Esther Mae Nesbitt-- Part 4: Received the French Croix de Guerre Medal

Master sergeant and local artist.  Enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1943.  Was an intelligence analyst and became custodian of all maps of the European Theater with the responsibility of keeping the war room maps up to date.

For this, she became DeKalb County's only recipient of the French government's Croix de Guerre medal.

After the war, she returned to Sycamore, except for a return to military service during the Korean War.  She lived in Sycamore until her death.  There is some confusion here between this and the previous post.

--GreGen

Esther Mae Nesbitt-- Part 3: Photographer and Artist

On October 1, 1942, she enlisted as an aviation cadet in the Women's Army Corps.  In her civilian life she had been a postal clerk and photographer.

During her years as a WAC, she served as an artist until shortly before her death.  (I am not sure about this as I think the WACs dissolved shortly after the end of the war.  Wikipedia said that the WACs dissolved in 1978 so she might have stayed in rthe rest of her life.

She never married.

--GreGen

Esther Mae Nesbitt-- Part 2: Member of the WACs

She was the third woman to step ashore on Omaha Beach which she did on July 14, 1944.  She was a master sergeant assigned the Allied forward communications.  Her WAC unit consisted of 49 enlisted women and six officers.

She was the only NCO in the European Theater of Operations to receive the French Croix de Guerre medal.

Born 21 July 1913.

--GreGen

Esther Mae Nesbitt-- Part 1: World War II Hero

From Find-A-Grave.

Esther Mae Nesbitt  1913-1971.

Sycamore, Illinois, woman.  World War II hero.

Buried Elmwood Cemetery, Sycamore, Illinois.

There is also a memorial located at her grave.

--GreGen

Sky Harbor Airport, Northbrook, Illinois-- Part 1

From the Little-Known Airfields:  Illinois, Northern Chicago Area.

In the last post, I mentioned Miss Esther Mae Nesbitt joining the Civil Air Patrol that flew out of Sky Harbor Airport northwest of Evanston, Illinois.  I'd never hear of it, but thought perhaps it might have been the Pal-Waukee Airport (now Executive Airport) by Wheeling, near where I grew up.  It was a different airport, however.

This facility was opened in 1929 and featured an art deco terminal, clubhouse and hangar.  It was built by the North Shore Airport Company and described as "The Airport of Tomorrow."  It was a base for private aircraft, airlines and sightseeing aircraft.

It cost $500,000 to build, a sizable sum back then and had an elegant arch roof hangar as well as the posh Petrushka Club on top of the terminal.

--GreGen

Sycamore Woman in Civil Air Patrol Out of Evanston

From the March 22, 2017, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1942, 75 Years Ago.

"Miss Esther Mae Nesbitt of Sycamore is now a member of the Chicago unit of the Civil Air Patrol which has military training each week in Evanston and is made up of private patrols flying from Sky Harbor airport northwest of Evanston.

"Miss Nesbitt has had previous training this winter at San Antonio, Texas."

The Civil Air Patrol hurt German U-boats operating off the U.S. coast as they kept watch and reported their location to military forces.

--GreGen