I’ve known about Whitman’s line of YA (although they didn’t call it YA back then) books for as long as I can remember. As a young boy, my dad read one from this publisher: The Son of the Phantom by Dale Robinson. He always remembered the book fondly. It was essentially an origin story, but this prose book set him on a path to become a lifelong fan of The Phantom character. My dad’s well-loved copy became something of a sacred family memento.

In recent years, I have stumbled across a few more Whitman books in this series. Some, like Dick Tracy, Detective or Brenda Starr, adapted comic strips into a prose format, with a few illustrations thrown in too. But it turned out there were some other types of young adult books in this series that Whitman developed.

Recently, a family donated a Whitman young readers book collection—from their grandmother Jean Bordwell—to the local monthly book sale. Some of these books are in wonderful condition. I snagged them. Everything about these books is the epitome of “charming”. I especially love the covers of these books featuring Blythe Girls and Judy Jordan by an artist named Ely.

The one book that I cracked open and started actually reading was Sparky Ames and Mary Mason of the Ferry Command by Roy J. Snell. It’s part of a sub-brand of books Whitman published called Fighters of Freedom Series. I’m shocked by how much I enjoyed reading this book!

This is the story of Mary Mason, a young woman who’s a part of the Ferry Command (it was real thing!) during WWII. With her flying partner Sparky, she’s assigned a mission where they must fly from Brazil to China, stopping in Africa, Persia (Iran), and India in several mini adventures along the way. Mary is a part of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS). Her partner (who is part mentor/part sidekick) , is also pilot with the Ferry Squadron. He’s injured and can no longer fly macho combat planes.

Although it IS simplified, this book doesn’t come across like just a kiddie book. It’s full of all these big “Greatest Generation” issues such as: the ever-present reality of death during wartime, severely wounded veterans, maimed locals (a supporting character from China) and the brevity of war time romance. There’s a palpable sense of the enormity of WWII and all the characters (except the bad guys, of course) are doing their best to contribute, and to be cheerfully optimistic while they’re muddling through.

Beyond the big issues addressed, the narrative includes so much about the challenges of everyday life – like finding food to eat abroad and the reality of a woman’s limited options during the war. At one point, Mary is speaking to local girls who are eager to fly for the US Army. She has to pour cold water on their ambitions, and explains that very few female WWII pilots are given international assignments.

As you can imagine, this book contains a few painful stereotypes, outdated gender assignments and less-than-great nomenclature. But these anachronisms became easier to deal with as the sharp edges were sanded down by the understated-yet-mature adult themes interwoven into the story.

The WAFS were a fascinating part of WWII. And you’re not going to believe this, but I also recently acquired a July 1943 issue of Life Magazine with a cover feature article on “Girl Pilots”.
These women trained at Avenger Field near Sweetwater, Texas. The article explained that:

“any girl pilot with 35 hours flying time in light planes, who is between ages of 21 and 34 and has a high school education, is eligible for the Women’ s Flying Training Detachment after passing the regular Army Air Force physical exam and a personal interview test. After assignment to the Avenger Field, new trainee is under Army supervision but remails a civilian. Upon graduation, she is competent to fly in any size Army trainer and has the groundwork for flying fast combat planes.”

There’s plenty of quaint-but-sexist exposition in this article, talking about how the girl pilots are pretty. One can’t help but wonder how few military men in 1943 would have felt comfortable with women officially in the military.

Mirroring one of the events in the Ferry Command book, this issue of Life Magazine coincidentally also has an article on wounded servicemen.

In today’s world, I often get impatient with all my overwhelming problems. You know, like when a video doesn’t load on my laptop properly <grrrrr!>, or when I have to wait in line at the post office (“That’s 10 minutes I’m never getting back.”)  Let me tell you, I feel pretty shallow reflecting on of these WWII folks, especially the “Girl Pilots”, and all how persevered.

Mary Mason of Ferry Command -my new hero!