BJ Erickson: Wasp Pilot

World War II brought to young women an unprecedented opportunity to fly military aircraft for their country and make an important contribution to the outcome of the war. In the summer of 1939, Congress approved the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT). The government offered to pay for flight instruction for students on selected college campuses. One student out of every ten could be a female. Many of the young women who later flew for the United States during WWII came from the more than 2,000 who learned to fly through CPT. One such young woman was Barbara Jane Erickson of Seattle, Washington.