User:Michy099/Betty tackaberry blake

Article Edit Betty Tackaberry Blake
She witnessed the December 7, 1941 Japanese Imperial Navy sneak attack on Pearl Harbor from her family's home overlooking the harbor. She had been scheduled to fly that morning, but her passenger had cancelled the day before. Betty's fiancé, Robert Tackaberry, was a naval ensign assigned to the USS California, but was with Betty at the time it was sunk. Betty's father helped Tackaberry get back to his ship, though they had to hide in the Pearl Harbor gatehouse until the second raid ended. Tackaberry and Betty were later married by the navy chaplain who penned "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition", a popular wartime phrase/song. A few months after the Pearl Harbor attack, she was recruited by Jackie Cochran into the effort to form the WASPs. Betty was initially turned down for training because of lack of flying hours. During her service, she flew all types of fighters, bombers, and other aircraft from factories to the East Coast for trans-Atlantic delivery, 36 types of aircraft in all. She said her favorite aircraft was the North American P-51 Mustang.