. >> betty ryan wolf of 1935 -- >> '36. >> burden of proof? '36. >> you have the experts here. >> she became a pilot and enlisted or tried to enlist in the navy when the war broke out as a pilot. was naturally refused. she then spent the war in pensacola teaching male pilots celestial navigation. that's a very good point. "the mercury 13" were too young to participate in any way in the national effort in world war ii, too old to be part of sally ride's generation. they were squeezed right in the middle there. they looked to women like the alum you mentioned as the shoulders they stood on. particularly point to the wasps, women's air force pilots of world war ii, who ferry planes domestically. without their efforts they wouldn't have been able to start rattling that door a little bit. well, i think that just about does it. i'd like to thank you all once again for coming. it's been a real pleasure. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> next week on history book shelf, brotherhood of the bomb, tangled lives and loyalties of robert oppenheimer, ern

betty ryan, class of 1935 at mount holyoke. she became a pilot and e navy when the war broke out as a pilot, was naturally refused. she then spent the war in pensacola, teaching male pilots celestial navigation. >> that's a very good point. the mercury 13 were too young to participate in any way in the national effort in world war ii. too old to be part of sally ride's generation, they were squeezed right in the middle there. they looked to women like the mount holyoke alum that you mentioned as the shoulders that they stood on, particularly point to the wasp, the women air service pilots of world war ii, as being the women who ferried the planes domestically and without their efforts, they think that they wouldn't have been able to start rattling that door a little bit. >> well, i think that just about does it. i'd like to thank you all once again for coming. it's been a real pleasure. thank you very much.