She arrived in her Air Force uniform, complete with wings. Wisked up by General Don Brown, Dorothy Olsen was escorted to the Heritage Hill Pavilion at McChord Field. There she was met by three other old friends who were also WASP’s, including her roommate Alta Thomas. Mary Jean Sturdevant and Betty Dybbro, were also present.

Dorothy Olsen a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot from WWII was turning 100 that day and the Air Force was determined to make it a memorible occasion.

In March 2010, these women were presented with Congressional Gold Medals for their service. They were also given full benefits as military veterans. During the war, the women were used to enhance the pool of pilots, ferrying planes around the US so they could be shipped overseas. The women were only counted as civilian employees receiving far less pay than the male military counterparts.

The next stop of the event…