More Than 100 Women Airforce Service Pilots Are Honored

It was both a touching as well as poignant effort... as Women in Aviation International members and friends carefully planned gravesite tributes or virtual message recordings to 110 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) across the country during last month's Memorial Day weekend.

In an effort to allow participants to observe best social-distancing practices, WAI used the last two weeks in May to visit gravesites and take photos to leave appropriate decorations in the form of flowers, flags, or other remembrances.

 "The WASP were trailblazing pioneers of World War II and an inspiration for future generations of female pilots. We did not want the pandemic to stop us from honoring these incredible women who risked their lives to do their part for the war effort," says WAI CEO Allison McKay. "We are thrilled that so many members and friends helped us to carry on our annual tradition for the third year."

WAI suggests that readers search #HonorTheWASP on social media to find numerous posts, as well as visiting the WomeninAviationIntl Facebook page to view an album of this year's gravesite visits.

A database of WASP gravesites, including Google maps to their locations, may be found HERE. The original database was provided by Texas Woman's University (TWU), the home of the Women Airforce Service Pilots archives, and is regularly augmented through research efforts of WAI staff. WAI and TWU continue to improve the database and add WASP burial sites regularly.

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were inducted into WAI's International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1993. The WASP flew for the U.S. Army Airforce from September 1942 to December 1944. Some 1,102 women wore the silver wings flying over 70 million miles and delivering 12,650 airplanes across the country during their time of operation.

Today, there are 32 WASPs still living.

FMI: www.wai.org, www.wai-crc.com/honor-the-wasp