City Lights:

The star stood a head shorter than most of the people around her, but she was hard to miss in her blue military coat with silver pilot wings pinned over the left pocket.

As a crowd gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the Edwards Cinema at Fashion Island, Huntington Beach resident Vi Cowden prepared to see “Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story” on the big screen for the first time. The weekend before, the film by Christine and Mark Bonn had won the Audience Award at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival. Now, it was making a stop near Cowden’s hometown.

For those unfamiliar with Cowden, the 93-year-old is one of the few surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots, the first women to fly American military aircraft.

The documentary was the first part of a program titled “I Am Woman,” which consisted of three short films about feminist issues.

Judging from the scene outside the theater, it was clear that Cowden, who won the Congressional Gold Medal this year, had inspired many younger women. As I did my best to interview her, one audience member after another stopped by to pay tribute.

“My grandmother was a Ninety-Nine, and she would just be smiling down today,” said one, referring to the women pilots’ organization founded in 1929.

I asked Cowden how she felt about all the attention.

“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “I can truthfully say, you’re never too old. People I haven’t seen in years are here.”

As their subject met with her fans, the Bonns milled around and distributed pins that featured the words “Fly With Vi” superimposed over a silver wings logo. Cowden posed for pictures, shook hands and chatted with strangers, and then we headed in for the show.

I’ve spent countless hours in movie theaters, and usually the audience keeps quiet except to laugh. The showing of “Wings of Silver” was as communal as they come. When Cowden first appeared on the screen, the crowd burst into applause; for the rest of the screening, I heard gasps, sighs and mmmmms of recognition. And, of course, more applause at the end.

The film itself is delightful, mixing Cowden’s modern-day narration with old footage and photographs. Some moments are funny, as when Cowden describes having to gain eight pounds in a week to qualify for service; others, dealing with the years it took the WASPs to be recognized by the government, are more poignant.

It adds up to a portrait of a life well lived. The star, though, handled her day in the spotlight modestly. When I asked if she planned to celebrate after the showing, she replied, “I’ll try to hang out with my friends, I guess.”

Fly on, Vi.

City Editor MICHAEL MILLER can be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected] .