WASP Disbandment & Overdue Recognition
Leader of a U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, Capt. Jennifer Lee, salutes the flag and remains of Elaine Danforth Harmon, who served as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) during World War II, during her funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery, Sept. 7, 2016. Harmon's family worked since her death in April of 2015, at 95 years old, to reverse a U.S. Army decision, that same year, to revoke the eligibility of WASPs for interment at Arlington. The WASPs, a paramilitary organization that ferried military aircraft and towed aerial training targets, were awarded military status in 1977 and determined to be eligible for interment in 2002. The bill reestablishing their eligibility, championed in the House of Representatives by Rep., and former Air Force fighter pilot, Martha McSally, R-Ariz. 2nd District, passed Congress unanimously and was signed into law by President Barack Obama this year. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.)