Earning my Wings: A Mormon Woman's Journey to Marine Corps Aviator
  • Reads 11,817
  • Votes 454
  • Parts 16
  • Time 1h 44m
  • Reads 11,817
  • Votes 454
  • Parts 16
  • Time 1h 44m
Complete, First published Apr 22, 2014
I wrote this book primarily for my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, great-great-great… well, you get my drift. 

Having not yet completed my service to the United States Marine Corps, I thought it would be a bit presumptuous to pen my memoirs. That said, my family and friends have always enjoyed hearing my flight stories. So, I dug out some of my old journals and decided that I’d give an accounting of my flight school adventures.

This is by no means representative of everyone’s time in Naval Flight School—this was just my personal experience and point of view on things.  

So, if you’d like to find out how a Utah girl who’d never given any thought to becoming a pilot before, much less touched the controls of the plane, ended up earning her wings of gold, read on.

		Semper Fly,
			Janine K. Spendlove 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From my journal, dated 3 March 2002

On Monday something crazy happened. We were flying our Form Solo. I was “lead” so I named our flight “Vader” flight, cool eh? So anyway I was flying us out to the area (2F) & as soon as I leveled us off @ 6500ft I noticed my oil pressure was dropping. This is bad because if it drops too low your propeller will feather & your plane becomes a glider—basically your engine is worthless. 

I stayed calm & let my flight instructor know about my problem. The instructor in the chase plane sent my wing home & followed me down & made my radio calls for me while I executed my emergency landing at Brewton field. My landing was ugly—but I was nervous. I didn’t break anything & I’m alive. ☺
All Rights Reserved
Sign up to add Earning my Wings: A Mormon Woman's Journey to Marine Corps Aviator to your library and receive updates
or
#248flying
Content Guidelines
You may also like
HAUNTED - A Dark Romance by savshabang
41 parts Ongoing Mature
DANTE When I first laid my eyes on her; she was only eleven, three years younger than me. She was quiet. And pure. But she was troubled, and alone. I could see it behind her eyes; the thin veil that concealed her deepest secrets, faltering every time she looked at me. I knew from that moment on that I would live for her. And she would eventually live for me, too. With or without her blessing. However, circumstances change. And that purity I once relished in; her light in contrast to my darkness, disappeared. But, don't worry my little sinner, I will haunt you. And I won't be as kind this time. EDEN I won't let you scare me. That's what I keep telling myself. And yet, I see you. In every dark corner, in every casting shadow -- I see you when I close my eyes. And I hate myself for it. But I'm older now. Wiser. You took my innocence from me, and while I hate myself for allowing you to, I hate you just that much more. But I won't let you in this time. I don't want your inferno to engulf me anymore, I want to extinguish it. **PLEASE BE WARNED** This book will contain graphic contents, including but not limited to: violence, sexual contents and sensitive subjects. A trigger warning for the following: Domestic Abuse, is heavily advised. There is content advisories for things like; CNC, Stalking, Gore...etc, as well. This book is the first I have ever written, and I want you all to enjoy it as much as I do. Feel free to leave your feedback in the comments, or on my page. With all that said and done, please enjoy. He's waiting for you. Enjoy, Savvy.
Reaper's War (Creed MC Book 1) by Life_Under_The_Stars
35 parts Complete Mature
Have you ever been in love with your best friend? Well, I certainly have. I'm the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. The girl who is an illegitimate child. The girl who is a bastard child. In other words, my mom was a club bunny. The girl who could be anyone's child. When I was just a few months old, she left her old life and started a new one in a new town. My mother met an incredible man. A biker. He had his own son who was a little over a year old. We grew up like siblings. He was my father in my eyes. Events happened that made me leave town at 17. I never thought I would come back to this town after I left almost 6 years ago. But, here I am with my almost 5 year old daughter and son. I thought I could hide the truth. I thought he would never find out. But, hey! When you're in a small town, people talk. And so they did. My son is a spitting image of their father. So, when he came barging through my bar and walking out the back door towards my house. I couldn't hide it anymore. Our children were out in the yard playing for fuck's sake. "Is it true?" "Is what true?" "They're mine aren't they?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "He fucking looks like me McKenzie!" "I..." Tears began to fall from my eyes like the raining falling out the sky. There's no point in lying and trying to hide it anymore. "Were you ever going to tell me?" "No." He turned on his heels and stormed off towards his Harley FXDR 114. He never looked back. And I never blamed him. How could I? I destroyed the man I loved since we were children once again. I slumped to the ground in defeat. Tears falling freely down my face. I felt little hands wipe my tears on my stained cheeks. "It's okay mommy. I caught your raindrops." Started: 9/21/22 Finished: 12/1/22 Edited: 5/21/23-5/22/23
Stuck with the Bad Boy  |  ✔️ by d_arkening
29 parts Complete
COMPLETED, CURRENTLY EDITING/PARTIALLY REWRITING (please excuse the mess. Some of the plot is being changed so there might be a few areas that get confusing, nothing too much though) Funny how life decides to act like a roller coaster. The ups and down come in a split second. You can't decide whether you want fast or slow. Dangerous or steady. But you don't get a choice. You go with the flow. No matter what. I'm Phoenix Wood, the misfit, and outcast of my town. Instead of a roller coaster my life's more like a train wreck. My adventure loving parents were lost at sea and I was left to my aunt Clare Small. Like I said, train wreck... Not roller coaster, TRAIN WRECK. Not to mention the fact that I end up stuck with the bad boy. Could it get any worse? Secrets unravel and life gets a bit more complicated that it used to be. But it must go on. She's stuck with the bad boy. Or is it the other way around? Maybe he's stuck with the bad Girl... * WARNING: this book is my first work, it'll be a bit rough at the start and sometimes I'll accidentally mess up the story line or it will seem ridiculously stupid, so read at your own risk (I will admit, this book is like my baby, so please be kind when correcting my errors). It gets much better about half way through. If you'd like to read a book of mine that is much better written, go to my profile and find the book Breathe Me. Thanks! (Seriously though, there's a TON of mistakes, some made because I'm currently editing, so the story line could get confusing in some places) Originally published: 2 / 13 / 2014 Completed: 1 / 9 / 2017 Finished Editing: (Not finished yet) Highest rank: #303 in Teen Fiction (1-10-2017)
Appetizer ( wattpadprize14 ) by michelebaci
10 parts Complete
I’m not a fighter in the traditional sense. I will suffer first, and sort out the pain later. But I don’t give up. I grew up in a bubble of privilege, while all I’ve ever wanted to do was live underground. Everything started early. The name-calling pushed me into becoming anti-social. I spoke exclusively to my worst best friend and the alternate persona in my head. I spent years like this, feeling completely alone. I convinced myself that I didn’t need other people. I would become smarter than them, reading and studying. I would find my own fun, watching late night TV and going to concerts. I wasn’t just sad. I was depressed. And the reason seemed insignificant. It all started over the loss of some playground boyfriend. I tried to be anorexic, but instead I wound up eating more. I wanted to stay asleep and avoid the tragedy that replayed in my head everyday. I was sick of the world I was in. I wanted to commit suicide. One day I heard a song on the radio that introduced me to a new genre of music. It was an electric shock to my system, and suddenly I had a reason to go on living. I discovered that melancholy was perfectly normal. I understood that I had the power to change things, and navigate my own future. Appetizer is a memoir of extreme social anxiety. It is approximately 350 pages (78,700 words). I have also written an extensive outline, detailing each chapter. Appetizer chronicles the anguish that many have experienced growing up, while emphasizing the importance of never giving up hope. The story offers solutions in not being able to relate to your peers, or anybody else for that matter. By reading Appetizer, I hope to help people feel less alone, and gain a more empathic understanding of humanity as a whole.
Mil SO (Military Significant Other) by CaylahWest
39 parts Complete
My chest hurt as an empty feeling rushed over me. My breathing picked up as I clutched my chest. It was painful but yet, oh so familiar. Black dots swam in my vision as my heart beat wildly. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. Panic attacks weren't uncommon for me. I'd had them ever since the accident. I felt the tears roll down my cheeks as my face heated. It was getting harder to breath. It felt like the walls were closing in around me, and the oxygen was being sucked out of the room. "Iris! Calm down. You have to calm down," a voice sounded from a distance. It was too late; I was in full panic attack mode. My body shook as I sobbed in gasps. I felt hands on my arms but barely. I was too far-gone. The black dots increased as my breathing did. I'd done this too many times to know what was coming next. I hyperventilated until I passed out completely. ~ After a traumatic event that led to her family's death, Iris moves with her Aunt to California to try and start over. Iris Morgan grew up a military brat. With her dad in the Marines, she grew accustomed to that lifestyle, until she was ripped from it. Now she has to be the new girl all over again. Only this time, she has to keep her PTSD in check as well as survive a high school full of teen celebrites, cute boys, and around the clock drama. All Iris has to do is survive two years until graduation, but what comes after graduation may prove to be more difficult than high school itself.
You may also like
Slide 1 of 10
Aspen Falls cover
A Slayer With Wings cover
Finding Happiness (Book 1 comes before and ties in to You Series) cover
HAUNTED - A Dark Romance cover
Reaper's War (Creed MC Book 1) cover
Stuck with the Bad Boy  |  ✔️ cover
Appetizer ( wattpadprize14 ) cover
Fly Away - a fighter pilot story cover
Mil SO (Military Significant Other) cover
The long hard road to hell and back: autobiography |complete and amazon cover

Aspen Falls

73 parts Complete Mature

Aspen Carlee Ellington. "Beau's Girl" That's how I've been known since the 10th grade. Every time I looked into the future...whether it was an hour, a day or years ahead of me...that's all I saw. Me and him. Just like I'd always seen. I had no doubt it would be us. The one day I turned into a real fucking girl and voiced some feelings and watched him walk out of my life to go on some deployment I couldn't know the details of. My heart had a sinking feeling that I would never see him again. Now I'm 22 and it's two years later he's standing in my backyard with my brothers back from some godforsaken place...and yes. I'm still 100% his. Will this Christmas bring me a happily ever after? Beau Remington Brighton Every day I wake up and remember the most beautiful sexy girl I'd ever have the pleasure of knowing. Every day I find a way to torture myself to the brink of mental or physical death for shattering her. Fast forward two years, I'm standing in her backyard with her older brothers not knowing if she'll even acknowledge my existence. But fuck me...she's even more gorgeous than I remembered and I swear before Christmas is over, I'll have made her broken heart whole and she'll be mine. Aspen is a 21 year old dessert maker. Beau is a 28 year old Navy SEAL. Between ghosts from their pasts and dangers of their future...broken promises, broken dreams and broken hearts...can these two fix a love that was broken?