal character. In the charmingly feminine rooms of her New York penthouse, with an old portrait of her Dutch-pioneer grandmother looking down at us, and with a magnificent panorama of giant skyscrapers spread before our eyes, Mrs. Kunz spoke earnestly of the ardent Americanism which inspires the members of the Betsy Ross Corps. By their oath of initiation every member swears to "uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America." They pledge themselves ready to serve in any national emergency, and to "guard and guide our personal behavior, manners, and dress to the end that we may attain to the highest order of American citizenship." The members are divided into three classes, A, B, and C, based on United States army requirements. Among the members are Ruth Elder, [[underlined]] Manila Davis, [[/underlined]] Florence Barnes, Gladys O'Donnell, and many other prominent woman flyers. Miss Elder, Miss Davis and Miss Barnes are directors. Mrs. Kunz is ambitious to see ten or twelve women pilots qualify for Class B, and fly army aircraft for two weeks every year. At present only ten of the 300 women licensed as pilots by the government are qualified to fly mail. Aviation has become so accessible during the past year, Mrs. Kunz told me, that a number of girls who work as waitresses, trained nurses, and stenographers have been able to learn to fly. It is hoped that certain patriotic organizations eventually will offer financial support which will permit the Corps to assist competent girls who desire to qualify as reserve service pilots. [[/newspaper clipping]] [PAGE 77]
