Dawn Seymour
{{Short description|Airforce Service Pilot during World War II}}
{{Infobox military person
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| name = Dawn Seymour
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| image = File:Defense.gov photo essay 100309-D-0653H-019.jpg
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| caption = Dawn Seymour at a commemorative event
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|07|01}}
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|07|18|1917|07|01}}
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| allegiance = United States
| branch = Women Airforce Service Pilot
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Dawn Seymour (July 1, 1917 - July 18, 2017) was an American pilot and member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II.{{cite web|last1=Sherwood|first1=Julie|title=Trailblazing World War II pilot Dawn Seymour dies at Canandaigua Lake home|url=http://www.mpnnow.com/news/20170723/trailblazing-world-war-ii-pilot-dawn-seymour-dies-at-canandaigua-lake-home|website=MPNnow|accessdate=6 October 2017|language=en}} She would later lobby for military status for the Women Airforce Service Pilots as well as encourage recognition of their contributions to the war effort during World War II.
Early life
Seymour was born in Rochester, New York on July 1, 1917.
She was the first woman accepted into the Civilian Pilot Training Program at Cornell University.{{cite web|url=http://www.mpnnow.com/news/20170723/trailblazing-world-war-ii-pilot-dawn-seymour-dies-at-canandaigua-lake-home|title=Trailblazing World War II pilot Dawn Seymour dies at Canandaigua Lake home|first=Julie|last=Sherwood|publisher=}} In 1939, she earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell.{{cite web|url=http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Nov14/EU.Dawn.Seymour.html|title=Ezra Update: Dawn Seymour '39 took to the skies during WWII|website=ezramagazine.cornell.edu}}
During World War II
During World War II, Seymour was a Women's Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP at Buckingham Air Force Base in Florida.{{cite web|title=Ezra Update: Dawn Seymour '39 took to the skies during WWII|url=http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Nov14/EU.Dawn.Seymour.html|website=ezramagazine.cornell.edu|accessdate=6 October 2017}}{{cite web|title=Woman, 98, who flew B-17s in WWII, to appear at Wis. airshow|url=http://abc7chicago.com/hobbies/woman-98-who-flew-b-17s-in-wwii-to-appear-at-wis-airshow/872371/|website=ABC7 Chicago|accessdate=6 October 2017|date=22 July 2015}}
Later life
She actively campaigned for military status for the Women Airforce Service Pilots.Seymour, Dawn, and Rebecca Wright. Dawn Seymour: Oral History Transcript. Davis, CA: TechniType Transcripts, 1999. Part of the NASA Oral History Project at Cocoa Beach, Florida. {{OCLC|434080212}}
Honors
Her 100th birthday party was celebrated at the opening reception of Women in Aviation International’s 2017 annual conference.{{cite web|title=WAI Celebrates 100th Birthday of WASP Dawn Seymour {{!}} Women in Aviation International|url=https://www.wai.org/media/press-release/2017/02/01/wai-celebrates-100th-birthday-wasp-dawn-seymour|website=www.wai.org|accessdate=6 October 2017|language=en}}
Publications
- Seymour, Dawn, Clarice I. Bergemann, Jeanette J. Jenkins, and Mary Ellen Keil. Women Airforce Service Pilots, WWII: In Memoriam : Thirty-Eight American Women Pilots Gave Their Lives in Performance of Duty with the United States Army Air Forces 1942-1943-1944. Denton, Tex: Texas Woman's University Press, 1996. {{OCLC|34930045}}
Death and legacy
She died aged 100 on July 18, 2017.{{cite web|title=Dawn Seymour Obituary, S. Bristol, NY {{!}} Johnson-Kennedy Funeral Home, Inc., Canandaigua, East Bloomfield, New York|url=http://www.johnsonkennedy.com/obituary/Dawn-Rochow-Seymour/S.-Bristol-NY/1741646|website=www.johnsonkennedy.com|accessdate=6 October 2017}}{{cite web|title=Female World War II pilot recently honored at air show dies at 100|website=CBS News |date=20 July 2017 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dawn-seymour-female-world-war-ii-pilot-dies-at-100/|accessdate=6 October 2017|language=en}}{{cite web|last1=KUCKO|first1=JOHN|title=Remembering WWII veteran Dawn Seymour|url=http://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/local-news/remembering-wwii-veteran-dawn-seymour/770429950|website=ROCHESTERFIRST|accessdate=6 October 2017|date=20 July 2017}}{{cite web|title=Dawn (Rochow) Seymour's Obituary on Rochester Democrat And Chronicle|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?pid=186136880|website=Rochester Democrat And Chronicle|accessdate=6 October 2017}}
References
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External links
- [https://themoth.org/stories/the-boundless-sky The Boundless Sky] by Dawn Seymour. A 97 year old woman describes training young men for WWII combat as a WASP, with Moth Radio Extra: Full interview including photos. Veterans Day Special 2014. The Moth Radio Hour.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Dawn}}
Category:Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Women air force personnel
Category:American women centenarians
Category:Military personnel from Rochester, New York
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