Of the 38 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) confirmed or presumed
dead in World War II, only one--Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins--is still
missing. On October 26, 1944, the 32-year-old fighter plane pilot lifted
off from Mines Field in Los Angeles. She was never seen again.
Seized by the Sun is the story of a remarkable woman who overcame a
troubled childhood and the societal constraints of her time to find her
calling flying the fastest and most powerful airplane of World War II.
It is also a compelling unsolved mystery.
Born in 1912 to a wealthy New Jersey family, Gertrude's childhood was
marked by her mother's bouts with depression and her father's relentless
search for a cure for the debilitating stutter that afflicted Gertrude
throughout her life. Teased and struggling in school, young Gertrude
retreated to a solitary existence. As a young woman she dabbled in
raising goats and aimlessly crisscrossed the globe in an attempt to
discover her purpose.
As war loomed in Europe, Gertrude met the love of her life, a Royal Air
Force pilot who was killed flying over Holland. Telling her sister that
she "couldn't stop crying, so she focused on learning to fly," Gertrude
applied to join the newly formed Women's Air Force Service Pilots. She
went on to become such a superior pilot that she was one of only 126
WASPs selected to fly fighter planes. After her first flight in the
powerful P-51 Mustang, her stutter left her for good.
Gertrude's sudden disappearance remains a mystery to this day.
Award-winning author Jim Ure leads readers through Gertrude's
fascinating life; provides a detailed account of the WASPs' daily
routines, training, and challenges; and describes the ongoing search for
Gertrude's wreck and remains. The result of years of research and
interviews with Gertrude's family, friends, and fellow WASPs, Seized by
the Sun is an invaluable addition to any student's or history buff's
bookshelf.
