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“Once I answered the phone, there was no escape,” Shaw recalled. “Even though the airport was closed, as soon as the runways are inspected, the planes will be full of people wanting out of California, they said. But the Bay Bridge is closed because of severe damage, I again pleaded. “’Drive down under the bottom of the Bay Bridge and return to the airport by way of Highway 101,’ was the response. ‘When you get here, you will be given an assignment,’ they said. There was no escape from TWA scheduling.” In bringing this part of her career full circle, Shaw’s youngest daughter Susan wrote an essay while in college interviewing someone in the workforce. Susan chose her mother. “After the professor read Susan’s paper, the class spent an additional two periods in discussion of discrimination,” Shaw said. “The professor wanted Susan to publish the paper as almost no one knew about that discrimination in today’s world.” Shaw knew. And she not only survived but thrived in her career as a flight attendant.
• Transport Army soldiers to Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam and pick up other soldiers who were returning home. • Reverse the route, to Okinawa, Honolulu, Travis and San Francisco. “Approaching the Vietnam air base, we’d always ask soldiers to lower their window shades,” Shaw remembered. “Many GIs thought it was because it was so horrible on the ground that we didn’t want them to see it so soon. The real reason the shades were lowered was because it was so hot outside, and we didn’t want the airplane to get any hotter as we sat on the ground.” In Okinawa, Shaw would sometimes drop off one of her husband’s suits to be copied by skilled tailors. She would pick up the finished suit on the return trip. But there was also the reality of the work they were doing in a war zone. “I remember one time looking out the window on a beautiful sunny day as we were approaching the airport in Vietnam. I noticed a little village with a pretty church in the middle,” Shaw recounted. “Where were the people, I
the use of the long runway. The answer was no as President [Lyndon] Johnson was landing that afternoon and the long runway had to be secured. “We ended up landing with the captain looking out the side window because the front windshield of the plane had thousands of cracks in it. Luckily, there was enough hydraulic fluid remaining to stop the plane on the short runway.” No escape from scheduling Baseball’s 1989 World Series is best remembered for the earthquake before Game 3 that put the Bay Area battle between San Francisco and Oakland on hold. Shaw had a dental appointment in the Bay Area at the game time of 5 p.m. “BOOM! It started shaking!” she exclaimed. “Of course, the dentists and I stood in the doorway, which is the strongest place in a building. I was hesitant to resume the drilling after the shaking stopped.” The damage and destruction didn’t deter a telephone call from TWA scheduling.
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wondered? Then in an instant, I saw the entire village explode in flames.” In an article for the TWA Retired Pilots Association magazine, she wrote about her final flight (she was pregnant and knew she was going to lose her job) for the Military Air Command. “About three hours out of Okinawa, the captain asked me for my lipstick. It was then I noticed the windshield of the airplane was developing cracks. The pilot rubbed my lipstick on the glass, trying to see if the cracks were on the inside or outside pane of the shattering glass. “Shortly after that, I was told that the dials “Supposedly, there was a black book with all the mothers’ names in it. I never saw it. But many times, I did see the effect of the hate that was spread.” MARY ANN SHAW
were showing we were losing hydraulic fluid. At this point, the pilots instructed the hostesses to put on our oxygen bottles. Our poor GI passengers — they had survived Vietnam and now this!” She continued, “We flew low in case the windshield blew in. When we were close to Hawaii, the captain radioed the tower requesting
Shut down: 2001
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InMaricopa.com | April 2024
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April 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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