Lois Brooks Hailey, 95, passed away April 24, 2010 at her son’s home in Friendswood, Texas. She was born on January 18, 1915, in the house where she would grow up in Reno, Nevada, to Charles W. Brooks and Harriet Peckham Brooks. Lois was preceded in death by her brother Ernest Brooks and four sisters; Ethel Gadda, Myrtle Sanford, Carol Lyons, and Louise Marsh.
As a tomboy and free spirit Lois learned early in life that she could be whatever she wanted to be. Lois attended Reno High School and then the University of Nevada, Reno where she received a bachelor’s degree in Education with a minor in Spanish. During her senior year, she took care of her ailing mother, who was stricken with cancer. She did not know it at the time, but cancer would come into her life again and again.
After graduation in 1936 from U of N, Lois took a teaching job in Minden, NV, south of Reno. She organized and directed the school band and gave private music lessons to interested students. She was also taught photography. Her plan was to save enough money to fulfill her dream of attending Julliard’s School of Music.
All was going as planned until June 7, 1939, when Jim Peckham, a cousin, convinced her to join him and learn to fly. She immediately fell in love with flying. On December 3, 1939, Lois flew her first solo flight and by April 17, 1940, she had her private license.
On December 1, 1940, Lois, Jim and Vic Spezia pooled their funds and bought a single engine Taylorcraft airplane. Since they were sharing the plane they divided up the time so that Jim and Vic got the plane during the week and Lois got it on weekends. Lois loved soaring over the Sierra Nevada mountains and taking photos.
Just as WWII was starting Lois bought out her flying partners. While still fulfilling her teaching duties, she kept flying by doing spot landings, cross-country, chandelles, eights, spins, and stalls. Finally, on July 11, 1941, with over 300 hours, she passed her commercial license test and became the first female pilot in the state of Nevada to do so.
As the war progressed, flying became restricted and fuel was rationed. She was grounded and on August 29, 1942; with just over 500 hours of flying time, she sold her Taylorcraft to a training school so it could be put to better use.
That didn’t keep her from flying though. In September of that year, her brother Ernest had started an unsuccessful run for Congress and she borrowed a plane to fly him around northern Nevada to campaign.
Because Lois had over 500 flying hours, she received an invitation to join the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). She declined but then received a telegram from Jacqueline Cochran to meet her for an interview in San Francisco to join the Women’s Ferrying Training Detachment (WFTD). Both groups were part of the Army at the time.
Lois was interested in meeting Jacqueline, but not in joining the Army. So, she and a friend; who also got an invitation to join the WFTD, went to see what it was all about. Lois told them she wasn’t interested in joining and asked about meeting Jacqueline. They told her that Jacqueline was not there but she should take the physical just to see if she could pass. Well she passed and ended up joining. She joined the third WFTD class and started training on January 15, 1943.
After training for twelve months, including 6 months for tow target, she took on her next teaching job. While in the Sixth Tow Target squadron at Biggs Army Air Field in El Paso, Texas, she assisted in the training of Army personnel by towing a target behind her plane so that the men could learn how to use machine guns and larger artillery to hit moving targets. She also flew at night so they could learn how to use search lights and strafed infantry with tear gas.
In December of 1944, the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots – a merging of the WAFS and WFTD) were disbanded and all records were classified. The jobs they were performing were now going back to the men who were returning home.
As the end of the WASP drew near, Lois and her best WASP friend Holly, started training to get their civilian instructor licenses in El Paso. When they left the WASP, they joined Border Flying Service and started teaching GIs how to fly civilian aircraft.
By this time, Lois had accumulated over 1,300 flying hours. For the next five years she and Holly supported themselves as flight instructors. They even pooled their earnings to buy a house.
In 1946, she also became the first chairperson of the El Paso Chapter of the 99s, the International Organization of Women Pilots. In March of 1947, she soloed Sam Hailey, her husband to be and in June of that same year, she soloed her father at age 65. At this point, Lois had over 3,000 hours flying. During this time, she also wrote a column, “El Paso Air Lanes” for the El Paso Times newspaper.
Lois married Sam Hailey in 1947. In April of 1948, they became the proud parents of Charles Andrew Hailey. Their marriage didn’t last and they divorced when Andrew was two. She never remarried and raised her son alone.
In the fall of 1949, she gave up teaching flying and went back to teaching band and orchestra with the El Paso Independent School District. Lois’ teaching career in El Paso spanned 31 years and during this time she earned a Masters degree in Education with a minor in Music from Texas Western College (which is now the University of Texas of El Paso) in 1953.
She typically taught at three different schools each day for a given school year and provided instruction at more than 10 different schools. At Austin High School, she taught a course in aeronautics, but most classes were band or orchestra. During that time she continued to fly, but by 1978, she had only added about 600 hours to her pilot log.
In 1980, three years after the WASP were finally recognized as veterans by an act passed by the Congress, she retired from teaching. During retirement, she continued to support flying through membership in the 99s and volunteering at the War Eagles Museum near El Paso. She also attended WASP reunions until they disbanded in 2008. She also traveled to other activities honoring the WASP.
Lois was inducted into the El Paso Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004. On the May 23, 2005, Lois was honored by the El Paso County Commissioners Court for her WASP service, her services to El Paso ISD, and becoming the first chairperson of the El Paso chapter of the 99s. On March 10 of this year, she, and her fellow WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC for their service to the country during WWII.
Lois is survived by her son, Charles “Andy” Hailey, his wife Mary and granddaughter Dawn of Friendswood, TX and her stepbrother George Peckham of Fort Myers, Florida.
Here are some phrases worth keeping in mind, and which can minimize the effects of conservative strict-father worldview talking points. You should also try these Thinking Points.
Fearful People Do Stupid Things
Think for Yourself – Question Authority (Authoritarians)
In 1983, two groups of aerospace employees had just had their benefits reduced and were told about it after the fact and in a very cavalier manner by senior management. Soon after, salt was rubbed into the wound when the employees learned that senior management was keeping the benefits that were just taken from the rest of the employees. The employees decided to seek union representation.
One of these groups was classified as engineers because they held engineering degrees. Members of the other group did not have a degree or had non-engineering degree but had similar jobs as the engineers.
These two groups realized that they were now part a new “strict father” world of employment where the loss of benefits could happen again and again based solely on management decision. These employees decided they wanted to be part of the process and not left “on their own.” They wanted to force a nurturant, more empathetic, perspective into the employment equation. They sought empowerment and protection from future acts of abuse. They believed their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were being subjugated to profit. They wanted to shift the power equation toward them.
These employees contacted union representatives of a large aerospace union and began the process to gain union representation. First, the two groups had to sign and submit show of interest cards. These cards were delivered directly to the union. Once the union surmised they had enough cards, they contacted the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB). The NLRB confirmed that enough cards had been received to grant representation. However, the company decided that this was not sufficient and requested an election. There would be two elections, one for the engineers and one for the other professionals. The NLRB would run the elections and they would be conducted on-site and during working hours.
Since the elections, requested by the company, were in the future, the company and union had time to influence the votes. On the one hand, the company had ‘voluntary’ meetings on-site and during working hours. On the other hand, the union had to have their meetings off-site and after working hours. The union could only hope the employees would come to their meetings. Both sides also sent letters to the employees. Both sides tried to counter the other.
Fortunately for the union, the company hired a lawyer that was known for union busting but who’s experience had been with non-professionals. The first letter from this lawyer, on company letterhead and signed by the top local company manager, backfired. It insulted the engineers and strengthened their resolve.
As the vote for the engineers approached, management set aside company time to help the engineers understand what they were getting into. These meetings were, by law, ‘voluntary.’ Many engineers attended. However, our smaller group decided we were not interested and did not attend. Our manager was encouraged to encourage us to attend. We said no thanks and went home at the end of the day.
All we wanted to do was vote and we didn’t need management to explain what was best for us. As they had already shown us by their actions, profit came before employees. Their words would not change that.
The election for the engineers was held and the engineers voted for the union by a 2 to 1 margin. They went on to negotiate one three contract after another. They held their benefits from any further shrinkage and were able to get back some of what they lost.
The other election was held about a month later. Letters and more ‘voluntary’ company and union meetings were organized. The company learned from their mistakes with the engineers and the second election went in their favor.
This is why employees need the Employee Free Choice Act. It shifts the power, just a little, away from those who have most of it, toward those who might feel they are being abused by the lack of checks and balances on management. Without this new law, the election remains the choice of the company and the company has a major captive-audience advantage over the employees and their efforts to unionize.
I know. I lived this story and was the engineering union rep for 10 years with no adverse affect on my professional career.
This is a critical time for America’s future and we must all do what we can. I hope you can help me help Senator Obama become our next president.
We must end control of our governments by “Conservatives Without Conscience.”
According to Chris Pummer of Market Watch, Wikipedia and others, politics in America generally runs on a 36 year cycle between conservative and progressive polices as set by the presidents. However, the current conservative cycle, which started in 1968, is now in it’s 40th year. This unfortunate extension was, in part, due to the attacks on September 11, 2001, and in equal part, to the neoconservatives who took advantage of the attack. They used it to scare us and our representatives into accepting policies and actions we would not have accepted under more normal circumstances.
This nation cannot tolerate another extension of the conscienceless conservative cycle under John McCain and his neocon and corporate lobbyist supporters. The cycle, and John McCain, must be stopped and the next progressive cycle, of any kind, must be started.
To help with the change, I have volunteered as a member of the Obama Grassroots Finance Committee – a committee unlike any before. As a committee member, I have been challenged to raise $1,000.00 for Senator Obama’s campaign by October 24, 2008.
Please contribute and help start the overdue grassroots-lead progressive cycle. There’s a lot of fixing to do and we’re four years behind schedule.
With the help of Congress.org, I sent the following to GWB and others:
I oppose:
The unitary presidency and its absurd abuse of power through signing statements and fear mongering,
A Congress that is scared into ignoring this abuse of power,
The redacting of the constitution to lower our higher standards to the level of the small minded terrorists that we can’t even catch,
Hiding behind a Justice Department that enforces “conservatives without conscience” policy and ignores the law of the land, and
A Congress that doesn’t have the backbone to investigate possible high crimes of the Administration and is also willing to grant unconditional immunity to possible witnesses of these high crimes.
The damage done by this Administration and Congressional leaders since 1994 is an absolute disgrace and has significantly weakened the power of we the people.
The abuse of power and dereliction of duty by our elected officials must stop and preventing telecom immunity is a good place to start. Granting the immunity as defined in this current update to FISA only lets Congress of the hook and the real criminals free.
The only immunity AT&T and other telecoms should get is if they agree to testify to Congress as to other higher crimes.
Imagine a group of neocons gathered together brainstorming about our dependency on foreign oil. During this meeting, they write down a set of questions for which they discuss the possible answers. Here is one possible list they might develop and their conclusion:
Which country are we trying to remake in our own image?
Which country has more American military personnel than all of our current 50 states?
Which country is getting more money every month from our federal government than any of the current 50 states?
Which country might end up with more military bases than we have Army and Air Force bases in our current 50 states?
Which country now has all the major oil companies gaining a foothold in it’s oil industry?
Which country could double our national oil reserves and make a truly big dent in our foreign oil dependency — if it became our 51st state?
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.
From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men —above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellowmen, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. My peace of mind is often troubled by the depressing sense that I have borrowed too heavily from the work of other men.
Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences, is either party without faith of being in the right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American people.
By the frame of the Government under which we live this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief, and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their virtue and vigilance no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years.
My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it; while the new Administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty.
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend it.”
I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason.
— Edward R. Murrow
Remember the Miraculous – In the final analysis, the future of ice and climate change on this planet depends on how humanity deals with the nexus of energy and economics. So let me end this book with one last thought about energy supply. Paradoxical as it seems, hydrocarbon energy sources – oil, coal, and natural gas – are not ordinary fungible commodities like, say corn kernels or pork bellies. They are a distillation of life and time in a way nothing else is. Long ago, in the dust of ancient epochs, an infinity of animals and plants were born, grew to whatever maturity was their destiny, fed, inhaled, exhaled, lived in communities, and propagated their young. Their existence – all of it based on photosynthesis – concentrated the blazing light of a trillion sunrises into their bodies, just as our own animate life does today.
The essence of those past lives and vanished sunrises is now being passed to us, transmuted into the clear liquid drizzling into our gas tanks or the flickering of a light bulb or a picture dancing across a television screen or hundreds of other daily events we never notice. We gobble up the heat and electrons in nanoseconds, and then they are gone. It is a process both wondrous and awful. Remembering the miracle of this transformation might inject some much needed grace and humility into the engine of our consumption.
This is a fundamental debate in our society: Are we a nation of citizens or a nation of consumers? … Consumerism appeals to the greedy and selfish child part of us, the infantilized part that just wants someone else to take care of us. … What is at stake today is the very nature or our democratic republic. If we accept an identity as fearful, infantilized consumers, we will be acting from our baby part and allowing corporate America and an increasingly authoritarian government to fill the role of the parent part. … To save our democracy we must crack that code and bring back the code so well understood by the Founders of this nation: that we’re a country of barn-builders, of communities, of intrinsically good people who work together for the common good and the common wealth. We begin this process by speaking to the responsible part of us, the part that enjoys being grown up and socially responsible.
— Thom Hartmann, Cracking the Code – How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America’s Original Vision.
The Old Enlightenment view of reason is not sufficient for understanding our politics. In deed, it gets in the way. It not only hides the real threat to our democracy, it all too often keeps many of our most dedicated political leaders, policy experts, commentators, and social activists from being effective.
— George Lakoff, The Political Mind – Why You Can’t Understand the 21st-Century Politics with an 18th-Century Brain.
Probably about 20 to 25 percent of the adult American population is so right-wing authoritarian, so scared, so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds. They would march America into a dictatorship and probably feel that things had improved as a result. … And they are so submissive to their leaders that they will believe and do virtually anything they are told. They are not going to let up and they are not going away.
The ‘war on terrorism’ can never be won solely by plans to find and destroy terrorists, since any individual, anywhere, at any time, can become an active terrorist.
The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
— Barack Obama, June 3, 2008.
He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. — Abraham Lincoln – Paraphrase of 1838 Lyceum address.
America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
— Alexis de Tocqueville
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.
If I made a major decision that I later came to regret because it is costing me much more than I can manage while still living my life of ‘luxury,’ what options do I have. Should I ask strangers to make up the difference so I can continue my comfortable lifestyle? Or should I take a look at my situation, my rationale for the bad decision, my way of life, my other resources, and then take responsibility and make some adjustments?
Most of us would probably take responsibility and work to figure out our own solution. More than that, most of us would probably not have made such a bad decision in the first place. Most of us would have considered the long term risks and decided not to jeopardized the future of our family.
On the other hand, the Bush Administration that hasn’t done as we would have done. Instead, they have made multiple bad decisions (invading Iraq, ignoring New Orleans after Katrina, tax cuts for the rich, unregulated subprime loans, etc.) and are asking other countries (China and Japan) and future generations to pay for their mistakes. Not only have they performed poorly as our leaders, they have actually made themselves, and their rich supporters, richer and more powerful (unitary president, over compensated CEOs, unchecked Blackwater Inc., suspension of habeas corpus, etc.) in the process.
The administration, their small group of avid followers and friendly media moguls actually don’t mind having China and others pay for their expensive mistakes as long as they are getting richer in the process. These rich and powerful know as long as China is willing to loan the US much of what it needs, they can continue to enjoy their 2006 tax cuts. Isn’t it time to take away their tax cuts and make them pay for their mistakes?
If you’re not quite convinced, maybe a little historical perspective on income taxes would help. Take a look at US individual federal income taxes in effect during WWII in the tables below. The rich of the time were taxed at up to 94% of their income over $200,000 in 1945. After inflation, these 1945 dollars become $2,090,800 in 2005 dollars.
If The Greatest Generation supported WWII with higher taxes, shouldn’t those who support the Iraq occupation pay with higher taxes?
I recently received one of those emails encouraging me to view a YouTube video with lots of photos of our courageous men and women in uniform.
We need to do more than remember the troops and their significant sacrifices.
Here is how I replied to that message and video.
Remember them? That’s it. Just remember them. For how long? Just long enough to watch a youtube video?
Remember them? Have we lost them? Are they missing? No, but they are in harm’s way! These American warriors are in the middle of a civil war in a part of the world where they aren’t wanted by most locals. They are risking their lives while we continue to shop, eat whatever we want, drive our SUVs out to end of the driveway to get the mail or wait for the school bus, watch TV in our plush recliners, spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need, play pretend war games on the internet, go to jobs that are far less stressful and harmful to our future and sleep soundly with both eyes closed in our air conditioned homes!
We have a lot of nerve asking our troops to make the ultimate sacrifice when most of us are sacrificing absolutely nothing? We aren’t even paying to support our troops – we are borrowing from the Chinese and Japanese to pay for this occupation of Iraq. Our unrecognized selfishness is disgusting.
Our troops are living in miserable conditions and still being killed, and all we can come up with is remember them?
How about we bring them home so their parents can hug them and they can enjoy what we are enjoying? How about we give them the medical care they need after surviving Iraq? How about we give them a GI bill like the one that was provided to The Greatest Generation? How about we pay our debt to our troops?
Why aren’t we buying ‘GI Recovery Bonds?’
US Rep. John Murtha calling for troops to pull out of Iraq
Below is a message I sent to Congressman Nick Lampson and it includes a message I sent to Congressman Ron Paul:
I’m surrounded by your district, but I contributed to your run against the worst Congressman ever and have attended many of your local constituent meetings.
I’m on you email distribution list and enjoy responding to your surveys. However, today’s survey on SCHIP would not respond to my clicking of the Submit button.
I support the expansion of the SCHIP program and think we need to go even further.
I’m near retirement and despite my ‘significant’ resources, I’m concerned that maintaining our health could easily put us in the poor house. National healthcare for all is the right thing to do. If passing this SCHIP over the “Shrub’s” veto can be done to start us down that slippery slop, then let’s do it.
Thank you for your service and hope to see you again for lunch.
One other thing ….
Here is a copy of my message to my Congressman Ron Paul. This is an example of what really disappoints me about Congress. It’s bad enough that we have a lame duck in the White House, but to have a lame duck Congress that can only come together on such as this is very sad:
“Congressman,
I am very disappointed in your vote on MoveOn.org. We not only have a lame duck president, we have a lame duck Congress. But worse yet, Congress has as much disrespect for the Constitution as the President does. Bush took away habeas corpus and both Congress and the Administration only want free speech for the extreme right like Ann Coulter or Fox “Noise.”
There is something very wrong with those who work inside the beltway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you just overlook all the hype over the headline of the add and read the other view of the ‘success’ of the surge, you will find it to be true. General Petraeus could not use this information because his boss would not have allowed it. The general understands his chain-of-command.”
Add to this the despicable attacks on children supporting SCHIP that are initiated by “right-wing authoritarians” in Congress and the media and I just can’t believe how low this country has sunk from what The Greatest Generation defended during WWII. The only think that I’m glad for at this time is that my mother, now 92, doesn’t realize what has happened to the country she served between 1942 and 1944.
Keep up the fight for what is right for the citizens of this country.
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