Last year, as reported in our August-September issue of Bellingham Alive!, the Bravo 369 Flight Foundation re-created the brave flights of the Alaskan-Siberian arms transfer that happened secretly before U.S. involvement in WWII. A top-secret operation to help Russia combat the Nazis with American airplanes, the effort was dangerous, fraught, and, until Jeff Geer and Craig Lang uncovered it, completely forgotten.

[Full Story Here northsoundlife.com/bravo369]

A big part of that history is the role of women, especially the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs), in ferrying planes from Boeing and other manufacturers to the Air Force bases, and among the bases to the AL-SIB starting point of Minneapolis. Many women from Washington State participated in the WASP squadrons that flew those missions. Though some are alive today, many have perished. Being women and pilots in a secret mission, they were denied recognition, a denial that included burial without military honors until recent years.

[Read More Here militarytimes.com/WASPS]

And now, thanks to the work of President Barack Obama, they have regained another honor: WASPs can now be honored by having their ashes scattered at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

[Full Story Here NewYorkTimes.com]

This official recognition is more than symbolic for the families and survivors of the ferry squadrons—it’s an important step in recognizing the bravery, skill, and fortitude that it took to become a woman pilot in the late 1930s and early 1940s. So BRAVO to these women, who, after years of service to their country, finally have an official place to land.

This Memorial Day, in remembrance of all who have served our country, North Sound Life shares in mourning those who have fallen.