387:. She executed an effective takeoff and flight. However, upon its landing, the A-24 stalled after cutting across a row of trees. Rawlinson's instructor, 2nd Lt. Harvey J. Robillard, urged Rawlinson to jump for her life. The lieutenant made a crash landing and although the aircraft broke apart upon impact, Robillard survived with serious injuries. Rawlinson did not jump, potentially due to a faulty cockpit escape latch. She lost her life to the aircraft's blaze while still belted into the cockpit. When Hanrahan and others in the dining room heard a siren, they rushed out onto the field to investigate. They saw the crashed A-24 and 26-year-old Rawlinson, who could be heard screaming, consumed by flames. An eyewitness to the crash, friend and fellow WASP
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302:(WMU) in Kalamazoo. She worked at the Kalamazoo Plating Works and Kalamazoo Public Library. After she experienced her first flying lesson in 1940, Rawlinson chose to enter WMU's civilian pilot training course, which newly welcomed female students. On October 31, 1940, Rawlinson flew her first solo flight and in 1941, she earned her private pilot's license. Rawlinson spent her free time at the
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391:, described Rawlinson's loss as a "very traumatic time for all of us here...this was the first time I had seen a friend die so it was a trauma for me and I think for all of us." A serious accident and another death further crushed morale at Camp Davis. Some WASP considered resignation until Jacqueline Cochran intervened to stop the vulnerable program from unraveling.
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Because they perceived the WASP as civilian volunteers and not Air Force pilots, the U.S. military made no financial resources available to send fallen WASPs home or for funeral costs. So, in an act of kindness customary to the WASP, Rawlinson's fellow Camp Davis classmates took up a collection to
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Rawlinson's last flight claimed her life only two months after she arrived at Camp Davis. On the night of August 23, 1943, when she discovered that her friend, Marion
Hanrahan had not yet eaten her dinner, Rawlinson volunteered to take Hanrahan's place on the night flight schedule. While Hanrahan
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for her WASP training, which began
January 16, 1943. A letter home during WASP training reveals her passion for flying: "The class ahead of us is having night flying now. It must be beautiful up there these nights, the moon is shining." After completing basic training and with distinguished guest,
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over her coffin. However, in 1943, the military limited this honor to official armed services members only. Despite this regulation, Rawlinson's family honored their WASP with a well-attended funeral procession with a flag-draped casket. The
Kalamazoo Civil Air Patrol, which she helped establish
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in 1925 when she was eight years old. She enjoyed playing outside in her rural hometown, served as an active member of her church, and participated in talent shows. After graduating high school in
Virginia, Rawlinson relocated to
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as one of 1,102 women to earn Silver Wings. When she died in an airplane crash during advanced night training, she became one of the 38 women who died while serving with the
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of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be
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send
Rawlinson's body and belongings home to Michigan. Members of her unit accompanied her body home. Rawlinson's family wished to drape the
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in attendance, Rawlinson graduated WASP Class 43-W-3 on July 3, 1943. Following graduation, she wrote home about her trip to visit the
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before her WASP career, commemorated
Rawlinson with a traditional flyover as well as bugle and gun salutes.
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When the United States entered World War II, Rawlinson helped organize the local
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Flying for Her
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in 1935. There, she lived with her aunt, English professor
Eleanor Rawlinson.
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On Silver Wings: The Women
Airforce Service Pilots of World War II 1942-1944
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257:(19 March 1917 – August 23, 1943) served with the
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Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing
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Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
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in 1917, Rawlinson and her family relocated to Blackstone in
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before reporting for an advanced training assignment at
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599:"Mabel Virginia Rawlinson a WASP pilot in WWII"
648:. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. p. 53.
563:"WASP Class 43-W-3 - Texas Woman's University"
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458:"Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls"
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294:Education
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208:Education
113:June 2021
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279:Delaware
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195:Michigan
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