Emma Jane "Windy" Burrows was born in 1922. Her father was August Christopher Burrows (1896-1950)
Jane was married to Artis Lee Windham (1917-1975)
Jane Windham enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in late 1943.
Before joining the Women’s Army Corps (WAC)[1], Private First Class Emma Jane Burrows Windham majored in aeronautical engineering at the University of California, held a civilian pilot's license, and was credited with 349 flying hours. She was the Director of Flying for the New Mexico Wing of Women Flyers when asked to join the WAC.
Windham earned her wings while stationed at Gore Field, Montana. Qualifying for the dual rating of crew chief and flight engineer, Windham completed many flights from Montana to Fairbanks, Alaska, and cross-country from Montana to Florida. In England, she was assigned to the Air Inspector's Office of the Air Transportation Command’s European Division. [2]
Jane was the only WAC aerial engineer in the European Theatre. She was assigned to the Air Inspector's office. She was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received in a "Doodle Bug" (V-1) attack by the German Air Force.
PFC Windham was the first WAC to give her life in the line of duty. She was killed on March 31st while serving as a flight engineer on a training mission over England. Her plane collided with another aircraft coming in for a landing, in a crash at a UK base (Bovington Camp, Purbeck District, Dorset, England) on March 31 1945. She was only 23 years of age at the time of her death.
PFC Jane B. Windham was buried with full military honors at Cambridge Cemetary, in England. She also has a grave at the San Fernando Cemetery San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA
Note: She was initially laid to rest in Cambridge, England, and not repatriated until 1948, when she reached her final resting place in Roselawn Cemetery, now designated San Fernando Cemetery # III. Sadly her grave remained unmarked until November of 2014. She received her well deserved military honors upon the dedication of her marker: An Honor Guard, a US Flag, three volleys of rifle fire, a Chaplain, and Taps.
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Categories: San Fernando Cemetery No. 3, San Antonio, Texas | United States Women's Army Corps | Women's Army Corps Service Medal | United States Women's Army Corps, United States Army, World War II | Women in World War II | Purple Heart | Died in Military Service, United States of America, World War II | United States Army, World War II