[Clipping: Pilot Lands Meeting With Janet Reno] Part: 1 of 2
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DAILY OKLAHOMAN/OKLAHOMA CITY TIMES
Pilot Lands Meeting
With Janet RenoBy Leonard Jackson
Special Correspondent
When Charlyne Cre-
ger answered the tele-
phone in her Shreve-
rt home recently, a
ice said: "This is
net Reno."
"I beg your pardon,"
she responded.
"Yes, Charlyne, this
is Janet Reno," the
caller said.
Creger, a native
Oklahoman and for-
mer Norman resident,hasn't spent more
than half a century as
a WASP pilot, nurse
anesthetist, world
traveler and a few oth-
er occupations with-
out acquiring a
healthy degree of
skepticism.
She changed her
tune, of course, on as-
surances that the cal-
ler was, indeed, the at-
torney general of the
United States.
Creger shouldn'thave been too sur-
prised. The reason for
the call has to do with
her helping to raised
money for the Women
in Military Service for
America Memorial
and her plan to attend
its dedication next
month in Washington.
Her niece, Shelley
Carter, a young Baton
Rouge attorney, will
be going with her and
Creger wants her to
meet Reno. One of her
WASP buddies from
World War II days is
the attorney general's
aunt, Winifred Wood.
Creger called on her
for help.
"Aunt Winnie said
you want to bring
your niece to meet
me," Reno said.
It worked out fine.
Reno's staff made ar-
rangements to pick up
Creger and her niece
Oct. 16 and take them
to the attorney gener-
al's office for a visit
and a photograph, to
be hung in Carter's
law office with a nota-
tion "The Buck Stops
Here."
Creger has been do-
ing unusual things all
her life. Born in No-
ble, she grew up in
Norman and had her
first airplane ride
with Wiley Post dur-
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days. A bread compa-
ny promotion dropped
bread wrappers from
the sky. If you collect-
ed a certain number
and took them to a
landing field north of
Norman, you could fly
with Post, Creger re-
called.
The heady experi-
ence stirred in her a
passion for flying that
prompted Creger to
take lessons from the
Lloyd Catlin flight
service.
"We were across the
road from Tinker
Field and had to
dodge P-38s taking off
and landing," she
said.
Creger worked the
night shift at the
Douglas Aircraft Plant
so she could take the
lessons in the day-
time. She earned her
pilot's license in 1943.
In March 1944, she
was one of 28 Oklaho-
ma women, most of
them trained by Cat-
lin, who were accept-
ed in an experimental
program, Women Air-
force Service Pilots,
or "WASP." She
served until the pro-
gram was deactivated
in December 1944.
After her WASP ser-
vice, Creger worked
for a salvage company
in Oklahoma City, fly-
ing aircraft that were
being auctioned from
Arkansas to Nevada.
From 1947 to 1950, she-Photos Provided
Charlyne Creger, who served in the Women
Airforce Service Pilots program begun in
March 1944, will go to Washington in October
for the dedication of the Women in Military
Service for America Memorial. The former Nor-man resident is shown
and in 1995.
attended nurse train-
ing by scholarship at
Hermann Hospital in
Houston.
She became an Air
Force nurse during
the Korean conflict
and served from 1951
to 1952, when she was
injured and medically
discharged. She also
holds a bachelor of
science degree from
Northwestern State
University.
On May Day 1990,
Creger was one of
three WASPs honored
in Moscow's Red
Square, with Nadya
Popova, Russia's most
decorated World War
II woman pilot, a
member of the "Night
Witches."
Her career has in-
cluded work as assis-
tant director, Shrin-
er's Hospital,
Shreveport; anesthe-
sia training, Baylor
Hospital, Dallas; anes-
thetist for emergen-
cies at LSU Medical
Center, and chief
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In recent years she
found time to wori.
with a travel agency.
taking tours to China
and other far-off plac-
es.
At present. she is a
field representative
for Women in Mili-
tary Service of Ameri-
ca (WIMSA), raising
money for the memo-
rial, the dedication of
which will take her
and her niece to
Washington.
At age 70. Creger
parasailed over Aca-
pulco Bay, which, con-
sidering her other ac-
tivities, shouldn't
shock anyone.
Of the 1,830 women
who entered WASP
training, 1,074 were
graduated. Creger
said.
The others from
Oklahoma include:
Adaline Adams, Betty
Briscoe, Mary Burks.
Ida Carter, Virginia
Disney, Lillian Dixon,
Virginia Eatherton
Grace Fender, Eliza
beth Gibson, Lela Har-
ding, Barbara Her-
shey, Mary Jones,
Ruth Craig Jones, and
Margaret Kerr, niece
of then-Gov. Robert S.
Kerr.
Also: Paula Loop,
Vada Lum, Wynema
Masonhall, Elizabeth
Murphy, Mary Quin-
lan, Betty Riddle, Del-
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Smith, Lois Splinter.
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Jackson, Leonard. [Clipping: Pilot Lands Meeting With Janet Reno], clipping, September 19, 1997; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1164409/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.