| Dear friends,You are hereby invited to attend an event marking the 89th anniversary of the world parachuting record set in 1932 by Smaranda Brăescu with her 23,730ft jump in Sacramento, California. The virtual commemorative event will take place on May 20, 2021, at 10:30 AM PST (Los Angeles); 1:30PM EST (New York); 8:30PM EEST (Bucharest), 7:30PM CEST (Paris).Born on July 24, 1897, the same day as Amelia Earhart, Romania’s Smaranda Brăescu was a parachutist and aviation pioneer with multiple world records. “Măndița,” as she was affectionately called by the Romanian press and public, was the first parachutist and the third female pilot in Romania. She set two world records: in women’s parachuting (19,685 ft) in the Bărăgan plain on October 2nd 1931, and the absolute world skydiving record (23,730 ft) in Sacramento, California, on May 19, 1932. The latter was an international Romanian-American record: achieved by a Romanian, Smaranda Brăescu with an American plane, an American pilot, on American territory and approved by the American Aeronautical Federation. Moreover, Smaranda Brăescu was the first foreign pilot certified in the USA. From then on, she was a national hero, being escorted by 30 planes after being invited to an air show in Canada. She also flew in a single-engine plane over the Mediterranean Sea, from Rome to Tripoli 683.5 miles in 6 hours and in World War II she was a member of the “White Squadron” transporting wounded soldiers from the Eastern front. Her destiny, as that of many heroes of her generation, was to end as a prisoner of conscience. She condemned the November 1946 rigged Romanian elections and was sentenced to prison for two years. She may have eluded detection by the communist authorities by becoming a nun and assuming a false identity and is thought to be buried in the Central Cemetery in Cluj, under the name of Maria Popescu. We may yet give this Queen of the Air her hero’s wings by honoring and celebrating her life’s achievements, passing on the story of this resilient woman to the next generation. This event is made possible by a collaboration between ARPIA, Cluj Chapter (arpia-filialacluj.ro) and ARA (main.ara-as.org) with the support of I.C. ART (ic-art-gallery.com), Trezorera Documentelor (380v.ro) and IRF (immigrationresearchforum.org).We look forward to seeing you in this virtual event.Warmest regards,TeodorTeodor StanPresident and Founder,Immigration Research Forum www.immigrationresearchforum.org 202-569-3310 https://youtu.be/Z1B756eTgpchttps://youtu.be/yF6kr7v8yH4 |
