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Elaine Harmon, Female WWII Pilot, Will Finally Be Laid to Rest at Arlington - NBC News
Awesome! :thumbs:
ARLINGTON, Va. — It took an act of Congress, but World War II pilot Elaine Harmon is finally being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Harmon died last year at age 95. She was one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a group of women who flew military aircraft on noncombat missions during World War II so that men were freed up for combat.
The women were not granted military status at the time they served, but received retroactive status as veterans in 1977. And for many years, WASPs were eligible to have their ashes inurned at Arlington.
<img class="img-responsive img_inline" src="http://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2016_13/1480876/160401-elaine-harmon-mn-1110_7f29e3d5a26884eaebfd7e03d9fed0dd.nbcnews-fp-360-360.jpg" alt="" title="" itemprop="image"/> WWII pilot Elaine Harmon Courtesy of Erin Miller
Last year, though, Army officials concerned about limited space at the cemetery ruled WASPs ineligible for inclusion at Arlington. A memo from then-Army Secretary John McHugh concluded that Arlington never should have granted eligibility to WASPs in the first place.
Awesome! :thumbs: