Wings Across America
Archival Website
Timeline
Nancy Parrish, daughter of WASP Deanie Parrish, created a website called WASP On The Web, using pages from her mother's 33 year-old WWII scrapbook. Within its first month, the site was selected as a Yahoo Pick of the Week. She expanded the website into an award-winning interactive educational resource containing more than 2,000 pages of WASP records, photographs, articles, videos, games, marching songs, paper dolls, and coloring pages. It grew into one of the largest digital collections devoted to the WASP.
As a PBS Producer, Nancy began documentary research and discovered that very little information about the WASP was available to the public. After convincing her mother, WASP Deanie Parrish, to join her, she formulated a plan to interview individual WASP for a possible documentary.
Dr. Corey Carbonara and Dr. Michael Korpi, Baylor University Film & Digital Media., embraced the idea and encouraged a meeting with Dr. Cheryl Warner, Associate Dean of the Baylor Graduate School. Dr. Warner’s enthusiastic support led to the first formal proposal and endorsement from the National WASP WWII President, Marty Wyall.
Proposal: The WASP Project, to document and preserve the history of the first women in history to fly America's military aircraft, was presented to Baylor University Vice President for Development, Dr. Richard Scott, who offered guidance in helping get the funding started. Baylor Development suggested a name change because the word "WASP" often carried a negative public perception. Nancy renamed the project Wings Across America. Allison Abercrombie, University Development artist, helped create the first Wings Across America brochure. Terry Roller, Baylor professor, designed a logo.
Steven Spielberg's "Survivors of the Shoah" visual history project generously agreed to supply materials for the methodology to conduct professional interviews with each of the WASP.
Baylor University Chancellor, Herbert Reynolds agreed to serve as Honorary “Chairman of The Board.” Dr. Michael Korpi and Dr. Corey Carbonara at Baylor’s Film and Digital Media Dept. offered their technical support. Nancy Parrish became Executive Director, Deanie Parrish became Associate Director.
Letters were mailed to each of the more than 600 WASP, inviting them to participate through recorded digital video interviews conducted in the privacy of their own homes.
Twenty-seven PBS stations in twenty-two states volunteered to help with the interview process.
Wings Across America was featured on the back cover of the Baylor University Business School’s magazine, "Baylor Business Review." Marketing Class interns created proposals for more recognition of the WWII service of the WASP.
WASP Anita Paul, now a Carmelite Nun, from the Island of Guadeloupe in the French Antilles, received special permission from Rome to travel to Waco to be interviewed at Baylor’s TV studio. Her visit generated local media attention, including a front-page feature in the the front cover of the Waco Tribune Herald.
Baylor University honored WASP Ruth Helm in the 1999 Homecoming Parade. An A-26 and (2) AT-6’s, flew over the parade for Wings Across America in honor of the WASP.
Dr. Corey Carbonara, as Associate Vice President for Technology Management offered Wings Across America editing space in his offices at Baylor’s Clifton Tower. Dr. Nancy Upton agreed to serve as an advisor and arranged a presentation for the Baylor University Board of Regents.
The Wings Across America nationwide oral history road trips began.
August-- WASP on the WEB was reviewed by The New York Times.
Wings Across America’s Digital Video Archive eventually grew to over 300 hours of recorded digital video interviews with over 100 WASP, and became the cornerstone for future educational projects.
Nancy Parrish's “Wingtip to Wingtip” was published. in “One Hundred Years of Powered Flight" w/ foreward by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh.
“Marching Songs of the WASP” were produced, with volunteers from the Baylor chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Project was recorded in the Baylor studio.
Baylor University’s James Connally AFROTC Detachment created a ‘Homecoming Parade Float’, featuring WASP Deanie Parrish, to honor the history of Air power.
Nancy proposed creating a museum at Avenger Field, where the WASP had trained during World War II. She founded the National WASP WWII Museum, organized the nonprofit corporation, led the national membership campaign, designed the exhibits, and produced the museum's 2005 opening ceremonies. Deanie Parrish served on the Board of Directors and as Facilities Chairman.
Wings Across America was invited to the NAAA Convention in Reno, Nevada . A small traveling exhibit was created to showcase the WASP history.
A Campaign was initiated for the induction of the WASP into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. It was successful, and the WASP were invited to the induction ceremony.
Wings reaches out to the Texas Historical Commission leading to the WASP and Avenger Field being included in the new “Texas in World War II” brochure. WASP Deanie Parrish, together with the Governor of Texas, was invited to speak on the steps of the Texas State Capitol in Austin
Voice of America visited the Wings Across America offices and videotaped an interview with WASP Deanie Parrish.
Baylor AFROTC Cadet Claire Kultgen and Wings Across America proposed the ‘Adopt A WASP’ Joint National Project for the Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings Detachments across the US. The project was approved unanimously. As co-sponsor, Wings Across America provided local WASP information and educational resources for individual AFROTC Detachments and co-ordinated with over 100 WASP across America for the next year.
National WASP WWII Museum officially opened at Avenger Field. Exhibits, designed by Nancy and including Deanie's thirty-six foot WASP Timeline, were installed in the 100 year old hangar where the museum is located. Nancy produced the opening ceremonies, beginning with a memorial flyover and parade honored their service. Twenty-nine WASP placed their handprints in cement.
Texas Country Reporter: Feature on Nancy Parrish, the WASP and the National WASP Museum: Show # 987 aired June 29, 2006.
Wings Across America created “FlyGirls of World War II” for the Maybourn Museum at Baylor. Opened in November and was held over until March of 2008.
The FlyGirls Exhibit was doubled in size, packed up and shipped to the Women In Military Service For America Memorial (WIMSA) at the Gates of Arlington, just outside DC.
Wings Across America became the hub of the grassroots effort to pass Senate Bill S.614: A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
The bill was introduced on March 17, passed in record time and was signed into law by The President on July 1, 2009. “A BILL: To Award the Congressional Gold Medal, highest civillian honor that Congress can bestow, on the Women Airforce Serivce Pilots (WASP) of World War II.”
Nancy was appointed Congressional Liason to the Mint to share the history of the WASP and to inispire the designers. The mint chose to have a competition, which was the fastest way to get the medal designed. She visited DC to meet with team from the Mint.
November, WASP were honored on Veteran’s Day, along with Wings Across America, for our efforts to pass the bill. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, TX presented every WASP, and Wings Across America, a copy of the bill.
Protocol meetings in DC took place after the passage of the bill, and planning began for the ceremony.
MOAA (Military Officers Association of America) became an important partner for the fundraising,
Stars & Strips Special Edition was printed, featuring Deanie Parrish's WASP Profiles. Much of the content and graphics was provided by Wings Across America.
Flygirls was packed up and picked up on site by the crew from Kalamazoo Air Zoo.
A second Flygirls Exhibit was shipped to Wings Over the Rockies in Denver, Colorado. Nancy and Deanie flew to Denver to help install the ehibit.
Veteran’s Day, 2014, Fly Girls Opened at the Bullock with six WASP and their families in attendance.
Waco Tribune Herald: "Mother Daughter duo inducted into Women in Aviation Hall of Fame. by Regina Dennis.
Nancy and Deanie Parrish are chosen as Pioneer Hall of Fame Inductees for 2015
Women in Aviation, International press release, February 17, 2015
Nancy completed a children’s book: “Bishop Flies With the WASP of WWII,” and uploaded it to Apple Books as a digital resosurce.
FlyGirls was packed up and shipped to Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston.
February: Nancy did a presentation on the WASP for Baylor Lifelong Learning.
FlyGirls of WWII was shipped to Houston to the Air Terminal Museum for display.
Wings Across America offices at Baylor were packed up. Archival materials and records, mannequins and uniforms, a collection from Jacqueline Cochran’s estate as well as the priceless video tapes of all the WASP interviews were donated to museums and archives across the country, including the WASP Digital Video Collection boxed up and presented to Baylor.
Final draft and upgrades to Nancy’s book “WASP IN THEIR OWN WORDS: An Illustrated History of The Trailblazing WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots” was completed. This revised edition with selected photographs was upgraded from black-and-white to color and uploaded to Amazon.
“Mustard Seed Miracles: The WASP Congressional Gold Medal: One WWII FlyGirls Journey from a Boxcar to a B-26 Cockpit to Center Stage at the US Capitol” was completed and uploaded. This true story of Deanie Parrish and her own journey was made available on Amazon.
The digital version of Nancy’s children’s book was reformated for print. By 2025, the paperback version of “Bishop Flies with the WASP of WWII” was online and available to order on Amazon.
The book was adopted as part of the Flight of the Phoenix Museum's fourth-grade reading initiative with the Gilmer Independent School District.
April 27 – Baylor University hosted a celebration luncheon announcing the permanent Wings Across America WASP Collection in the Baylor University Institute for Oral History.
WIings Across America
Archival Website
Questions about the Wings Across America
Oral History Collection?
