Final Flight, Final Fight: My Grandmother, the WASP, and Arlington National Cemetery

In this moving narrative, attorney Miller recounts her resourceful family’s fight to have her late grandmother, who was one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP, during WWII, interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Elaine Harmon flew aircraft and trained male pilots during the war; 30 years later, she cochampioned efforts to obtain official veteran status for the WASP. After Harmon’s death in 2015, Miller and other members of Harmon’s family kicked off a highly publicized effort for legislation to ensure that every WASP had the opportunity to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Miller describes how this fight immersed her in her grandmother’s letters, diaries, and friendships, allowing her to get to know her “Gammy” as a fearless, funny young woman who was passionate about flying. Despite her legal background, Miller was surprised at the extensive procedures that must be followed to move prospective legislation forward. In the process, Harmon’s descendants built a network of congressional and media allies, notably Air Force combat veteran and Arizona Sen. Martha McSally. Although Miller occasionally resorts to reconstructing conversations from memory, she wisely inserts revealing memories of her grandmother and shares joyous meetings with WASPs and their families between chapters covering the tireless lobbying and media efforts, which eventually succeeded. This impassioned and hopeful look at the WASP legacy and a bipartisan congressional effort will both inform and entertain readers. Photos. [em](BookLife) [/em]