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Margaret Ringenberg [2004]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots)
  • Location of Service: Wilmington, Delaware
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/54281

View full service history

"I've been asked, 'How long are you are going to fly?' and I say, 'As long as I can get in and out of the airplane.'" (Video Interview, 1:39:01)

Margaret Ringenberg grew up on an Indiana farm in the 1920s and 30s, so isolated from the world that she'd never heard of Amelia Earhart. But she was interested in flying. Her modest ambition was to become a flight attendant, but she soon set her sights higher. The Civil Air Patrol trained her as a flyer, and the WASP accepted her as part of their fifth class, the first to train solely at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Once she had her wings, she was based out of Wilmington, Delaware, ferrying planes during the war. "Not content to sit at home" after the WASP were disbanded, Ringenberg kept on flying, managing to pull off her first around-the-world flight at the age of 72.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Margaret Ray Ringenberg Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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[ Biographical information ]

About this Item

Title

  • Margaret Ray Ringenberg Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Brunson, Joe
  • Ringenberg, Margaret Ray

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Ringenberg, Margaret Ray
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots).

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots)
    • Location of Service: Wilmington, Delaware
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1944
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-19; 1999-12-31)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-19)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/54281

Online Format

  • online text
  • image
  • audio
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lugar, Richard, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Joe Brunson, and Margaret Ray Ringenberg. Margaret Ray Ringenberg Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54281/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Brunson, J. & Ringenberg, M. R. (1943) Margaret Ray Ringenberg Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54281/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Margaret Ray Ringenberg Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54281/>.