[1][6] James was the first woman flight instructor to graduate from the Buffalo Aeronautical Institute.

[1] Three months after she was married, she was invited to join the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS).

[1] James received a telegram on September 9, 1942, requesting that she report to the New Castle Army Air Base.

[8] James' husband was also called to the war effort and was sent overseas to work as a bomber pilot.

[3] James wouldn't learn the full story of Martin's death until 1984, when she met the twin sons of the man who pulled his body out of the plane wreckage.

[10] James passed her flying and physical tests for the WAFS and was sworn in on October 6, 1942.

[1] James stayed with the WAFS as they were merged to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and until the organization was disbanded on December 20, 1944.

[8] After WASP was discontinued, James returned to Pittsburgh and found that there were not very many opportunities for women pilots any longer.

[2] When the Grumman corporation heard her say in a CBS documentary about the Air Force, Top Flight, that the only thing she hadn't flown was a jet, the company arranged for her to fly an F-14.