Elaine Danforth Harmon, who died in April, was finally buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, 70 years after she served her country and four years after she and her fellow pilots lost the right to be interred there. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), supporters of the bill, were in attendance at today’s ceremony, along with five WASPs and former FOX news anchor Greta Van Susteren. It said they were veterans for the purposes of the Veterans Administration, meaning those who served in the reserves or the civil service were not allowed to count their time in the WASP toward retirement.
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In May, Obama signed the legislation, which allows the ashes of the women to be inurned above ground alongside those of other service members.
Harmon died previous year at age 95. Hundreds came from as far away as California and Florida to honor the legacy. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, herself a retired Air Force pilot who was the first female fighter pilot in USA history to fly in combat.
Particularly in a male-dominated field, “support is always welcome”, added another female captain and KC-10 pilot.
Toward the end of the ceremony, Harmon’s family surprised McSally by giving her a silver bracelet featuring WASP wings and the bill number, HR 4336, engraved on the back. “I’m humbled every time I think of the legacy of the WASPs”. Air Force Capt. Jenifer Lee presented the USA flag to Harmon’s daughter Terry, who worked tirelessly to have her mother’s remains interred at Arlington. Harmon’s daughter, Terry Harmon, described the mandatory sing-alongs on auto trips and her mother’s penchant for dressing up on holidays. She was the only pilot I had ever known.
That fight involved legislation that was passed unanimously earlier this year.
“I couldn’t believe it”, said Rep. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican who flew A-10 Warthogs over Iraq and Kuwait.
Then, she showed Congress that women should be treated as proper veterans when she testified for the recognition of the WASPs and finally got what she was seeking in 1977.
“I thought, “Are you kidding me?’ ” Representative McSally recalls”. From bungee jumping in her 80s to sharing laughs with the leader of the free world, Harmon never stopped living her life to its fullest. McSally realized it would have to happen quickly, with 100 WASPS still alive.
After a fly-by of World War II aircraft, Harmon received a 21-gun salute from the Air Force Honor Guard, then “Taps” was played.
The service with military honors followed a battle her family waged all the way to Congress and the White House. “She could have been buried with her husband, but it was important to her to carry on the legacy of the WASPs”, Ms. Harmon said.
Harmon’s granddaughter, Erin Miller, helped lead the lobbying efforts.
McSally, a 26-year Air Force veteran, first USA woman to fly in combat and first woman to command a fighter squad, worked with the Harmon family to get legislation signed so that WASPs could be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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The family had kept her ashes in a bedroom closet while they worked to get Arlington’s exclusionary policy overturned.
