Fort Worth Woman Recalls 'Cowtown Blonde' Days
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A Fort Worth woman was recently reunited with a special picture and her wartime contribution during the 1940s. A World War II article – published in 1944 – featured a photograph of Peggy King. She never fought in the war, but she did experience the battle in another way, and played a big part in history.
"I was about 22 or so," King recalled, looking at the published article. The photograph has faded some, but her memory behind that picture is still very much intact. "A lot of bombers had the pretty girl's pictures on them. It was very common."
King was one of those pretty girls. Dubbed the 'Cowtown Blonde,' her image was painted onto the side of a B-24 bomber during World War II. She fondly recalls the image of a woman posed on her back with one leg extended above her head. "It had a girl kicking up her heels," King said with a bit of a giggle. "I don't kick up my heels. That's not nice."
King's husband piloted the bomber that flew over war-divided Europe. She remained in Fort Worth at the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, where the bombers were made. Distance and danger may have separated them, but the 'Cowtown Blonde' was always near, as her picture flew with her husband on the side of his plane.
"He wrote me every day, at least six times a week," King said. "I have four big boxes of letters from him."
The old photograph and article about King had been tucked away for about 67 years. The image recently resurfaced from the keepsake file of Bill Cannon, a Christian Care Center resident. "We knew immediately we had a heroine in our midst," Cannon said. "There's not a lot of folks who can claim to be painted on the side of a bomber in World War II."
King spoke with a group of war veterans about the photo, and her colorful mark on American history. "You have a certain thrill about it, and pride," she said. "I did what I could do. He certainly did a lot to contribute to the war."
The 'Cowtown Blonde' plane was gunned down over Europe, along with its eight-person crew. However, King's husband was not piloting the bomber on that ill-fated day. A 'Cowtown Blonde II' was commissioned, but the war ended before it ever saw the air.
