“Flying was special because I was going places,” she said. “When I was 9, I told everyone, ‘I’m going to go all over the world.’”
She did.
Harmon said that Delta flew many young World War II pilots back to their bases after they had ferried war planes to North Africa.
"When I was 9, I told everyone, I'm going to go all over the world -- And I did." – Sybil Peacock Harmon, 102, graduate of Delta's first Flight Attendant class in 1940. Thank you to Sybil and all of our employees for paving the way for the next generation of the Delta family. pic.twitter.com/u0EHgtSMH3
— Delta (@Delta) July 16, 2018
“We called them ‘War Babies’ because they were so young,” she said. “ ... I was amazed these young men actually flew huge bombers and fighters. Most of the War Babies slept on flights because they had just come in from North Africa and were exhausted. When they couldn’t sleep, we’d play poker with them in the back of the plane.”
She said she "felt like a celebrity" as a stewardess; kids asked for her autograph.
At the party, there was a display of Harmon’s original flight log books, a stewardess uniform from that time and a life-size cutout of Harmon from a 1940 Delta marketing photo shoot.
She worked there three years and ended up marrying a U.S. Army captain who went on to be a director for Delta in Dallas. Their daughter worked for Delta for 35 years.
"It's a whole new world now," Harmon said. "I am proud to have paved the way for the next generation."
About the Author