PRESS RELEASE
Iowa veteran and avid cyclist Larry Ritland continues to take on physical challenges while raising awareness of important veteran groups and individuals. Ritland, a Vietnam Veteran and 42-year member of the American Legion, will cycle a route from Iowa to Texas this September in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Ritland will arrive at the National WASP WWII Museum at 5 pm on Saturday, September 28 flanked by local cyclists who will join him for the last leg of the trip. The public is invited to a free celebration in honor of Ritland’s accomplishment. The Texas State Technical College culinary team will supply food and the Museum will host family-fun games. Students are encouraged to bring their bicycles to complete an obstacle course and enjoy face-painting and cornhole.
About Larry Ritland
“Growing up in rural Story County, Iowa, I always had the greatest respect for my older relatives, especially my uncles,” remembers Ritland. “I had five uncles who saw plenty of action during World War II, one didn’t come home. So, every Memorial Day my Dad would make us stop what we were doing on the farm, load up the family car, and travel the dusty gravel roads two and a half miles into little Roland, Iowa, for the annual Memorial Day Parade. It made me so proud to see my uncles in their military uniforms marching with at least 100 other local veterans, all men, down Main Street,” Ritland explains. “At that age it never occurred to me that women had any impact on World War II.”
Nearly four years ago, when the daily mail arrived, there was one piece of mail that caught Ritland’s attention. It was a promotional piece that mentioned a museum in Texas called the National WASP World War II Museum.
“That piece of mail went into a brief history of a program called the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a group of women who flew military aircraft in the states during World War II. Their service would then make more male pilots available to fly combat missions overseas. While I thought I knew a lot about WWII history, I had never heard about the WASP program and had no idea a museum was created to remember their legacy”, Ritland continues.
Ritland and his wife visited the WASP Museum in November of 2022, where he first learned about the 38 women who died. “During the WASP Program nearly 25,000 women applied, only 1,102 would receive their wings,” Ritland said. They were the only World War II unit that flew every type of military aircraft – from bombers like the B-24 Liberator to the latest WWII fighters like the P-51 Mustang – delivered 12,650 aircraft, flying over 60 million miles.”
“Two were from Iowa and I had never heard of them,” said Ritland. Because the government continued to classify the women as civilians the military would not pay for their expenses when one of the women was killed doing their job. Their fellow WASP would often have to take up a collection to return the body home.
“This is what really motivated me to do something to remember these women,” continued Ritland. “I have three daughters and five granddaughters. Their futures have no doubt been brighter, with more opportunities because of the sacrifices these incredible, pioneering women made.”
Ritland’s contribution to the legacy of two fallen Iowans who served in the WASP program, will be to “ride my bicycle, beginning at the grave of Gleanna Roberts (1919 – 1944), Welsh Cemetery, Sharon Center, Iowa, to the grave of Beverly Jean Moses (1922 – 1944), Oakwood Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, Iowa. Even though it has been 80 years ago since they were laid to rest, I want to honor these two women and continue the legacy of all the Women Airforce Service Pilots who served our country.”
Ritland said he plans to leave Welsh Cemetery on his bicycle, Tuesday morning, September 3rd, 2024, spend the night in Montezuma, Iowa, and arrive at the grave of Beverly Jean Moses by late afternoon, the following day.
After spending the night in Des Moines, Ritland will continue his WASP Legacy Ride through southwest Iowa, across the southeast corner of Nebraska, southwest through Kansas and Oklahoma, arriving at the National WASP World War II Museum at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas on Saturday, September 28th.
In Oklahoma, Ritland’s route will take him through the tiny town of Wakita, Oklahoma, where WASP Paula Loop is buried. Paula is one of the 38 women who died while serving with the WASP program in World War II. In July 1944 she was alone, piloting a BT-13 enroute from Enid, Oklahoma to Seattle when she crashed near Medford, Oregon. (Side note: If you are a fan of the original “Twister” movie, starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, many of the scenes were filmed in Wakita. The Twister Museum is located in Wakita as well.)
Ritland plans to finish the ride in 26 days, allowing for a rest day every five days. “Each morning, I will do 19 push-ups and 19 more each evening as a symbolic salute to honor the 38 women who died serving our country. I hope to do the push-ups at a school, city hall, library, or police station in the overnight towns and ask people to join me in the commemoration,” said Ritland.
On his legacy journey Ritland says he will be funding the trip entirely on his own. He is not asking for any donations or sponsors. “While I bicycle from Iowa to Texas, engaging with people about the Women Airforce Service Pilots along the way, my only wish is that patriotic Americans will want to learn more about these amazing women by going to the WASP website at www.waspmuseum.org. Better yet, take a road trip through west Texas and visit the museum. It is easy to reach, just off of I-20, west of Abilene, Texas.”
To join Ritland on any part of his journey contact him at: Larry Ritland, 515 460 3661, [email protected]
You can follow Ritland on his WASP Legacy Ride by going to www.facebook.com/
Related Articles
Angela Decker, from McPherson, Kansas, discovered her passion for aviation after earning a Master’s in Military History from Norwich University in 2011. Since 2012, she has volunteered with vintage aviation groups, excelling as a social media content creator and coordinator. Angela has coordinated aviation and WWII events, appeared as Rosie the Riveter, and is restoring a Stearman aircraft. She is the Operations Logistics Coordinator at CAF Airbase Georgia and an accountant with a degree in Economics from the University of Georgia. Her son, Caden, shares her love for aviation and history and is studying Digital Media Arts.
Be the first to comment
Graphic Design, Branding and Aviation Art