Please Visit a WASP Gravesite To Honor A WASP... and Remember

Women in Aviation International (WAI) members and friends will honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) by visiting their graves and leaving an appropriate decoration in the form of flowers or other remembrances.

In its fourth year, the #HonorTheWASP program was originally envisioned to take place over the Memorial Day weekend each year. In an effort to allow participants to observe best social-distancing practices, WAI encourages participants to visit gravesites over the entire month of May as opposed to just on Monday, May 31st, Memorial Day.

“WAI members around the world are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of impressive ladies were brave and dedicated and it is our honor, as a group, to pay tribute to their bravery and dedication,” says WAI CEO Allison McKay.

“While many adult Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, we hope that our members and visitors remember to stay safe during their commemorative activities…wear masks, visit outside of the Memorial Day weekend, and maintain distance from others in your party. We will not let the pandemic stop us from honoring these incredible women who risked their lives to do their part for the war effort, and led the way for so many of us,” she adds.

You don’t have to be a WAI member to #HonorTheWASP.

A database of WASP gravesites, including Google maps to their locations, may be found at www.wai-crc.com/honor-the-wasp. 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.

In each of the previous three years, #HonorTheWASP participants have visited and decorated nearly 100 WASP gravesites annually. WAI and TWU continue to improve the database and add WASP burial sites regularly.

FMI: www.wai.org