She Vanished In 1944 After Taking Off In Los Angeles, Becoming The Only WASP Pilot To Ever Disappear During WWII
During World War II, Gertrude Thompkins Silver joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She was mainly tasked with aiding the transport of planes from different bases throughout the United States.
In addition to ferrying the aircrafts, her specific sector was also dedicated to training pilots and testing plans. And the entire branch was made up of all women– allowing male pilots to fly overseas and take on combat roles.
Despite remaining in the continental U.S., however, the WASPs had the exact same responsibilities and training as male pilots during the 1940s. But, it was not until 1977 that they were officially recognized as veterans.
This meant that the WASPs’ contributions and sacrifices went largely unrecognized until former President Obama awarded Congressional Medals of Honor in 2009 to commemorate the WASPs’ war effort contributions.
The Disappearance Of Gertrude Thompkins Silver
While growing up in Pennsylvania, Gertrude was known to be quiet and shy. But, after she began dating her boyfriend Stanley Kolendorski, he sparked her interest in the aviation world.
Stanley had flown for the Royal Air Force during World War II. Tragically, though, Nazi forces shot down his plan, and he was killed.
But, this devastating loss only fueled Gertrude’s fire, and she wound up enrolling in the WASPs– the only military branch she was allowed to enlist in at the time.
Gertrude suffered from a debilitating stutter. However, while flying, she tried her hardest to mask it.
Justin – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
And once she piloted a P-51 Mustang for the very first time, she reportedly never stuttered again.
Gertrude was a dedicated pilot who worked hard to climb the ranks. She even landed a spot attending the Advanced Pursuit School, beating out a pool of 126 applicants.
While there, Gertrude wound up meeting an Army Technical Sergeant named Henry Silver.
They quickly got engaged and wed, apparently, because Henry was working to adopt a child that his sister had birthed out of wedlock.
After tying the knot, however, Gertrude did not change her surname or even wear her wedding ring while on base.
This was due to the fact that marriage among WASPs in active service was frowned upon. That’s why she tried her hardest to keep their nuptials a secret.
Following Gertrude and Henry’s wedding in September 1944, though, the pair tragically never saw each other ever again.
On the day of Gertrude’s disappearance, she and her fellow pilots were briefed on their flights. She was supposed to fly a P-51D Mustang from Los Angeles to a Coolidge, Arizona, base.
The pilots were all instructed to depart at a specific time, too, in order to avoid having to fly at night. Otherwise, the pilots would be forced to stop in Palm Springs.
But Gertrude’s aircraft had a bent door that required repair, meaning that she was actually the last pilot to leave the base.
Afterward, there was reportedly a domino effect of unfortunate events. Although the most significant one was a misreported weather forecast that failed to mention there would be blinding fog over the bay.
Gertrude’s takeoff and landing paperwork were also misreported. So, she was not reported missing until three days after she actually disappeared.
And once a search crew was finally deployed to look for Gertrude, they were unable to find any evidence of her aircraft at sea, on land, in the mountains, or anywhere in the Palm Springs vicinity.
To this day, no trace of Gertrude has ever been uncovered, and her disappearance remains a mystery.
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