And You Will Find Love

Texas, February 1944

It was back to school again for Barbara at Avenger Field, this time twenty-four weeks of classroom study, flying, and drill the Army way. Though still just a civilian, she also lived army-style, in barracks with six cots to a room, each with footlocker that served as closet, dressing table, and bureau.

Before long, Barbara had company because the Woofteddies were joined by a sister from Hollywood. Walt Disney was asked to draw a mascot for the WFTDs. He came up with "Fifinella," a curvaceous female gremlin in short red dress, red boots, gold tights and helmet and blue goggles. A pair of wings sprouted out of her back.

Barbara sent a copy of the illustration to Tim who proudly showed it to his schoolmates at Glenview. Then he taped it inside his wall locker and wrote above it, "Auntie Barbara!"

He sent a letter back to her telling about his home front activities at Glenview, helping collect newspapers and tinfoil for the war effort.

"And I've started a big collection of atrocity bubble gum cards," he wrote. "Before the war, I collected 'cowboy and Indians' battle cards. Now I collect them with Japs or Nazis doing mean things to our soldiers, and our GIs fighting them.

My pals and I trade cards, for the ones showing the most blood."

Barbara cringed, but figured the atrocity bubble gum cards were all part of the government's psychological warfare program to paint the enemy as evil as possible. And from things she heard and read, especially about the fighting in the Pacific, the blood on GIs from Japanese guns and swords was very real.

It made her wonder where Stephen was now. Tim said he got a letter from him saying he had been fighting in... but the next word was blacked out. She wondered if Stephen was still there or, if not, what part of the world he was now soldiering in. She prayed he was safe.

She had not gotten another letter from Stephen since his first to her. Was he still alive? She could not, would not think otherwise.

At first, male pilots were not in short supply at Avenger, even though none were based there. Many made unscheduled stops or "forced landings" to check out the females. That soon ended, however, as the base commander ordered the field closed to all air traffic except in an emergency. Avenger Field then became known as "Cochran's Convent."

Only after Barbara had been halfway through her training, expecting after graduation to become a WFTD instructor, did she get the bad news that women would not be allowed to become instructors. That job would go strictly to male civilian pilots of the War Training Service. Many of them even resented women learning to fly a plane, much less teach others how. Still, Barbara stuck with it and completed her schooling. She had told Jackie Cochran she would become a Woofteddy. But Jackie said she had other plans for her.