Emily Kline, among a select
group of patriotic women who
flew military aircraft
during World War II, died
Friday. The former Kinnelon
resident was 92.
"At first everybody thought
we were a joke," Mrs. Kline
said in a 2004 interview
with the Star-Ledger. She
was referring to the Women's
Airforce Service Pilots, or
WASPs.
"Eventually we earned the
respect of the people who
mattered: other pilots."
The volunteer WASPs — there
were 1,074 — flew all types
of planes for the Army Air
Forces, filling in stateside
for male pilots sent to
combat. They are considered
pioneers now but were
treated as second-class at
the time. The women stitched
their own uniforms and paid
their own way to training
bases.
Mrs. Kline, then Emily
Porter, learned to fly while
working as a secretary for
Sinclair Flying Service in
Muskegon, Mich. She spent a
good deal of her WASP tenure
as an engineering test pilot
at an Army air base in
Greenville, Miss., said
Nancy Parrish, director of
Wings Across America, a
multimedia and digital
history project devoted to
the WASP. Parrish,
whose mother, Deanie
Parrish, served in
Mississippi with Mrs. Kline,
estimated that 200 to 230
members are still living.
The WASPs gained military
veteran status in 1977 and
were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal in
2010 at the Capitol. Mrs.
Kline attended the ceremony
and displayed her medal in
her living room.
"She was thrilled the WASPs
had finally gotten
recognition from the
government," her son Thomas
said.
Mrs. Kline lived in Kinnelon
for 45 years and worked in
her husband Charles'
marketing consultant firm.
Charles Kline died in 1992.
"At 82, when most people
downsize, Mom decided to
supersize, so she sold her
home in Kinnelon
and purchased a 100-acre
farm in Frelinghuysen
Township," her son said. "In
part, she was trying to get
back to her roots — she grew
up on a farm — but she liked
the open space and
tranquility of Warren
County."
Mrs. Kline managed the
production of hay but
contracted out the heavy
work.
She is survived by her
children, Philip Kline of
Downingtown, Pa., John
Kline of Calgary, Alberta,
Caroline Sassone of
Easton, Pa., and Thomas
Kline of Kinnelon;
a brother, Daniel Porter,
of Bayfield, Colo.; 12
grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren.
___________________
respectfully reposted
1/22/13
___________________
The following addition is
from WASP Betty Turner's
"OUT OF THE BLUE AND INTO
HISTORY"pp. 283, 284.
Emily, in her own words:
"I was born on November 8,
1920, in Polkton Township,
Kent County, Michigan....
It was the Great
Depression. I
graduated from a one-room
schoolhouse, with an
out-door pump and
outhouse. There were eight
in my class; only two went
on to high school.
To hold on to the farm,
all workable members
worked. My brother
was in the CCC, my father
worked for the WPA, and my
mother was a practical
nurse. I was the
oldest child home, thus I
worked for my father doing
chores and fieldwork, and
for my mother, doing house
chores, and proudly made
homemade bread, for four
years."
"After Pearl Harbor, I
volunteered in the motor
pool for the American Red
Cross, and as a Nurses
Aide in St. Mary
Hospital. One day, I
decided to learn to
fly. Perhaps it was
the fellow I was dating,
an Air Force pilot..."
Emily went into the WASP
program on August 7, 1943 as
a member of class
44-W-1. After
graduation, she was assigned
to Greenville Army Air Base
as an engineering test
pilot. While stationed
at Greenville, she had two
temporary assignments: OCS
(Officers Candidate School)
at Orlando, Florida and an
advanced instrument course
taught at Avenger Field,
Texas.
After the WASP were
disbanded, Emily enrolled at
the University of Colorado,
Bolder, where she met Navy
Lieutenant Charles Kline, on
a blind date. Two
years later, they were
married.
After loosing Charlie in
April of 1992, Emily began
volunteer work at her church
and in 1994, for the WASP
organization. She
served as Region 1 Director
1994-1996, Treasurer,
1996-1998 and Secretary
1998-2000.
God bless Emily's family and
all of those who knew her.
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