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What's in a name? (Proud of those kids!)

videobobk

Well Known Member
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Tonight the kids building an RV-12 at Columbus North HS (Indiana) picked a name for their plane. It will be known as "Jeanne," named for a Columbus graduate, Jeanne Lewellen Norbeck. She took flying lessons while in her senior year of HS.

Jeanne, born in 1912, went from Columbus to graduate with honors from Washington State. In 1941, while working as a swimming instructor in Honolulu, she watched as Pearl Harbor was bombed. This inspired her to join the WASP.

She was working as a test pilot when a red lined (previously grounded for control problems) BT-13 she was evaluating came apart on final. She was killed. She is the only civilian woman we know of that was given a military escort and funeral. She has been honored many times, but one more certainly won't hurt. I know her nephew, who was 13 when she was killed (1944.) I expect he will be thrilled.

We often lament our younger generation, and how little they seem to relate to our history and heritage. It isn't always true. AviationNation attempts to work some history into our build projects, and it must work. I was proud to see these kids discuss the naming of the plane, and agree on "Jeanne." There is a lot on the web about her, and googling the name brings up some interesting reading. It would be worth a few minutes of your time.

Bob
 
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