With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Female World War II Pilots Can Now Have Their Ashes at Arlington National Cemetery

Female pilots who served in the military during World War II can officially have their ashes placed at Arlington National Cemetery, per legislation signed by President Barack Obama on Friday.

Women Airforce Service Pilots, known as WASPs, were inurned at Arlington between 2002 and 2015, at which time then-Army Secretary John McHugh ruled that the practice violated federal law, the Wall Street Journalreported. The family of the late 2nd Lt. Elaine Danforth Harmon, who was a pilot during the war, has been fighting since then to officially change the policy, according to the Washington Post.

“Today we have righted a terrible wrong,” Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said in a statement, reported by the Post. “If they were good enough to fly for our country, risk their lives and earn the Congressional Gold Medal, they should be good enough for Arlington.”

Read entire article at Time Magazine