Born July 1916

Dorothy Olsen (1916–2019), one of WWII's last surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots

Dorothy Olsen was one of the last surviving WASPs, women pilots who flew non-combat missions for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. The WASPs—Women Airforce Service Pilots—were stationed across the U.S., ferrying planes from factories to airbases, test-flying new and recently repaired planes, and training new pilots in order to free up male Army Air Forces members to fly combat missions. Olsen had earned her private pilot’s license after a childhood dreaming of flight, and she joined the WASPs in 1943, the year they were first established. She was one of just 1,074 women to complete the WASP training program. Though they were of vital importance to the war effort, the WASPs weren’t officially military, and their contributions went largely unrecognized for decades. It wasn’t until 1977 that they received veterans’ benefits, and in 2010 they were collectively presented the Congressional Gold Medal.