Teacher’s Guide to Student Worksheet 1--Making a Memorial

The Story of Helen Richey and Women in the War

  1. To whom are you going to dedicate your memorial?

To a person: Helen Richey

To a group: Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)

  1. What important contribution did this person or group make to the war effort?

Helen Richey joined the British Air Transport Auxiliary where she led the American division in shuttling new aircrafts and equipment to air bases. She returned to America and continued her service flying as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). By the end of the war, she had obtained rank of major. She also earned the distinction of being the first female pilot instructor to train army pilots.

The Women Airforce Service Pilots contributed a valuable service to help the United States and its allies win World War II. They ferried bombs and equipment from factories to airforce bases. By late 1944, over 1,000 women pilots had risked their lives on missions to make sure equipment was available and ready for our soldiers.

  1. What kind of memorial are you going to make? (Think about options from Student Handout 2-Types of Memorials.)

Be open to a variety of responses as long as the student can satisfactorily answer the second part of this question. Here are some possible examples of memorials:

  • a monument of Helen Richey flying in a plane
  • a memorial fund to help women realize their dream to fly
  • a memorial wall at an airport remembering Helen Richey and the other women who gave their service as a WASP in World War II
  • an airfield dedicated in honor of Helen Richey
  • a memorial trophy awarded to a woman who graduates flight school with honors and hopes to become a fight instructor

Explain why you chose this type of memorial. How is it appropriate for the person/group you are honoring?

Below are sample responses based on the examples given:

  • We chose a monument of Helen flying because that is what she loved doing and how she contributed to the war effort.
  • We chose a memorial fund to help women finance (pay for) flight school. This is an appropriate way to honor Helen Richey because we are making it easier for women to fulfill their dreams to fly. Since Helen Richey had a difficult time realizing her career as an early aviatrix, we think removing any barriers to women in this field would honor her.
  • We chose a memorial wall because it will identify by name the women who served as WASPs during World War II. By writing their names we are both remembering and honoring their service.
  • We chose an airfield dedicated to Helen Richey because that is where she delivered war equipment and where she began and ended her record flights.
  • We chose a memorial trophy to celebrate the skill Helen Richey possessed and to encourage and inspire women today to live up to her legacy of good flying.
  1. What is the purpose of your memorial? Does the design of your memorial serve your purpose? Explain.

Purposes include: to inform, to remember, to honor, to grieve, to heal, to celebrate. . .

  • The purpose of our monument is to inform the public, to remember, and to honor Helen Richey. By having the monument in a public place, people will come to examine it. They will learn about Helen Richey with a plaque of life achievements included at the base. Our design of Helen Richey in flight will help the public understand her contribution, as well as remember her the way we think she would like to be remembered (flying).
  • The purpose of the memorial fund is to honor Helen Richey and to “heal” her difficult career experience by actively seeking to help women who wish to fly today. The design of our fund achieves our purpose by removing any monetary barriers that may stand in the way of a woman achieving her dream to fly.
  • The purpose of our WASP memorial wall is to identify, to reflect, and to pay tribute to their war service. By writing their names we are both remembering and honoring their service. Seeing their names all together will show the scale of the number of women who risked their lives as WASPs during World War II. Placing the wall in an airport lobby, where people usually have some time to wait, will add to the ability to reflect upon these women’s feats.
  • The purpose of dedicating an airfield to Helen Richey is to honor and to remember her accomplishments in her “field of flight”. The dedication ceremony will accomplish this by giving Helen the appropriate recognition she never received when she was alive from male colleagues. Male pilots and air force representatives will sing her praises.
  • The purpose of our memorial trophy is to celebrate the skill Helen Richey possessed and to encourage and inspire women today to live up to her legacy of good flying. The design of the trophy will be well made (perhaps made with marble at the base and silver wings atop). The important aspect will be the prestige it carries with it to the person receiving it.
  1. Where is your memorial going to be placed?

Possible responses: an airport lobby; an aviator museum; Helen’s hometown of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; an air force base; the mantle of a prestigious flight school; added to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.; town park; etc.

  1. Draw and/or describe your memorial.

Allow for creativity with drawing and look for detail that supports memorial purpose. If students are creating a monument, remind them to include inscriptions. If students have chosen a memorial that is less visual in format (a memorial fund, for example), have them concentrate on the written description.

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Teacher’s Guide to Student Worksheet 1--Making a Memorial

The Story of Daisy Lampkin and African Americans in the War

  1. To whom are you going to dedicate your memorial?

To a person: Daisy Lampkin

To a group: African-American service in World War II

  1. What important contribution did this person or group make to the war effort?

Daisy Lampkin fought for equal rights for African Americans and raised money to support the war. She was the National Field Secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She raised over 2 million dollars worth of Liberty bonds to help with the war. In addition, she was the Vice President of the Pittsburgh Courier, an influential African American newspaper, which encouraged African Americans to fight now in order to win freedoms at home later. (This was called the “Double V” Campaign—Victory Abroad, Victory at Home.) In 1945 she was voted NAACP’s “Woman of the Year.”

African Americans who served during World War II often faced discrimination within the military in addition to the tough fighting conditions of war and the enemy. To the African Americans who fought bravely in all services—Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy--despite these conditions, the nation owes them a debt of thanks.

  1. What kind of memorial are you going to make? (Think about options from Student Handout 2-Types of Memorials.)

Be open to a variety of responses as long as the student can satisfactorily answer the second part of this question. Here are some possible examples of memorials:

  • A monument of Daisy Lampkin raising war bonds
  • A memorial museum featuring African-American service in World War II
  • A memorial speech to honor African-American service men to be read during Memorial Day
  • Daisy Lampkin memorial fund for projects that treat racism at home as well as insure international justice.
  • “Above and Beyond” medal
  • Monument showing African-Americans in various capacities during the war: Daisy Lampkin (selling war bonds), Dorie Miller (a Navy-Cross recipient), a marine, a conscientious objector

Explain why you chose this type of memorial. How is it appropriate for the person/group you are honoring?

Below are sample responses based on the examples given:

  • We chose a monument of Daisy Lampkin selling war bonds to honor her organizational skills on the homefront.
  • We chose a memorial museum to show African-American service during the war through the stories of material artifacts and exhibits featuring outstanding individual or group service.
  • We chose a memorial speech on Memorial Day because this is the day the nation pauses to remember all those who have died fighting for our nation.
  • We chose a memorial fund for projects of equality and justice that are both domestic and international in scope because that is what Daisy did.
  • We chose a medal to recognize and celebrate how African-Americans in war often went “above and beyond” the call of duty: be it Daisy Lampkin or Dorie Miller.
  • We chose a monument showing a collage of African Americans during the war to celebrate their individual service and choices.
  1. What is the purpose of your memorial? Does the design of your memorial serve your purpose? Explain.

Purposes include: to inform, to remember, to honor, to grieve, to heal, to celebrate. . .

  • The purpose of our monument of Daisy Lampkin is to honor her leadership and organizational skills on the homefront. One of the ways she showed these skills during the war was in her success with selling $2 million worth of war bonds.
  • The purpose of the memorial museum is to educate, to remember, and to honor African-American service during the war. The museum will do this through the stories of material artifacts and exhibits featuring outstanding individual or group service.
  • The purpose of our memorial speech is to remember and honor the service of African Americans during the war, to grieve their loss of life, and to celebrate the character which they displayed.
  • The purpose of the memorial fund is to put aside money for projects of equality and justice (issues about which Daisy cared and for which she raised money). The design of the project (to balance domestic and international peace) was something Daisy was facing during the World War II.
  • The purpose of the medal is to recognize and celebrate how African-Americans in war often went “above and beyond” the call of duty: be it Daisy Lampkin or Dorie Miller. The medal can be awarded to an African-American who today goes “above and beyond” his/her “call of duty.”
  • The purpose of our monument is to remember and to respect the variety of African American perspectives about World War II—those who served and those who chose not to.
  1. Where is your memorial going to be placed?

Possibilities include: in Philadelphia (where Daisy lived); in our country’s capital-Washington, D.C.; fund to be given to the NAACP to distribute; monument to viewed in town park; speech to be placed in the hands of our president to read; etc.

  1. Draw and/or describe your memorial.

Allow for creativity with drawing and look for detail that supports memorial purpose.

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