Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots)
  • Location of Service: Sweetwater, Texas; Love Field, Texas; Dallas, Texas

View full service history

"I thought, 'Well, what better way to serve my country than to fly and do the thing that I love most, and I didn’t have to pay for the gas.'" (Audio interview, 0:34)

Post-World War II, many veterans returning home were given a hero’s welcome. But what of those who had served their country proudly, but were not considered veterans? Violet Cowden served with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, a stateside program that enlisted female pilots to ferry supplies cross-country, thus freeing up male pilots for combat roles. For Cowden, serving as a WASP gave her the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying while doing her patriotic duty. As the war wound down and male pilots returned home, the program was discontinued. It would not be until 1977--over thirty years later--that the WASP contributions were recognized by the federal government and they were given official veteran status.

Violet Clara Cowden Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • Violet Clara Cowden Collection

Names

  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Children of the American Revolution/Lt. George Nixon, Sr. Chapter
  • Susan Goodwin
  • Cowden, Violet Clara Thurn
  • Chappel, Owen

State of Birth

  • SD

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Cowden, Violet Clara
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots).

Notes

  • -  The veteran notes that she was born in a farm sod house.

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: Sweetwater, Texas; Love Field, Texas; Dallas, Texas
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1944
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected unknown)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 08/15/2003)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 01/16/2009)
  • Video: Digital File [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/18240

Cite as

  • Violet Clara Cowden Collection (AFC/2001/001/18240), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

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

Recording:

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

Photograph:

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

Computer file:

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

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), 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:

National Court Reporters Association, Sr. Chapter Children Of The American Revolution/Lt. George Nixon, Susan Goodwin, Violet Clara Thurn Cowden, and Owen Chappel. Violet Clara Cowden Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18240/.

APA citation style:

National Court Reporters Association, Children Of The American Revolution/Lt. George Nixon, S. C., Susan Goodwin, Cowden, V. C. T. & Chappel, O. (1943) Violet Clara Cowden Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18240/.

MLA citation style:

National Court Reporters Association, et al. Violet Clara Cowden Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18240/>.