WASP bracelet wing
WASP bracelet wing
This is perhaps one of the rarest of USAAF wings. What I find neat about this wing is how well worn it is, you can tell someone really loved this piece. Since only about 1200 or so (likely even less than that) women were in the WASPs and the program itself ran from 1943 to around December of 1944, the wings are pretty scarce. In addition, just about all the WASP wings I have seen and handled have been pretty clean and near mint. Even those with nice provenance to a WASP are usually in pretty good shape, as you would expect for something that was likely only worn for less than a year or two. This bracelet is so worn that I can imagine that the WASP--sadly I have no idea who it was--wore it all the time. Myself, I am always more partial to the "salty" items anyway.
Here are some photos of a rarely encountered yet frequently faked wing.
This is a personalized WASP bracelet made by Josten that was recently found at a local flea market.
More information about Ms. Smith:
WASP Class 44-2
Graduated 13 March 1944 (Gen. H.H. Arnold, Presiding)
b. March 16, 1922 in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Her father was an early airmail pilot, and in 1929, moved family to China to help start CNAC (China National Aviation Corp.).