Quote:
Originally Posted by herr_oberst
Seahawk, that's the face of a mom who couldn't be prouder of a son if that aircraft were full of orphans and puppies that he'd just rescued. Great photo.
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Thank you.
The woman who took the photo was a friend of my moms and a complete piece of work:
Marilynn Riviere.
Blog | Three Runs Plantation: Remembering Aiken's Horsemen | 7/8/2013
She stood 4' 11".
When her debutante days were over and she had finished school (Holton Arms in Washington), Marilynn turned her attention to flying. The nation was in the middle of World War II and she wanted to do her part. She received her private, commercial and her instructor's licenses by 1944. In the spring of that year, her father accompanied her to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she was an instructor at the Van Air Service, a U.S. Army training school. Even when she was a half-country away, the Washington papers followed her career. The headline from a column in the Washington Times-Herald was: "Post-Deb in War: Petite Marilynn Himes Teaches Men to Fly."
When the war was over, Marilynn returned to Washington, bought her own plane (named My Sin) and along with her miniature French poodle Sinner, would take to the skies at a moment's notice. She would often fly to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for a picnic and a swim, and be back in Washington in time for dinner. Rehoboth Beach would play an important part in her life a few years down the road – it was there in 1948 that a helicopter pilot asked if she would like to fly along with him. She did, fell in love with the helicopter and promptly sold her plane. She became one of only nine female helicopter pilots in the country, and the only one with an instructor's rating.
She flew with Hiller and Piasecki. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Piasecki and he could not believe I knew Marilynn.
She loved the SH-60B, wanted a ride, front seat. I wish.