Order of Fifinella & WASP, Inc.

The WASP established the Order of Fifinella, in November of 1944 at Maxwell Air Field, one month before the program was deactivated. The purpose of the organization was to disseminate information about reemployment opportunities, to maintain communication among the WASP, and to form a unified organization to influence legislation and potential employers in aviation. By December 20, 1944, the organization had 300 members and by 1945 there were over 700. Officers were appointed and an advisory council with representatives from all the WASP classes was established. Over time the organization grew in membership, produced bi-annual newsletters, coordinated reunions across the country, and maintained a roster for all its members. In 2008, the last reunion was held in Irving, Texas. By the next year, 2009, the organization had officially dissolved.

“It was “The Order of Fifinella” and Fifinella, of course, was our little good gremlin that took care of us and sat on our wings, supposedly. Walt Disney made the design and we got permission to use it and that’s how we started “The Order of Fifinella.”

~ Faith Buchner Richards, 43-W-4, Oral History