HomeMy WebLinkAboutWWII Prog StricklandOLA PAULINE ADAMS STRICKLAND
Home Front - Link Training Instructor
Pauline had never even flown in a plane, much less ever had any training in flight.
Even before the United States formally entered World War II, Terrell, Texas was involved with the Lend-Lease Agreement with Great Britain. A British Flight Training School was set up
in Terrell and began training cadets for the British Air Force, the RAF, in August 1941. There is an RAF section in the cemetery in Terrell for those students who were killed while in
training. As one can tell, this was a few months before Pearl Harbor and the formal entrance of the United States into WWII.
Pauline Adams Strickland was hired, probably about 1943, as a Link Training instructor. To the best of my knowledge, she had never even flown in a plane, much less ever had any training
in flight. Her son states that she did go up in an airplane every once in while and that the instructor pilot would let her "take the stick and fly some".
After the boys graduated and left to return to England and combat duty, she would try to keep up with her students as much as possible. I remember that she kept a list of all her students
and would go over it from time to time and silently, or in a low tone, wonder about her boys.
While still in training, one of her students did have to bail out at night somewhere around Greenville, just north of Terrell. He parachuted out safely but got caught in a tree. In the
darkness and not knowing how high he might be dangling, he remained in his parachute all night. As it was getting light, he found that he was about 2 feet off the ground.
By any definition, my sister, Pauline, was an active participant in supporting World War II on the home front. And she too was a member of "The Greatest Generation" as described in the
book by Tom Brokaw.
Billy Joe Adams
US Army (retired)
2nd Lt. - Major
College Station, Texas
WWII Prog Strickland