After Lengthy Battle, Female WWII Pilot Finally Gets a Resting Place at Arlington National Cemetery

WASHINGTON - MARCH 10: WASP pilot Elaine Danforth Harmon (R) greets guests during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the US Capitol on March 10, 2010 in Washington, DC. The ceremony was held to honor the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) of WWII. The WASP was a pioneering organization of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircrafts under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

After nearly a year of pushing back against the Army, the family of a female World War II pilot is finally getting its wish.

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Elaine Harmon’s ashes will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Wednesday, with military honors.

The 95-year-old died in April of last year. She had served as one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The women flew noncombat missions during World War II so that men could handle the combat missions.

The women were not granted military status when they served but were given retroactive status as veterans in 1977. The rules for in-ground burials are very strict at Arlington. Last year, citing concerns about space at Arlington, Army officials stopped allowing WASPs to have their ashes inurned at Arlington.

Harmon’s family fought back. They received support from around the country. In May, President Barack Obama signed legislation allowing cremated WASPs to have their final resting places in Arlington. Harmon’s family stored her ashes in a closet in anticipation of this day.

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“It sounds funny, but we’re all kind of excited,” Harmon’s granddaughter Erin Miller told NBC News. “In a way, we’ve already grieved, and this now is about closure.”

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